Listening to God’s voice with the intention of obeying is one of the most significant aspects of the Christian life. What we do in life is determined by the voice we choose to listen to. Listening to the voice of the Lord and obeying what He says will bring blessings into your life. When we ignore the voice of the Lord, it brings confusion and curses upon us.
You may be asking today, “How do I better hear the voice of the Lord?” Spending time with the Lord makes His voice easier to understand and recognize. Jesus tells us in John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.[1] The first step in hearing the voice of the Lord is a desire to listen and obey. The second step, I believe, is just as important, and that is praying that the Lord would give you the courage and strength to help you have an obedient heart.
Joseph’s Brothers Did Not Listen to the Lord
Joseph’s brothers hated him and put their sinful emotions into action by selling him into slavery. Years later, they reflected on this when Joseph went from being a slave to the number two person in Egypt through God’s intervention.
Genesis 42: 21 Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly, we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.”
22 “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?” Reuben asked. “But you wouldn’t listen. And now we have to answer for his blood!”
23 Of course, they didn’t know that Joseph understood them, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter. [2]
Growing in Hearing the Lord’s Voice
I have found other helpful thoughts in hearing the Lord’s voice: to be alert for God to speak to you intentionally. The Lord speaks it in many ways, not always when we expect it. Mediate on the Scriptures by getting the Lord’s word into your heart. Sometimes it is not how much we read but taking time to focus on small bites at a time.
Take time to journal; you may be surprised the Lord speaks through your writing. Take an opportunity to worship outside of a church service. That may take the form of a walk where you are thinking about God, meditating on a hymn, listening to Christian music, or other ways that help you focus on the Lord. The good news is the Lord wants to speak to you each day and does as we tune into His frequency.
To learn more about listening to God’s voice, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/brothers-grow-in-faith
[1-2] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.