“Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.” – Jeremiah 32:8
I am in a prayer group for pastors every Tuesday morning. It’s a wonderful time of fellowship and praying together. This morning one of the pastor’s mentioned we should be praying for a “fresh vision.” It’s important whether in ministry or not, to be current and always live with a fresh vision of what God would have us to be and do.
But how can we hear from God? How does God speak to us? Does God even speak to us in our day? I believe God does speak today. He speaks to us in many ways. Unfortunately either we are unaware of how God speaks, or we are too busy or distracted to hear or care what He has to say. When we fail to seek a word from the Lord it is a subtle but very real indication that we have made ourselves “God” of our lives. When we don’t seek God’s direction in life, we have become an idol to ourselves. If you’re a pastor and aren’t seeking direction from the Lord, you, your life, and your ministry, have become an idol.
If you or your life has become an idol for you, it’s a seriously sinful situation. This is serious because it was idolatry that brough the northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah into defeat and captivity. The low point in the history of God’s people was arguably when, “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Idolatry is just as condemned in the New Testament as it is in the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul refers to idolatry as one of the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-20). The Apostle John closed his first epistle with the warning, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen” (1 John 5:21). “Amen” means may it be so among all men. Idolatry is something every Christian should be aware of and avoid. Jesus is your Lord, not any personal pronoun of yourself.
God does still communicate with us today. Maybe you’re wondering if such a statement is true. Maybe you’re thinking, The only people I know who “hear” from God are residents of the local psychiatric hospital or good old uncle George who has long since lost his mind. But I assure you, while some may be mentally ill or “long gone” who “hear” from God, there are those who know God and hear from Him who, as a result of such hearing, are the most stable people in life. There is a “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” for those who seek Him out and listen and watch for His instruction (Philippians 4:6-9). God reveals Himself and gives strength to those whose heart is loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9).
If you’re interested in stability and guidance from God, I hope and pray this two-part series will help you find what you are looking for. I pray you find a fresh vision from the Lord. I hope you hear loud and clear either a confirmation from the Lord for what you are already doing, or a fresh vision for a new venture in faith He has for you.
There is an interesting account in the life of Jeremiah depicted in the following passage, which reads:
Jeremiah 32:6-8 – “And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying,7 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’8 “Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.”
The context for the above portion of scripture is the time right before the southern kingdom of Judah falls to Babylon. God, through Jeremiah’s prophecy, tells king Zedekiah and the people of Judah that their demise was inevitable. Zedekiah, in response to Jeremiah’s words, threw Jeremiah into prison as a traitor (Jeremiah 32:1-5). Sometimes people do not respond well to the truth of God.
While in prison Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me.” While incarcerated he mentions that a plan that came to his mind to redeem a field from a family member. Jeremiah might have pondered, Why redeem a field in a land that was about to be taken over by the Babylonians? What property value is there in land taken captive? What value would such a purchase of land have for me, a soon-to-be captive myself? How did Jeremiah get from these thoughts to his statement, “Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD”? How did he know God was speaking to him? How can we know what God is saying and when He is speaking to us? How can we discern the heart and will of God? How does God speak to us, like he spoke to Jeremiah?
When we look at the body of Scripture we see there are many ways the Lord reveals His will to us. In this teaching I point to twelve ways God speaks to us. There may be others. I encourage you to search them out of there are. But for now we will focus on the twelve ways God still speaks to us today.
First, God Speaks Through Confirming Circumstances.
Jeremiah had an impression or thought from the LORD. But how did he know what he thought was from the LORD? He knew his thought was from the LORD because God confirmed His word circumstantially. Because the thought of Jeremiah was followed by circumstances, which fit the thought, (“just as the LORD had said,” – v.8 – NIV), Jeremiah accepted that the thought he had was from God. God confirms His word to us by bringing life circumstances into alignment with what He is telling us.
In the book of Revelation Jesus told the church of Philadelphia that He had set before them an open door. This helps us in recognizing how God confirms His word through circumstances. In Revelation it states:
Revelation 3:8 – “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”
Jesus may be referring in particular to the door of heaven through which the true church would be raptured (Revelation 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). But this verse also conveys the thought that before us are doors of opportunity, some of which God opens, some of which He shuts. When we receive a “word from the LORD” it will be confirmed by an open door of opportunity to fulfill that word. That is how we know it is from the LORD.
In the book of Acts during the second missionary journey it says of Paul and his missionary group:
Acts 16:6-8 – “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.”
In these verses it says, “they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit, “and “the Spirit did not permit them,” which I believe indicates the Spirit did not open the door of opportunity for the missionaries to minister in these areas. The apostles apparently had a thought about going to preach in Asia and Bithynia. When the apostles came to a closed door, they moved on accepting that the circumstances did not confirm the word they had thought was from God. They did not pout but saw rejection as God’s redirection. That’s an important lesson to learn.
When the LORD called me into ministry, I soon believed He was directing me to go to seminary. You might say, “The word of the LORD came to me saying,” “Go to seminary.” I had been married about three years and my wife Dee, and I prayed about the will of God in this situation to see if indeed it was the will of God for me. One of our concerns was the cost of moving and paying for a seminary education. We had only been married for three years, and we had very little money. How were we going to pay for an expensive graduate school seminary education? As I began to walk by faith in this call, I believed the LORD was telling me that, “Since this is of the LORD you will not have to go into any debt to complete your seminary education.” In effect God was going to show me (and my wife Dee) by a debtless venture in faith, that this actually was a call from Him. This was an important, even essential lesson to learn for one called to ministry. God was going to speak to my wife and I by the circumstance of our financial needs being met.
God was teaching us the important principle of, Where God Guides, God Provides. My wife Dee and I sold everything we owned, (and it wasn’t much!). We sold our cars and bought the only vehicle we could find that was affordable for us, a 1968 Ford Econoline Window Van (this was in 1983, so the van was already 15 years old!). We packed the van with our clothes, my books and some other personal items and left for Wilmore Kentucky where Asbury Theological Seminary was located. It was a BIG step of faith for two people who had never really ventured beyond our home state of New York. When we got to the school, we had just enough money for the first summer semester. What would we do now? If this was of God, we didn’t believe it would require even a loan! We prayed, and sure enough my wife and I found jobs and the LORD blessed with some scholarships. Upon graduation three years later, we left debt free! The word of God was confirmed through our life circumstances. It’s true, Where God Guides, God Provides.
God confirms His word to us by circumstances, which verify fully the word that He speaks. There are other means by which God speaks to us. They are important for us to know about.
Second, God Speaks in Various Ways
In the opening verses of the book of Hebrews we read the following:
Hebrews 1:1 – God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets”
God has a number of ways by which He speaks to people. I’m not one to see the image of Jesus in my breakfast toast or in the cream swirl of a latte, but God can speak in various ways.
We should be open to receive whatever means the Spirit chooses to use to get our attention and share the word of God with us. One time in the Bible the Lord wrote His message with His finger on a wall at a party (see Daniel 5). Now that’s the only time He’s done that, but you get the idea. God can be very imaginative in the way He gets His point across and the way He reveals His will.
Third, God Speaks to Us Through Everyday Life Illustrations
Earlier in the book of Jeremiah we see the prophet received direction and the word of the LORD as he observed a boiling pot (1:13); a dirtied sash (13:1-11); droughts (14:1-9); and the potter’s house (18:1-10). In all of these instances God brought to Jeremiah’s mind and heart a word that He wanted spoken.
God can speak similarly today. We can be walking the streets of a city or caught in traffic on the way to or from work and observe the faces of a lost world. Happy faces, angry faces, sad face, weary faces, lost faces, God is speaking to us through all of them. Drivers wearing masks, driver’s shaking a fist, drivers enjoying music, drivers lost in thought, they all can be a message from the Lord. A person in need can be a way of Jesus calling. “In as much as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). Our everyday encounters with people and circumstances can contain a message from the Lord. Look around. Jesus is speaking. Are you listening?
Fourth, God Speaks to Us Through Nature
The psalmist wrote:
Psalm 19:1 – “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.”
As we look at the creation around us, we see the work of a Designer. We see a Creator. And when we do, we receive a revelation word from the LORD. The apostle Paul in the New Testament said God reveals Himself in nature.
Romans 1:19-20 – because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”
God speaks to us in nature, and we need to hear what He is saying. Jesus used nature as a means of communicating His word. We see this in such words as:
Matthew 6:25-34 – “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?26 “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?27 “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;29 “and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.30 “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
If we fail to observe the natural surroundings we pass through each day, it just may be that we will miss a word from the LORD. The provision for a bird. The beauty of a flower. It’s all a message from the Lord. Don’t stomp past God’s creation mindlessly, because if you do, you just may miss and important revelation from Him.
Fifth, God Speaks Through Dreams
The Bible indicates that God speaks through dreams. In the Old Testament God spoke by dreams to Jacob (Genesis 31:11); Joseph (Genesis 37:5-11); a pagan butler and baker (Genesis 40:5); Pharaoh (Genesis 41:1); and many others. Joel’s Pentecostal prophesy promises that believers will “dream dreams” (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:19). In the New Testament God spoke by dreams to Joseph (Matthew 1:20); and Pilate’s wife (Matthew 27:19). These are only a sampling of instances where God spoke to people through dreams. God may speak to you by giving you a dream.
Sixth, God Speaks Through Visions
A “vision” is a means of divine revelation similar to a dream. The difference between a dream and a vision is that dreams only occur while a person is asleep, visions can occur while a person is awake (Daniel 10:7). In the Old Testament much of what is written in the books of Ezekiel and Daniel (Daniel 8:1,17) are the result of revelation from God received via visions. In the New Testament we see God giving His word by way of visions in the life of Ananias (Acts 9:10-17); Peter (Acts 10); Paul (Acts 16:9-15); and John (Revelation 1).
I have a special spot at the local beach where I sit quietly with the Lord to hear from Him. Many times He has given a vision of how to handle a situation or how to minister. God speaks through visions. Do you have vision for God’s “vision”?
Seventh, God Speaks Through an Audible Voice
God called Moses to ministry by speaking audibly to him out of a burning bush (Exodus 3-4). When Samuel was called to the priesthood the LORD woke him up out of his sleep with an audible voice (1 Samuel 3:1-10). God spoke to Elijah with “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:8-18). In the New Testament God spoke to people audibly about His Son Jesus (Matthew 3 and 17). Jesus spoke to Paul audibly (Acts 9). Does God speak audibly today? I believe He does.
When my wife Dee was pregnant with our youngest son Stephen, eleven weeks through the pregnancy she experienced complications. One late summer evening she sent me out for some deli provolone cheese and salami she had been craving. When I returned, we made sandwiches and sat down to watch TV. No sooner had we sat down than she said, “Oh my God! I’m bleeding!” And sure enough her light-colored shorts were covered in blood. I immediately tried to call our doctor, but he was unavailable, and we were told to go to the hospital and wait for him. I knew we were in for a long night, so I began to pack some things. I didn’t want to go through this without the word of God, so I stepped outside and walked to my car where I kept my favorite handy small pocket Bible. (This was long before cell phones or IPads were a part of life.) As I walked to my car “The word of the LORD came to me saying,” “Against all hope Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,” Romans 4:18 – NIV). The LORD spoke to me as close to a heavenly audible voice as I have ever experienced in my life. It was a loud and clear, but soft, strengthening, and comforting voice from the Lord.
From that point on God gave me a steadying certainty in Him that got Dee and me through this ordeal. As I returned to Dee, I told her what the LORD had told me, and we laid hands on her womb and prayed. When we got to the hospital, we waited for what seemed like an eternity and then the emergency room doctor examined my wife. While waiting I went to a different part of the hospital to fill out paperwork. When I returned, the examination had been completed, I rejoined Dee who was alone in a room on a bed. We were all alone and in the most difficult time of our lives. I asked her what the doctor said, and she said he didn’t tell her anything. At the end of the gurney Dee was on, there was a clipboard. I looked at the clipboard attached to the foot of her bed and read what the diagnosis indicated. The diagnosis read, “Aborted fetus.” I was a bit taken back and wondered, “But LORD, you told us to hope against all hope.” I got choked up and told Dee. In faith, we chose to “hope against hope” and take God at His word.
That night my wife was admitted to the hospital. The next day she would have a sonogram to determine if indeed she had lost the baby. After a night of prayer, I returned to the hospital to find that Dee had already been wheeled down to the sonogram room. As I made my way down the hall and entered the room, I called out Dee’s name to determine where she was. She responded, “I’m over here.” I drew curtains aside and walked into the examination room and at the same moment Dee continued, “And the baby is all right!” Sure enough, there was our son Stephen on the screen, reclined, legs crossed as though saying, “What’s the big deal dad, Jesus is in control.” As I wept with joy, God’s words came back to me, “Against all hope . . . believe,” and “Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.”
Yes, God still speaks today. Whether through circumstances or everyday life illustrations, nature, dreams, vision or even an audible voice, God speaks today. Life would be a whole lot harder to live without a word from the Lord. Are you interested in hearing from the Lord? Are you in need of direction, of a confirmation or fresh vision from the Lord? The first step in hearing from the Lord is to answer His call to “know” Him. Jesus said it is possible to “know” Him (John 17:3). To know Him we need only turn from our sinful ways (i.e., repentance) and ask God’s forgiveness. On our own we have no just basis to ask God’s forgiveness. We deserve condemnation and eternal punishment. But Jesus, on the cross, paid our debt of sin so that when we trust in Him as our Savior, God justly forgives our sins because the just debt owed because of our sins, has been paid by Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we do that we will be given spiritual life by the Holy Spirit who will indwell us. And with the Holy Spirit inside us, we will have spiritual life and know Jesus. This is the first and most important message from God every person must receive before they can hear from Him in life and live with Him. God is speaking. Are you listening? Take a moment and pray to God right now for your salvation. Doing so will be the first step in a life of hearing from God.
If you know the Lord, recommit yourself to living life in a more alert and aware way. Live moment by moment asking and seeking for the Lord to speak to you, to direct you. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of anything the Lord wants to bring to your attention. Don’t go through life on autopilot with no thought of your surroundings. Live life on high alert that each moment and in every way, God may be speaking to you.
In Part 2 of this teaching we will look at five more ways God speaks to us today as well as learn how to discern God’s voice from our own or other’s voices. It’s important we know how to accurately discern God’s voice or directions, otherwise we will fall prey to presumption, deception of the enemy, or carnal calamities. Don’t miss Part 2 of How to Hear from God, it will save you from a life of frustration, futility, and unnecessary failures. God please speak to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen!