‘Someone We Need To Listen To’
Published - July 2021.
Brief Description:
What does scripture indicate should be our realistic expectation, individually and corporately, for God speaking a word to us? Unfortunately, there does not seem to be an overabundance of practical teaching in our churches, at the present time, about hearing God for guidance, decision-making and resolving issues. As a consequence, a great many people find themselves both unsure how to pray and lacking in confidence that they will be able to discern God’s will for the situations they face.
This booklet attempts to deal with the subject of ‘Hearing God’ in a systematic way, using some formal argument, along with a lot of storytelling and illustration – relating how God captured the attention of people throughout Bible-times and then delivered messages to them. It also gives the reader opportunity at each stage, via Question & Answer, to reflect on their own experience.
Recommendation:
“When you look at scripture, you can’t get away from the fact that God is always talking to the people who love him, and even to the people who don’t. He speaks to give direction and motivation; he speaks to effect change; he speaks to share his own heart and to enter into friendship with us. His voice is the only genuine source of confidence and comfort that I’ve ever found.”
The Intended Reader
Everybody ought to learn to communicate more effectively with God. However, despite wholeheartedly believing that, as the late Francis Schaeffer said, ‘He is there and He is not silent’, I would be the last to claim that hearing from God is easy. Nevertheless, I am continually amazed at how many people have no recollection of having heard God speak clearly to them about what they should do with their lives; how to make important decisions; how to resolve tricky situations; and how they should pray about needs that are presented to them etc.
Romans 10:17 says, ‘Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ’ and, although the context of Paul’s argument here is believing for salvation, he is also articulating a more general principle - our faith must be anchored in the word that God has spoken and that we have heard. The question is, does God care enough about our daily lives, the decisions we have to make and the people who concern us to want to provide guidance and direction?
I would affirm that He definitely does care and that getting better at two-way communication with God is something we all should aspire to.
Table of Contents
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Learning to be a child; Learning to build a wall
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God is a persistent communicator; There is an occasion when everyone hears Him for the first time || Q&A - Establishing comfort levels
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Everybody has seen evidence of God’s existence; He actively pursues people; Relationship is very important to Him but even those who have no interest in Him are sometimes guided to achieve His purposes || Q&A - God’s first overtures
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It should be natural for God to speak to us personally; There is always a ‘nowness’ or ‘up-to-dateness’ about God’s word || Q&A - Normal, everyday choices
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Being accountable for what we say; The power and accuracy of God’s words; All God’s words have intended consequences and none are superfluous or wasted || Q&A - The power of words
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Jesus always puts His finger on the core issues; His priorities often differ from ours; His strategy is often different from ours; The disciples frequently misjudged the mood or pursued the wrong objective || Q&A - Faith comes only from having heard
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The activity of the Holy Spirit and prayer; Factors that affect performance and outcomes || Q&A - Listening and speaking - a conversation
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Do we primarily depend on God’s advice or look to other people to tell us what we should do?; Getting the right advice rather than just good advice || Q&A - Learning to discern
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At the core of this resource we reflect on a series of people to whom God spoke decisively. Here are sixteen of God’s creative strategies, arranged chronologically. They illustrate God’s genius in making himself known to men and women and each example illustrates a different methodology
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When was the last time that God tried one of those sixteen creative strategies on you? || Q&A - It’s time to get serious about listening
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His messages usually fall into one of four categories || Q&A - If you were God, what would You do?
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Holding back on detail; A noble and generous heart, a childlike faith and the worrying thing about parables || Q&A - It’s all about……. timing
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Blockages to hearing and understanding; Compensating for our own limitations rather than taking God’s word at face value || Q&A - Inhibitions and limitations
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Recording your past experience; Recording your future progress || Q&A - Thinking back and looking forward