“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.” Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJ
Every day we see and hear advertisements from companies trying to convince us to buy their products or use their services. Each company spends a lot of time and money trying to persuade us that they have the answers to everything we could possibly need in life. From the perfect mattress to the perfect workout program, to the best attorney; we are bombarded with conflicting messages from different companies, all trying to get our attention so we will buy into their advertisement campaigns. For most of us we have become so accustomed to these advertisements that we block them out when they flash before our eyes. We look away from the billboard or we change the channel on the television in order to avoid them. We don’t want to see or hear what they have to say.
Do you realize that without even knowing it many of us do the exact same thing to God when He is trying to speak to us or show us something important? We cry out to God for answers but sometimes when He tries to give it to us we turn away and ignore His message of rescue. It reminds me of the fictional story where the man was stranded on his roof during a flood and he prayed for God to rescue him. Within a few minutes a boat came by and offered him a ride. He said no because God was going to rescue him. Then a helicopter came by and offered him a ride. Again he said no. When the flood waters covered his house he drowned. When he got to Heaven and met God he asked God why He didn’t save him. And to that God replied, “Son, I sent a boat and a helicopter to rescue you, but you didn’t want their help.”
While it is perfectly fine to tune out the advertisements from companies trying to sell us something, it is detrimental to tune out God’s voice when He is trying to speak to us. He promises to answer our prayers and to give us wisdom and understanding for life’s challenges, but we have to be willing to incline our ear to hear His voice. He promises to rescue us and to deliver us from all our fears, but we have to be open to accepting His form of rescue. Many times we want a miraculous sign or we want a burning bush experience like Moses had, but sometimes God speaks in a whisper, like He did with Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-13.
So how does God speak to us and how do we know we are hearing the voice of God and not being deceived by the enemy or our own reasoning? Let me answer the second question first. Years ago I learned how to discern the voice of God. I saw a show where they explained the way the FBI identifies counterfeit money. They said the agents only study the authentic money. They do not focus on trying to figure out what bills are counterfeit. They get to know the authentic bills so well that when a counterfeit bill comes across their desk, they instantly know it is not real.
The same is true in discerning whether you are hearing God’s voice or a counterfeit voice. The more you focus and spend time in the Word, in prayer, and in worship the more familiar you will become with knowing the authentic voice of God. If your time is spent focused on worldly things then when God is speaking, you will question whether it really is God’s voice that you are hearing. In James 1:2-6 we are reminded that we will face trials where we need to seek God for wisdom. We are also reminded that the man who does not ask in faith without doubting, is a double minded man unstable in all his ways. Where does that kind of bold faith come from? Romans 10:17 gives us the answer. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Again it is a reminder that the authentic voice of God is found in His Word and through His spoken Word.
God speaks to us through His Word and the man who meditates on it day and night is like a tree planted by rivers of water, which yields its fruit in season, Psalm 1. He speaks through the indwelling Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16. He speaks through his people, Ephesians 4:11-16. He speaks through worship, Psalm 95:1-7. I want to encourage you to spend time with God so that you will be able to know and discern His voice and so you will be in tune to the ways He is speaking to you. This will ensure that you will not be inclined to block out the messages God is trying to speak to you, but rather, you will be inclined to hearing His voice and you will have a confident assurance that He is answering you.
Prayer: I believe by faith that You are speaking to me. I believe by faith that as I meditate on Your Word I will be inclined to hearing Your voice. I choose to focus my attention on You so I am not distracted by the enemy’s voice, the world’s voice, or my own voice of reason. I believe by faith that as I focus on You, Your voice will become clear and I will know what You are saying to me. Then I will listen and follow Your instructions that lead to a life of peace, joy, and abundance. Amen
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