A Christian’s Hearing Aids

When you become a Christian, God does something to your ear, not physically, but spiritually. He opens it up to hear the voice of God. Have you ever wondered if the voice your heard was God, Satan, or just you?

God has given you eight hearing aids to help you hear the voice of God:

1. The Word of God—Scripture

Scripture, the Bible. God primarily speaks to you through His Word. You can always hear God’s voice when you have an open Bible. This Book is Alive. Most of God’s will for your life is found between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22. Even if there is not a direct command concerning a certain subject, the principles of God’s Word apply to any and every situation. Every day with an open Bible, stop before you read it and say,

“Holy Spirit with an Open Bible, I am asking you to speak to me.”

“I want to hear Your voice.”

“Make these Scriptures come alive in my life.”

“Give me Your light to understand it and apply it specifically to my life.”

2. The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the voice of God in your life.

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

John 14:26

When you are filled with, controlled by the Holy Spirit, you are tuned into God. The Holy Spirit lets you know when something is right or wrong, from God or from Satan. A check in your spirit if it’s not right, or a hesitancy, a sense of, “This is just not right”

He gives you a green light feeling if it’s God’s will. He convicts you if something is wrong in your life. God uses the Holy Spirit to pint out our spiritual problems.

3. People

God speaks, sometimes, through people. God will send people your way. Maybe God has prompted someone to pray for you. He just got their attention, tapped them on the shoulder and said, “Pray.”

God may have placed something on someone’s heart concerning you. It may be a pastor, a friend, a family member, or even a stranger. Be discerning. Take it to God. Bring it before Him to check it out.

4. Circumstances

God speaks through open and closed doors. He sometimes uses circumstances to redirect your path—you were headed in one direction but had to make a change. It may be what looks like a detour, yet God is using that to speak to you. It may be that you made some plans, yet those plans fell through. Before you get too frustrated it may have been God. Maybe God prevented you from going somewhere. It may be a text, call, email, letter, or even silence from someone. It may be a book you read or an unexpected financial blessing.

Perhaps He is speaking through something that looks negative from our perspective. It may be a physical problem. A hospital visit. A financial setback.

I’m speaking of those “Wake-Up—Calls” God can use to get our attention.

5. Fasting

God often speaks when we go without food in order to more intensely seek God. Fasting brings a nearness to God that is greater than any other atmosphere we can experience. We become more sensitive to the Voice of God.

6.Things

God can even speak through things, even inanimate objects. In Scripture God spoke through the stars, the wind, a flood, a big fish, a shipwreck, a catch of fish, a Juniper Tree, a fiery furnace, dry bones, a potter’s wheel, a speaking donkey, manna from heaven, a divided sea, a rock, a fleece, fire, dreams, visions, angels, among other things.

7. Prayer

God speaks to us through prayer. We have to understand that prayer is not just talking to God, it is listening to God. This involves a daily Quiet Time, but also as you pray arrow prayers through the day.

Speak to God and then listen.

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3

8. Meditation

Meditation is emptying your mind of everything not of God and filling your mind with the Word of God. It is thinking about God, thinking about a particular verse of or passage of Scripture.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8

One man shared:

I listen to my local radio station while I’m driving in my car. When I drove away from the radio tower, the signal gets weaker and weaker. But if I turn the car around and drive back into town, the signal becomes stronger, and I can hear it again.

In the same way, we stop hearing God when we drift away from Him. But if we will turn around and come back to Him, we’ll hear His voice again. The closer we are to God, the clearer we can hear Him. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

I was a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas. The year was 1981 and on September 28 our son Will was born prematurely. It was touch and go as he fought for his life. His lungs had not fully developed. Angie had not seen her baby since they rushed him to the neonatal ICU. He was one sick little boy.

Angie, the determined mommy, demanded to see her son. They couldn’t move him, but they wheeled Angie into the unit to let her see her baby boy. He was not responding to anyone. However, the most amazing thing happened. When Angie called out his name, he turned his head all the way around responding to her voice. He knew the voice of his mother.

When you know Jesus and you are in the center of His will, you will hear His voice, that voice is so distinctive. God is speaking, that is a fact.

The issue is, are we listening?