Recognizing When God Speaks

Recognizing When God Speaks

By Eric Allen

 I’ve been sharing my thoughts on Mark Batterson’s book Whisper – How to Hear the Voice of God and it has been as inspiring this time as it was the first time I read it.  I can’t think of a subject more crucial than hearing and recognizing when God speaks to us.  For me, that first came when I felt the pull to become a follower of Christ.  I recognized my need for a Savior because of my sin, was overcome by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, His burial, and the life I gained through His resurrection.  I willingly surrendered my life to Him and can’t imagine life without knowing Him.  Now, I’m always looking and listening for His voice to lead me, direct me, correct me, and so much more.  Let me be clear, I’ve never heard God speak audibly, and I honestly don’t know if my heart could handle it.  What I do recognize is when He speaks through His scripture, a song, or even a prompting of some fashion.  It is this form of speaking that we will begin to look at in this article.

In the book, Mark refers to this form of speaking as (appropriately) languages and talks about seven different ones.  We will look at the first one which is Scripture.  He refers to a branch of philosophy called Epistemology which is concerned with the nature of knowledge.  It asks, “How do we know that we know?” and whether we consciously construct it or not we all have an epistemological starting point by which we survey all of life.  It establishes our moral baseline, differentiating between right and wrong.  For some it fluctuates as much as the latest fad,  for others, it’s as fixed as the scientific method.  Mark states, “For me, it’s as tried and true as the Bible.  The Bible is not just my starting point; it’s the final authority when it comes to matters of faith and doctrine.  I believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God-Truth with a capital T.”  I would add that the foundation of the Bible is Jesus.  Because of Jesus, and specifically His resurrection, we can trust what the Bible says (more on that later).

There is way more to the Bible than meets the eye (or ear).  When reading and approaching this sacred text there are a few things we need to understand.  First, Scripture is broken up into two covenants, let’s call them contractual agreements.  One covenant was specifically with everyone before Jesus’ resurrection and the second with everyone after.  This point alone is worth further investigation that I challenge you to do as it is an eye opener.  Second, it was written during a specific time in history that was very different than our own.  We tend to see the Bible through 21st century, western-cultured eyes which consequently causes us to misinterpret stories and events that have significant meaning.  Again, I challenge you to dig deeper into the language and culture of the text you’re reading.  It will take extra effort, but I promise will be enlightening.  Third, the Bible is “living and active.”  Mark says, “We don’t just read the Bible, the Bible reads us.  The Spirit who inspired the ancient writers as they wrote is the same Spirit who inspires modern-day readers as they read.”  For example, let’s say ten completely different people read or hear the same Scripture at the same time, chances are they would get ten different messages from the text.  I can’t explain how but the Scripture has a way of speaking to each person right where they are, where their need is, where their question is, whatever the situation may be.  It reads us, which is kind of scary but cool.  Fourth, Mark states that “we never get to the bottom of it.  According to Rabbinic tradition, every word of Scripture has seventy faces and six hundred thousand meanings.  In other words, it’s kaleidoscopic.  No matter how many times we read the Bible, it never gets old, because it’s timeless and timely.”

The Bible is more than just a book of letters or recorded history.  It is a collection of stories of God speaking to and through people all throughout history and it’s my approach to the Scripture today.  I read the Bible with an open heart, open ears, and though I’m reading words written many years ago I’m listening for a fresh word from God specifically for me and the situation I might find myself in.  For example, I recently found myself concerned about a situation I had been praying about for quite a long time regarding God opening a specific door for me.  I had a couple of opportunities that I thought were the answer to that prayer but did not work out sending me spiraling into discouragement.  One thing I’ve learned over the years though, is no matter how you’re feeling you do what’s right even if it doesn’t feel right and eventually the feelings will return.  So all I knew to do was continue to pray, continue to get into God’s Word regardless of how I was feeling.  As I was scrolling through social media someone posted a scripture that everyone in the world saw but sure seemed like it was just for me.  It read, “At the right time, I the Lord, will make it happen.” Isaiah 60:22.  I know that Scripture was spoken to a specific group of people in a specific context, but it was as if God was speaking it to me and it couldn’t have been more timely.  When we read the Scripture, it should be like having a conversation with a loving Father.  He’s listening to us as we pray and we’re listening to Him as He speaks to us.  He has a way of giving the perfect word at just the right time. 

In the book Mark talks about an ancient Benedictive practice called Lectio Divina used as one way to discern the voice of God.  It involves four steps or stages to approaching the Scripture: reading, meditating, praying, and contemplating.  Reading is the first stage, but it is only the beginning and unfortunately where most people stop.  Second, we meditate by dissecting what we read peeling back the layers and looking at the time it was written and the people it was written to.  The third step is prayer.  Prayer is savoring the Word; it’s communicating what you read and what resonated with you back to God.  I believe He loves the back and forth, He loves the questions, and this is when discipline turns into desire.  The fourth step is contemplating the Word.  This is when we digest what we read, and the message of the Word goes from our head to our heart.  There is one more piece to the puzzle though.  Mark says,” You can’t just read the Word, meditate on it, pray through it, and contemplate it.  You have to do it.  Until you obey it, you’ve simply been educated beyond the level of your obedience.”  As stated before, the goal isn’t for us to get into the Word, the goal is for the Word to get into us, and I will add to get through us by acts of obedience.  When we feel prompted by the Word to be generous, we should be generous.  When we feel prompted by the Word to forgive, we should freely extend forgiveness.  When we feel prompted to speak a kind word, we should let it fly!  Mark said, “The surest way to get into the presence of God is to get into the Word of God.” And I’ll add if we really want to experience God like never before, obey the words He gives you.  Obedience is the doorway to really knowing the heart of God.