How to listen to the voice of God

By Eduardo Lopez

In the early chapters of the Bible we read, “When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the
man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden.” (Genesis 3:8 NLT)

Every born-again believer wants to have the unique experience Adam and Eve enjoyed in the
garden of Eden with the Lord. Conversely, God wants the same for you and me.

Throughout the ages, men and women, whose preeminent person in their lives is the Lord Jesus
Christ, have been surprised with a depth of fellowship and comfort only God can provide.

So that we would not be confused by strange or conflicting voices, the Holy Spirit wrote the
Bible. It’s the source of God’s Word, truth, and wisdom.

Through it, God can give you direction to make the most crucial decisions for your life.

His utterances are found within the pages of the Scriptures. They are as fresh today as this
morning newspaper and as significant as the opinion of your best friend.

We accomplish such a 2-way communication through meditation.

What is meditation?

Meditation is a constant review of the deepest thoughts of your heart.

It’s an intimate pondering of your most cherished desires.

It’s the thinking you do when you are alone.

Whatever has captured your attention will be the object of your reflection.

In essence you chew and ruminate on that recurring thought, idea, or project. That is what
meditation is all about.

What do the Scriptures say?

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)

“I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked…” (Ecclesiastes 3:17)

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“In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: “Where is that chief officer? Where is the
one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?” (Isaiah 33:18 NIV)

“The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” (Psalm 53:1)

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7)

Why meditate on the Scriptures?

Isaiah 55:8 declares:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

Therefore, a genuinely born-again believer must feed his mind and heart with the written
thoughts of God to transform his soul and adopt God’s thought patterns.

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of
my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16 ESV)

Peter urges us to persuade and communicate the thoughts of God to others:

“If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.” (1 Peter 4:11)

Such practice is possible only if we continually fill our minds memorizing and our hearts
meditating on the Scriptures as you will see below.

Paul asks all believers to engage in and develop the following discipline:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
(Colossians 3:16)

The Lord Jesus boldly asserted to the unbelieving Jews: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me:” (John 10:27)

In John 15:4 and 7, the NLT version translates the Words of Jesus asking you and me:

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from
the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

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“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and
it will be granted!”

Apart from Jesus, we will shrivel up and die. But apart from his Word, we starve ourselves to
death. The consequences of such neglect are that before we die, we will lead fruitless lives.

In other words, God’s purpose for our lives will remain a mystery. Then, the eternal rewards
Jesus had for us will never materialize. However, they will be given to others.

What are God’s promises and rewards to those who meditate on His word?

Early in the Bible, right after the books of the law, we find God giving Joshua precise
instructions on how to become a great and successful general:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will
make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success.” (Joshua 1:8 NASB)

As a young man, David learned to memorize and meditate on the available written Word of
God. He begins the Psalms with these words as written in the NIV:

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners
take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who
meditates on his law day and night.
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That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and
whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”

Later in the Psalms he gives testimony of how God brought these truths to pass:

“97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
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I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more
understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.” (Psalm 119:97-100 NIV)

what price would you pay to have an edge on your enemies, to outsmart your teachers and to
have more insight than experienced leaders older than you?

That is how God rewarded David. He learned to love and delight in the available written
revelation of God. All he had was the Law of Moses.

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David never asked or dreamed God would give him a smart son, much less the wisest, most
intelligent, and prosperous king ever.

Concerning his legacy and purpose in life, the Lord memorialized and summarized his life in the
following verse:

“But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have
found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’”
(Acts 13:22 NLT)

Here’s the method to get started

Among the many ways we have to understand the Scriptures, there’s one that it’s easily
available. That is, looking up a verse written in the original language.

Strong’s Concordance gives us the Hebrew and the Greek. The easiest place to research is:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/

There are two original Greek words that we need to differentiate but that are translated the same
in English.

¨ Logos: It refers to the entire Word of God.

For example, here are two verses on how God’s Holy Spirit makes the distinction:

Logos as in John 1:1:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Rhema as in Luke 1:38:

“Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”
And the angel departed from her.”

As you will discover, God’s Word is the fountain of living water and a well so deep that no one
has ever reached its bottom. It’s nothing short of an ocean loaded with the richest treasures.

To get started, we are going to focus on two sections of the Bible. They are a tiny portion of the
entire Book. However, they are so rich that you can draw insights from them for the rest of
your life.

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The Psalms are a unique way to listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice. He will speak to you directly as
a father guides his son or daughter. At times, He will respond to your questions and comfort
you.

The Psalms are the thoughts of God. Here’s one example:

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

That verse is a direct quotation from Psalm 22:1. What Jesus thought and experienced was
already recorded 700 years before the event.

Here’s a proven plan used by many throughout the years with great success. It’s a three-step
process to discover a Word from God (Rhema) applicable to you and your circumstances:

1. Start with the Psalm that has today's date, and then add 30 till you read five psalms. For
example, if today is the 20th of the month, you would read Psalms 20, 50, 80, 110, and
140. On the 31st of the month, read Psalm 119 (because it’s long).
2. Have pen and paper ready. When the words leap out of the page, stop! Read those
words over and over. God is speaking to you. Make a note of those verses.
3. Memorize and meditate upon those Words.
a. Ask the Lord how He wants you to apply that Word to your life. Is there a new
goal, objective, or change of plans to achieve your life-purpose?
b. Ask Him what He wants to change in your life. Is there guilt, unforgiveness, a bad
habit, or negative attitude to correct? Does He want you to adopt a new quality
to mature your character? (Like humility, generosity, kindness, or self-control)
c. Ask God for confirmation with another verse for a specific decision. If the Lord
wants you to go in a particular direction, He will give you a 2nd Word to
corroborate and validate the 1st one.

Such is the path and how you may hear the voice of God. Once you receive or discover a
“Rhema,” read it out loud!

You may also do the same with the book of Proverbs. There are 31 chapters, one for each day
of the month.

The Psalms help develop your vertical fellowship with God. The Proverbs teach you how to
deal horizontally with your neighbor.

Focus and concentrate like a laser beam

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If you are in a desperate need for an answer from the Lord, take half to a full day of fasting,
prayer, and crying out to God. Decide to skip one, two, or three meals. Only drink water.

Follow the three-step process and wait on the Holy Spirit to lead and illuminate you with His
Word.

Great men and women of God follow this method 1st thing in the morning.

In the evening, you should read other books of the Bible, always having a spiritual magnifying
glass, so you don't miss God's voice.

Others use the concentrated method to meet alone with God once, twice, or three times a
year.

It's like a sabbatical to re-calibrate, re-order, and re-prioritize your life. Making such an effort
can save you years of fruitless labor and untold frustrations.

Here’s another resource to seek the Lord daily:

It's short, full of wisdom, and encouragement. It will teach you the ways of God daily.

It’s forty-nine lessons based on the Words of Jesus. They are broken down in one lesson per
week and seven emails corresponding one a day: www.dailysuccess.org

It also has a matching character quality to develop your character. For example, lesson one on
repentance corresponds to humility.

If you are diligent and study the command of Christ with its matching character quality, you will
blossom like a field of sunflower with lots of honey to sweeten your life and those around you.

How to read the Bible

John MacArthur’s advice is the best. Read what you can each day. For example, three to eight
chapters of the same book and repeat it for 30 days.

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After a month, you will own those chapters. You will be familiar with many of the verses gaining
valuable, applicable, and rich insights.

They will become part of your soul speaking to you profoundly. It will be time well spent if it
takes you three to four months to read the gospel of John.

If you prefer to read online, here are two sites:

To read the entire text in one or multiple version and languages, go to:
https://www.biblegateway.com/

To read one verse in multiple versions and to find related Scriptures, go to:
https://biblehub.com/

Both sites have additional helpful tools and tips.

One final tip of wisdom:

If you take the daily morning routine of seeking God's direction through the Psalms seriously,
you will discover things you need to apply to your life and obey the Lord.

As you have pen and paper ready, write down VOWS to the Lord.

These are promises you intend to keep, no matter what. It would be best if you also date them.

Such practice will cause you to grow in your spiritual walk. Vows will serve you as guardrails
against drifting temptations. More importantly, they will help please your Father in heaven.

May the Lord fill you with His Spirit, grant you His grace, and give you His wisdom for daily
life!

Tips of wisdom