Ways God speaks to us

A few Mondays ago, I posted a blog about keeping our prayers short and learning to spend time quietly in God's presence. Learning to do this has been an uphill battle for someone like me. My mind is always spinning, spinning out of control, going through lists of things I need to accomplish and problems to solve. I'm easily distracted and can often think of more than one thing at a time. Sound like you too?

 

Never fear! It just takes discipline like everything in life. Whenever my mind drifts, I jerk it right back. Sometimes I sing or hum a praise song while I'm thinking of God's goodness. That seems to help. But I'm still working on it every day. Why? Because I truly want to hear from God.

 

Like anything, I believe hearing from God takes practice and discipline. It takes work. We must train our spiritual senses to discern things in the spiritual realm.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil Hebrews 5:12-14

So, how does God speak to us?  My bet is that God has been speaking to you for years and you simply haven't recognized Him.  In my experience, God speaks to us in four ways. 

• Gently guiding us / Revealing 
• Discerning/Perceiving
• Direct speech by Angels
• Direct speech by Holy Spirit

 Gentle Guiding. This is probably the most common.  And the one most people are completely unaware of
John 16:13  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Examples of guiding/revealing: 

• You're reading the Bible and a verse pops out at you, and oddly it applies to your situation perfectly.
• You hear a particular verse three times or more. On the radio, at a sermon, in a song, and/or in your personal reading
• A friend says something to you that matches something that you've had on your mind for awhile
• A series of unusual events occur which lead you down a certain path, or to a specific job.
• You just "happen" to run into someone you haven't seen in awhile and the meeting changes your life.
• You had a vision or a dream that showed you something important
• All of a sudden, you think about someone you haven't thought about in awhile.
• You have a burning desire in your heart to do something specific. In my case, it was write a novel about a Christian pirate!

  Here's some examples from Scripture

Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matt 16:17

 

There was a man in the temple in Jerusalem waiting for the Messiah
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ Luke 2:26

 

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.  Phill 3:15-16

Examples of discernment/perceiving

• The first time you knew in your heart that God was real, He loves you, and Jesus died for you.
• You've been on multiple job interviews but you just "know" you're going to get this particular one. You don't know how you know.. but the minute you walked into the company, you knew.
• You have a feeling inside that a friend is in need. She or he is always on your mind lately, so you call and find out they are having a hard day.
• You walk into a place and a heaviness comes upon you. You get a sick feeling in your gut, uncomfortable. The place is probably filled with demons and wickedness, though you may not see it on the outside
• You sense someone is lying to you
• You feel the presence of God, a sense of hope and love.
• You just "know" God has something important for you to do with your life. Or your "just know" something is about to happen.
• You make a descision and know inside it wasn't right. Or alternatively, you know inside that it was the right one

 All through the Gospels, we see Jesus 'perceiving' many different things through the power of the Holy Spirit. What people were thinking, feeling, what they held in high regard.  

But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’ Mark 2:8

 

But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” Luke 8:46

 

Well, you may say, that's Jesus. I'm just human. Certainly I can't perceive these things. Yet, Jesus told us we would do even greater works than He did when the Holy Spirit came upon us, didn't He? So why can't God grant you supernatural wisdom in certain situations when you ask Him?

  

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father John 14:12
 
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him James 1:5
 
So, do you still think you can't hear from God?  Can you think of other examples from your own experience of guiding/revealing/discerning and perceiving?
 
Tune in next week when I'll cover direct words from God!