How do you hear the voice of God?
I TRUST NO ONE WHO TELLS ME GOD TOLD THEM SOMETHING. Am I not spiritual enough?
I have never seen evidence that anyone is hearing God say new things in our day and age. So, I stick with the Bible.
I like Pat Roberston. I think he is a good Christian who is responsible for good works all around the globe and the spread of the gospel to millions. I love him. However, he hears God tell him things, special words of knowledge. For example, he said this last year:
"I go away at the end of each year to pray, and if I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms. I think we're going to see some really serious storms. And this warning from the storm center, one of the experts in Miami is just one of them. They're talking about storms up the East Coast, and there is a very real possibility of a tsunami or serious flooding and storming in the West Coast, as well. I am sure those in New Orleans are praying that such a thing has happened to them won't happen again. But one more hard hit without those levees being set up, and New Orleans may be part of history."
Now don't we look stupid? If Pat Roberston, who is a good Christian man who does much good, can be so wrong about hearing the voice of God, who can we trust?
God speaks through his Word, spoken by prophets and angels in the Old Testament, and by Jesus and His Apostles in the New. When two prophets show up in Jerusalem breathing fire and speaking from heaven, I'll believe them. Until then, my standard is 100% accuracy in all prophesies and all words from God. I've never seen that.
4 comments:
I have to say sometimes it would be nice to actually hear the "voice" of God speak specifically to my circumstances. However, in my experience God can be very quiet at times...and in those times as a family we have just taken small steps of faith, praying that God would open and close doors, and in the middle of feeling "scared to death" remembering how He has been faithful before and that His Word never fails. That is how we got to where we are - and I am humbled and amazed once again at HIS faithfulness.
Annette, what you describe is true faith-living. It is easier to wait for a feeling, declare it to be a word from God and go forward. It takes more faith to remember His goodness when you are not certain. It takes more faith to remember that he guides even when we can't see Him.
Furthermore, what is forgotten by most modern day "prophets" and prophesiers is that God's men paid a very high price for the special privelige of hearing God's voice. They were jailed, burned, sawn in two, crucified upside down, beaten, given messengers for Satan to torment them, etc. God has His way of keeping His messengers humble.
It is just too easy to assert that "God told me so and so," then to move forward, fail, and say, "Well, I guess I heard God wrong."
A life of faith moves on trust in Him. He does indeed lead us every moment, for the Bible tells us so! (Ephesians 2:10)
When the rubber meets the road, I'm sure we can all agree upon one fact; that man kind has always been presented with a choice either to trust God at his word or not too; however, I choose to trust him.
Yes, I too have put myself in compromising situations as well as predicaments over the years which brought me to my knees and to the point of questioning my own faith at one point or another. Due to my ignorance, I chose to do things which were contrary to Gods word, but if I've learned nothing else in my short time of living this is one of them, "there's a reaction for every action we take be it good or bad", yet God is still in control of the matters.
Gods word encourages us to trust him in all things and in all situations (Proverbs 3:5, 6) ESV; he has also provided us with the means and ability to do so found in his word in (Matthew 6:33) ESV.
If we devote ourselves to the basic principles of Gods word, he will provide us with everything else we have need of in his perfect timing not in ours. After all, that's why he's God and I’m not.
Now, let’s try something simple shall we? Take the time to read and meditate on those two scriptures; do you sense something within you confirming them? Who do you think it is talking to your heart now?
Henry, you have proven my point exactly. The Word of God, by the Spirit of God, feeds our souls, emotions, and minds. He speaks to us through His Word, by His Indwelling Spirit.
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