In times passed, we read that the Father spoke to men and nations through His appointed prophets (Hebrews 1:1-2), but we entered into a new dispensation at the resurrection of Jesus. For the born again, new testament believer, the Father talks to us primarily through the Holy Spirit. He may at some point use symbols, nature, people – but predominantly, He will use the One who lives in us perpetually. Consider what Jesus said about the 3rd person of the God-head, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come (John 16:12-15). This is how we come to a place of ‘just knowing’ something we have no physical evidence for, it is the Holy Spirit who searches all things and the very deep things of God who has revealed them to us without leaving a trail (1 Corinthians 2:10). But many of us have missed Him because we expect Him to only come through spectacular demonstrations.
The Father taught Prophet Elijah of the delicacy of His presence when the prophet sought the voice of God in a crisis. We read, “And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13). Elijah sought the Lord and He came down, and just like us – he assumed it would be the grand displays of majesty that would carry the voice of God, but no. The passage tells us that after the grand displays came the sounds of a low whisper, and when the prophet heard the whisper, he immediately wrapped his head in reverence and went out to meet the LORD. But how many of us today wait for the spectacular displays of power and convince ourselves of His presence by these demonstrations? How many of us believe we have seen God because we have seen power? How many of us wait for the end of the preludes that announce His coming until He actually comes, often in that small, delicate voice that only you hear? Does it satisfy us, or is it not enough?
Consider what happened when the Father manifested himself to Jesus when He was troubled, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him. In response, Jesus said, “This voice was not for My benefit, but yours..” (John 12:27-30). Jesus said the voice of God was physically manifested, not for His own benefit but for the benefit of those He was with. Spectacular displays of presence was not their usual mode of communication, the Lord suggesting that the display was not for Him indicates that He had His own means of communication that they would not pick up on because it was likely not in the realm of the human senses and could not be perceived by human wisdom.
The same that was spoken by Jesus about the function of the Holy Spirit is true for each and every person who has been born again. This means that the same word of prophecy that one may receive from the Lord’s appointed prophets today can be the same that is shared by the Holy Spirit to the very believer himself. Let us consider the example of Apostle Paul – “While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles” (Acts 21:10-14). Because of this revelation, many then warned Paul against this travel but he quickly quieted them and assured them that he was ready for all that was coming. We then see that earlier, when he was leaving Ephesus, the Holy Spirit had actually alerted him of the turmoil awaiting him in cities following. We read, “And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me… And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again” (Acts 20:22-25). The apostle already knew! And this is how it should be with born again believers as well. The Spirit of God inside of us should be our primary source of the counsel and voice of God!
In closing, it is very possible that one of the main reasons believers struggle to hear the voice of God in their everyday lives is due to the busyness of the soul. We are in constant haste, and because of the many bits of information we consume, picking out the voice of God has become difficult, and we have taught ourselves against waiting in His presence. It is in this waiting that we get to know Him, know how He speaks specifically to us, familiarise ourselves with His voice and with the texture of His person. Remember what the Father said, “ “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). This is our reality! Let us put it into practice!
Prayer
Father, we thank You for the gift of your voice through the Holy Spirit. We thank You for the access to You that we received when He came to live in us, making us One Spirit with You. Thank You for teaching us, showing us and guiding us, You are a good Father! In the name of Jesus, Amen!
