How can I hear Gods voice and respond?

John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

It all starts with you.

Imagine you got a call from an unsaved number and it was some complete stranger, you would most likely ask who you were speaking to. If the same thing happened, where you got a call from an unsaved number but this time the person on the other line was your best friend, it wouldn’t take you long to know who exactly was on the phone.

I remember when I was younger, I would be in my bedroom and someone in my house would be coming up the stairs. Without me even having to see who it was, I would be able to tell exactly who was coming up those stairs. Over time I got to know the way each person in the house would walk up those stairs that I could tell who it was simply by listening.

See the thing about both of these scenarios is that getting to know who is coming up those stairs or knowing who is on the other side of the phone, speaks to how well we know the other person. But that just doesn’t happen magically. It takes time, energy and making it a priority. As we do this, we begin to create something called a relationship.

Over time I have found that building a relationship with God has been made into this complicated thing. Don’t get me wrong, it will take sacrifice but mostly it’s just creating good disciplines. Disciplines like readding the Bible which is the Word of God and seeking Him in prayer. These two disciplines create a space for us to get to know God. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that God knew us and set us apart before we were even born. So, this isn’t about God getting to know us, it’s about us getting to know him. It all starts with us.

Take for instance reading the Bible, we get to know God’s heart and character with the confidence that as we read it, it’s not just some old book but God literally speaking to us in that very moment. When we then spend time in prayer, and I am not talking about the kind of prayer we say before we eat a meal or the long shopping wishing list to read out to Him. But prayer which is time created to commune, talk, pause and listen to what He is saying back to us. Remember prayer is a conversation so it wouldn’t make sense to just talk to someone then get up and leave without them responding.

All this is towards building this relationship with Him and getting to know Him deeper.

The cool thing about all this is that the deeper the relationship, the greater the trust. That trust is what will bring obedience and bring us to action whenever we hear God’s voice. See God doesn’t waste a single word when He speaks, and those words require a response from us. When we trust in Him, we know that what He says will always come to pass so our response becomes rooted in His faithfulness.

So, what is your take, our take from all this as we look to Watch the Space? We have to prioritise building our relationship with God that we can get to know Him, His voice and His character so that we can be the sheep that hear His voice and obey His words.