I will listen to what God the Lord will say. (Psalm 85:8, NIV)
It’s time for spring cleaning, right?
Recently as I was cleaning up my office and going through old journals, I came across a quote from one of my favorite Bible teachers, Billye Brim. One sentence seemed to jump off my journal’s pages. Billye said, “There’s an ‘ear’ in the middle of your heart.”
That’s good, isn’t it?
As Christians we need to hear with more than just our ears–we also need to hear with our hearts–and that’s not always easy to do.
Especially in the midst of life’s craziness. Because in order to hear with your heart, you have to purposely seek God and His voice. And, you have to consciously block out all other voices in order to tune into your Heavenly Father and make that heart connection.
He has all the answers. He knows the future. He has all the wisdom you’ll ever need. He may even have an assignment for you on a particular day! So, tune out the world and tune into Him. And, don’t just listen with your ears, listen with the “ear” in your heart. That’s where you’ll hear that still small voice.
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Jesus says in the Scriptures: “My sheep know my voice.” (John 10:27) Well, if we’re born again, we’re His sheep. So, we should know His voice. And, here’s the best part. Once you start spending more time in the Word and taking time to pray every day, you’ll begin to hear His voice all throughout the day.
No, He won’t sound like Charlton Heston or Morgan Freeman, but your heart will know His voice when He is speaking to you. And, you’ll get better at identifying His voice as you listen and obey.
I remember when I was first learning to hear from God, I’d always think, “Now was that God, or was that just me thinking that thought?”
During that season of second-guessing the “ear” in my heart, I suddenly had a craving for a Diet Coke with lime, so I pulled into our local Sonic in Lake Worth, Texas. As the waitress skated over to me, I thought I heard the Lord speak to my heart concerning this young woman.
Give her a $20 tip and tell her that I told you to give it to her because I heard her prayer.
I thought, “Lord, I’m not going to say that. She’ll think I’m nuts!”
My heart was pounding so hard that I was sure she could hear it. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity of hearing God and obeying, but I kept thinking, “What if this is just me and not God?”
She took my order and skated away while I sat in my SUV, wondering what to do. Feeling so nervous, I called my Mom and told her what I thought God had spoken to my heart and then I said, “But Mom, what if God didn’t tell me to do this and I just thought this up on my own, and then I say it, and she thinks I’m crazy?”
My wise and wonderful Mother said something I’ll never forget.
“Honey,” she said, “Either way you get to be a blessing, so just be one.”
Somehow, that took all of the pressure off and when that young woman handed me my Route 44 Diet Coke with lime, I said “thank you,” handed her what I owed her, and then I gave her a $20 bill.
“Let me get you some change,” she said.
“No, it’s all for you,” I answered. “God wanted you to have it. He said that He’d heard your prayer.”
She looked at me like a cow looks at a new gate, and then she said, “I can’t believe it…I didn’t have enough gas to drive home tonight, and I prayed that God would give me enough to fill up my tank…that’ll do it.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and rejoiced with her. You’d have thought somebody had just given me $20 I was so happy! I realized that afternoon that I had actually heard from God and been brave enough to do what He had asked me to do.
Walking with God is fun, isn’t it?
Hearing from your Heavenly Father is such a blessing, so if you haven’t been using the “ear” in your heart to hear from Him, why not start today?
I’d love for you to share some instances when you’ve heard from the Father. Please share below! Your testimonies are encouraging to us all.
