Tag: <span>communication</span>

How We Hear from God – Part 3

In the last post we discussed the fact that God tells us to listen to Jesus. God said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:5) We listen to Jesus today by reading His Word, the Bible, and heeding what He says. We also listen to Jesus through His Holy Spirit whom He sent to live within us.

When Jesus dictated the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. He closed each letter with the words: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22)

We long to hear a word from God, but to what end? A few, I suppose, are looking for a sensational “God” experience in which they hear an audible voice. Perhaps many more of us are simply desperate to know God’s will in a situation and we want to hear from Him before we take the next step. We don’t long for an audible voice, but expect more of a strong impression or prompting from the Holy Spirit—but how?

There’s much more to communication and hearing from God than a voice or a prompting. For when it comes to communication, it all goes back to relationships. Let me explain what I mean with the following illustration.

In John chapter 4, Jesus and His disciples were traveling through Samaria to return to Galilee. Jesus was tired from the journey and sat down by a well while His disciples went into town to buy food. A woman from the nearby town came to draw water and Jesus asked her for a drink. At this point, the conversation was stranger-to-stranger, and the woman even questioned why He, a Jew, would ask her, a Samaritan for a drink. For Jews did not associate with Samaritans.

At this level of relationship, it was a polite conversation between two strangers in a “chance” meeting. But Jesus moved the relationship up a notch when He told her that He has water to offer her that if she drinks, she will never thirst again. He now had her rapt attention and she wanted some of this water. Her interest has heightened both their relationship and their level of communication.

Then Jesus cranked the level of their relationship way up when He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” At this the woman opened up and responded, “I have no husband.” To which Jesus replied, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

Reading the narrative, it feels like she thought Jesus got a bit too personal here, but she was stunned by how He could possibly know these things about her. Perhaps in her discomfort with the personal way the conversation turned, she changed the subject and talked about the differing views on worship between the Jews and Samaritans. In that context she said, “I know that Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you—I am he.’” Hearing this, coupled with all that Jesus had said to now, she believed Him, left her water jar there and ran to town spreading the news everywhere, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” And we’re told that many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony.

This incident beautifully demonstrates various levels of relationship and communication. And we experience these different levels daily. For instance, you might go to the store and have a brief conversation with the cashier about the weather. You may not know each other’s names. You may never see each other again, but you experienced a friendly conversation with another human being.

At home, the doorbell rings and there’s a salesman on your porch telling you he can solve the problem with your dying lawn. He’s got your attention. You may be interested in hearing what he has to offer, but chances are, you’ll confine the conversation to the front porch. It’s still impersonal and fairly fact oriented. This is a business-like conversation.

Later that day, a good friend shows up at your door unexpectedly and asks if he/she can come in. They need to talk about an issue going on their life. You graciously invite them in and lead them into your living room or kitchen. You serve them a tasty beverage and sit down with them to hear what’s going on in their life. You empathize with them and are deeply concerned for them.

Of course, there are even deeper relationships than that one with your friend. Often, when my wife and I are in public, just a glance, a nod, or a squeeze of her hand communicates volumes. We are in tune with each other like this because of the intimacy of our relationship.

These examples, as well as the progression we saw with the woman at the well, represent various levels of relationship AND communication. If we truly want to hear from God, we must ask ourselves what level of relationship we are cultivating with Him, for that greatly determines the kind of communication we’ll receive.

We began this post talking about how we hear from Jesus through His Spirit. This is not something mysterious or mystical. Paul explained, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Romans 8:14-15)

In the same chapter, Paul describes being “led by the Spirit” as a lifestyle of living with the desire to please Him. By the Spirit we “put to death the misdeeds of the body.” (Romans 8:13) In this humble, yielded relationship to the Lord, He invites us to call Him “Abba” (Daddy). He offers us a very intimate level of relationship with Him. Within such a relationship, we’re attuned to His voice and His leading.

But instead of crying out to Him in this daddy-child relationship, we often approach Him formally and with social distance. Just listen to the way we pray to the Lord. Sometimes we treat Him more like the casual conversation with the cashier at the store or the salesman on the doorstep. We keep our relationship with him at arm’s length because we’re afraid of what He might demand of us if we let Him get closer. We dictate this standoffish relationship and wonder why we struggle to hear from Him.

We need to press into Him. Come to Him in complete trust as our Abba, Daddy. Abide in or remain in Jesus (John 15). “Walk by,” “live in,” and “keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5). “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (James 4:8) These are all expressions for the same intimate relationship with our Lord. And it’s within this intimacy that we hear from Him.

How We Hear from God – Part 2

by Rob Fischer ·

In the last blog post we looked at the fact that God is a personal God who seeks relationship with us. “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

We also recognize that without communication there can be no relationship. It also stands to reason that for any relationship to exist, communication must go both ways. God has communicated with mankind ever since creation. He has done so through many different means as Paul explains in Romans 1:18-20.

But many have refused to listen and have despised His offer of love, forgiveness, and eternal life in His presence. So, although they have communication from Him, they have rejected relationship with Him.

This brings us to our next point in how we hear from God. The writer of Hebrews begins that letter, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” (Hebrews 1:1-3)

In these last days God has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. In Matthew 17, when Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain on which Jesus was transfigured—or shone in all His glory—He met with Moses and Elijah who appeared with them there. Not knowing what else to say or do, Peter suggested he make shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

“While [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’” (Matthew 17:5) God speaks to us through Jesus. “Listen to Him!”

Many who don’t yet know the Lord, try to bypass Jesus. They’re okay with talking about God, but they stumble over Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah. However, the Lord makes it very clear, if you want a relationship with God, if you want to commune with Him, you must go through Jesus. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

And for us who know the Lord and trust Him, we too must remember that we communicate with God and hear from Him through Jesus. Jesus invites us to petition God the Father in Jesus’ name. This is not a formula or incantation, but the nature of our relationship. The Father still says, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

What does it mean for us to listen to Jesus today? First, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) Jesus’ words, God’s words are contained in the Bible, Old and New Testaments. His words are not merely sayings, or history, or good things to learn. God speaks to us through His Word.

“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) What I believe this is saying, and I have personally experienced, is that there are times when God speaks to us personally and specifically through His Word. In this respect, the Bible is like no other book.

Let me give you an example. When my wife and I returned from Austria where we had served as missionaries and helped establish two churches, I did not want to leave. My intent was to live, work, and die in Austria. Coming back to the States was not in my plan, but it was God’s plan. I just had a hard time accepting it, because to me, coming home after only six years spelled “failure.” I know that may seem harsh for some reading this, but those were the expectations of the day.

When we arrived back in the States, I floundered. My identity was so wrapped up in being a missionary in Austria that now I no longer knew who I was or what I was supposed to do. I agonized over this for two full years.

Then, one morning in my quiet time with the Lord, I was reading Acts 14. There it talks about Paul and Barnabas returning home after being sent out as missionaries. “They sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.” (Acts 14:26)

“For the work they had now completed.” That’s the phrase that got my attention. And in that moment, the Holy Spirit tenderly spoke to me, “Rob, you completed the work I had given you. You can accept that and rest in it. Trust Me.” God’s printed word was so very personal and powerful in my life that day!

The Lord speaks to us through His Word, but we must listen. Always go to the Word with the intent to meet with and hear from God.

We also listen to Jesus today through His Holy Spirit. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)

And in the same chapter, Jesus went on to explain, “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you.” (vs. 13-14)

We continue to listen to Jesus through His Holy Spirit whom He sent to dwell within us. And in an effort to keep these posts short, I’m going to stop here and pick up this theme in the next post. See you there!

How We Hear from God – Part 1

by Rob Fischer ·

Last week after I published the post, “Trusting God Despite the Facts,” a reader wrote and asked me how we had heard from God in that situation in the first place. What did we perceive and how did we know it was His voice?

I’m so glad she asked this question, for I too had wrestled with it for years. In fact, some reading this may be doubting or wondering if it’s even possible to hear from God personally.

I believe this is an important issue that warrants more than a single blog post, so I’m going to dedicate the next few posts to trying to answer the questions: “Is it possible to hear from God personally?” And, “If so, how do we hear from Him?”

To answer either question we must start with the premise that God is a personal God who desires relationship with us and has given us the faculties with which to have such a relationship with Him. The biblical record of God’s dealings with mankind demonstrate clearly that God constantly initiates and offers us relationship with Him.

This is not just true of certain individuals or of a particular people group but of all mankind. There are so many evidences of this in Scripture. Consider God’s call on Abraham. Abraham and his forefathers lived east of the Euphrates River and worshiped idols (Joshua 24:2). Yet, God graciously chose Abraham to start a new nation whose primary purpose was to represent God to the rest of the world.

God made a covenant with Abraham and with his descendants. God asked Abraham to trust Him. And he “believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6) But there’s so much more. God continued to initiate relationships with people—even those who were not Jews. He appeared to the Egyptian Hagar (Genesis 16); He healed Naaman, commander of the army of Aram (2 Kings 5); He spared the whole city of Nineveh when Jonah preached to them (Jonah 3); and there are many more examples.

When the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” “Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:36-39) Love is a relational emotion and affection. And the New Testament explains, “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

John also writes, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1) And, “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)

God, the Lord of the Universe, our Creator, loves us so very much! When we trust in Jesus and receive His forgiveness, Jesus reconciles us with the Father and makes us His children. This is so very relational. And I’m starting with the fact that God wants relationship with us because relationships are not possible without communication.

We don’t often think about that but it’s true. You cannot have a relationship with someone apart from some means of communicating with them. Helen Keller, who grew up both blind and deaf, spoke about this in her autobiography. Helen explained that her greatest challenge was not her blindness and deafness, but her inability to communicate with others. For without communication she had no means for relationship.

When Helen learned to communicate via sign language, she describes this communication as “the door through which she passed from darkness into light, from isolation to friendship, companionship, knowledge, and love.”

This point is vital, because if we agree that God wishes relationship with us, we must therefore acknowledge that He does so through communication with us. For without communication, relationship is not possible.

If you already know the Lord, you probably see why it’s so vital for us as His children to read His Word and pray. God’s Word and prayer are two primary means with which we communicate with God and He with us, but He uses other means as well.

Let me leave you with an incident from my life that ties directly to this topic and then I’ll continue next week. About 17 years ago I was living in Anchorage, Alaska. I was preparing a discipleship curriculum for a large church there to help people grow in their relationship with God. But it occurred to me that for any relationship to exist communication must be present.

However, I had never heard anyone say that before and I was racking my brain for a real-life example. For several days I had been seeking such an example. During this time, I went for a hike in the Chugach Mountains. While hiking, I asked the Lord to give me such an example. Immediately, the name Helen Keller came into my mind—but it was a prompting from the Holy Spirit.

Until then, I had never read anything by or about Helen Keller, nor had anyone mentioned her name to me in many years and never in this context. The Holy Spirit’s prompting was so strong, that I went to a used bookstore in Anchorage after my hike. They had several books there about or by Helen Keller, so I bought her autobiography. Imagine my surprise and joy when I discovered that she speaks directly to this very issue!

The Lord knew just what I needed and where to find it. And her story so powerfully supports what we’re talking about here. I urge you to read God’s Word and talk to Him in prayer daily. Cultivate your relationship with Him by communicating with Him. As you read His Word, always go there to meet with Him. And as you pray, be sure to spend time listening too. We’ll talk more about that later.

How We Hear from God

by Rob Fischer ·

Communication is essential to any relationship. No, let me say it even stronger: Without communication there is no relationship. I had not really thought about how crucial communication is to relationship before reading Helen Keller’s autobiography.

As an infant, Helen Keller lost all ability to hear or see due to an illness. It wasn’t until Anne Sullivan, a teacher for the blind and deaf, came into her life that Helen gained the ability to communicate. In her autobiography, Helen describes communication as “the door through which she should pass from darkness into light, from isolation to friendship, companionship, knowledge, and love.”

But without means of communication Helen experienced “neither sorrow nor regret, neither strong sentiment nor tenderness [love].” Yet, when she captured one simple word that opened the door for communication she exclaimed, “That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!”

When we first come to Christ and place our faith in Him, the Scriptures explain, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Romans 10:17) Our faith in Christ is only possible due to communication. “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

We heard God’s Word about Jesus—His love and offer of forgiveness. Someone communicated God’s message to us, and we responded, repenting of our sin and asking the Lord to save us. In this way, we came into relationship with God. This relationship cannot take place without communication.

But for many Christians, communication with God—speaking with Him and hearing from Him—becomes mysterious. Having forgotten how they came to believe in Christ, some no longer believe it’s possible to personally hear from God. Others grant the possibility, but don’t know how to hear from Him.

But if we accept the premise that without communication there can be no relationship, we recognize how crucial communication with God is to our relationship with Him. That being the case, and knowing that God Himself seeks relationship with us, we must conclude and believe that He wants to and does communicate with us personally.

When we think of communicating with God, two primary modes probably come to mind: God’s Word (the Bible) and prayer. I must confess that for many years, although I read God’s Word daily, I approached it more like an impersonal manual than a love letter. And I assumed that prayer was one-way communication and not very engaging. I don’t think I’m alone in treating God’s Word and prayer in this sterile way.

Today, I always try to go to God’s Word with the intent to meet with Him. I ask Him to speak with me personally through His Word and He does. With prayer, I’ve realized that prayer is meant to be two-way communication, but I was so busy talking that I never used to listen. Now, I spend a lot more time in prayer simply listening.

If that sounds weird or mystical, I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 2. In that chapter, Paul explains the role of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit “searches all things, even the deep things of God,” and reveals them to us. He gives us the “mind of Christ” that we may know how to speak and act in all situations. This is all communication and it’s highly personal.

Because the Holy Spirit inspired His Word, the Bible, we know that He will never contradict what He has already said. Knowing God’s Word, being steeped in it and letting it permeate every fiber of our being puts us in tune with God. Many Christians don’t hear from God simply because they never listen to Him—i.e., open His Word.

Another key way the Lord speaks to us personally is through other people. This is a primary reason it’s so important that we belong to a fellowship of Christ-followers. Paul explained to Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

In that passage, God’s Word provides the substance for the human actions of teaching, rebuking, correcting and training others in righteousness. God uses us as His mouthpiece in communicating with each other. This is both a great privilege and responsibility.

If you’d like to read more about hearing from God, I encourage you to read my book Enthralled with God—Cultivating a Joy-filled Relationship with Him. I’m running a free eBook promotion on Enthralled with God from May 5-9. Click here to get your free eBook!

Also, Jack Deere’s book Surprised by the Voice of God is a great book on this topic.

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