God or Genie in a Bottle?

                   Do you really want to hear from God? The name Christian means ‘Christ follower.’ How can we follow if we can’t hear Him? The Bible says the sheep know the shepherd’s voice. If we are the sheep, how do we learn to recognize His voice? The short answer is we spend time with Him, listening, obeying and following and then we will grow to recognize His voice. Simple? Not so much.

         There is no formula that says ‘Do this and you will hear from God.’ God is not a genie in a bottle, where we rub the magic lamp and He speaks. He wants us to know Him and have a relationship with Him, more than He wants to answer us.

         However, there are some principles from the Bible that can help us prepare to hear God. Again, this is not a guaranteed formula. These are suggestions to approach our time with Him in the right mindset.

1.    Get alone. The Bible says Jesus went away from the crowds to hear God. We can never go wrong following Jesus’ example. As important as it is to worship God at church, and meet with other believers in group Bible study, it is equally important to spend time alone with the Lord.

2.    Get still. Not only do we need to stop moving, we need to still our minds. It is hard to hear God if I am checking my Twitter feed, planning my grocery list, and deciding what to wear to work.

3.    Get in God’s Word. The majority of what God wants to communicate to us is in the book He has  written to us. To hear God we must read His Word everyday. Pastor Rick Warren says, “We need to stop listening for a voice, and start looking for a verse.” God speaks through the Bible.

4.    Get specific. I used to bring God a list of prayer requests to answer. It is better to seek God for one thing at a time, ask a specific question, and wait for a specific answer. Then move to the next thing.

5.    Get trusting. In order to hear God speak, we have to believe He does speak to people. We have to believe He spoke to people in the Bible and He continues to speak to His followers today.

6.    Get rid of sin. Sin blocks us from hearing God. If we are doing something we know God doesn’t want us to do, the only thing the Holy Spirit will say is stop sinning, ask for forgiveness and follow the lifestyle He desires for us. Do we need to stop watching something, stop listening to something, stop going somewhere or being with someone that is not a godly influence on us? Are we forgiving people like He says? Are we loving people like he says? Are we spending our money and tithing like He says? He won’t say anything new to us, until we do what He has already said.

7.    Get ready to say yes.  When we ask God for guidance for a decision, we must decide in advance that our answer will be yes. He won’t answer us, if we are only looking for His opinion. We can’t hear from Him and then say ‘Well, I will think about that and get back to you.” He spoke to Noah, Moses, Paul and Mary because He knew they would say yes. We need to come to Him with open hands and say, “Whatever it is, Lord, whatever you want me to do, I will do it.”

         I hope these seven G’s help get you started learning how to hear God. We don’t want a one-way relationship, where we talk to Him, but we never listen to what He has to say to us.

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

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         If you have any other ways that you prepare yourself to listen to God, we would love to hear them. Please share them in the comments below. Thanks!

(This is Day 10 of 31 Days of Hearing God, part of the writing challenge at write31days.com.   If you would like to read more on this topic, click here. )