How can I hear from God? God doesn’t seem to be saying or doing anything. If only God would tell me something, I would know what to do. I keep trying everything I can and God is silent.
These are just a few of the many phrases and questions that come up every day for a lot of us, believer and nonbeliever. I think we get so caught up in our culture with so much information flying around the second we request it, that we oftentimes forget that God has already given us the primary way He will speak to us. He wrote a book.
As soon as I say “The Bible,” you might be tempted to think “oh ok, yea yea yea I know the Bible is good, move on,” but what you’re forgetting or passing right over is the fact that…we have The Bible! If this book is the very Word of God (which it is) and is absolutely perfect (which it is) and is living, active, and contains every single thing we will ever need as a follower of Christ (which it does), then maybe…just maybe we should give it a little bit of attention?
I Just Don’t Have The Time
We often get stuck in a rut with responsibilities and things seem to be going a million miles an hour, but most of the time that is because our priorities are out of whack and we put ourselves in that position. I’m a checklist kind of a guy so I’ve been guilty of this way too many times in order to “get my things done.” I sacrifice things like reading the Bible because I just figure I’ll get to it later, but I’m failing to spend time with God and really believe that I can hear from him every time I read the Bible.
When we say we don’t have time to read the Bible, we are saying God is not first in our lives.
There are rough seasons we can go through, but honestly, no matter the season or circumstance, we must prioritize and make spending time with God a priority in our lives. Otherwise, we are proclaiming that we don’t really care or really want to spend time with God. We will make time for the things that are most important to us.
I’m Not Really A Reader
I would assume that wherever your interests are, you do some reading in regards to that. I’m not talking about someone who can’t read (luckily there are many tools including audio out there for books), but I’m talking about the person who claims that they are not a reader, yet for example, read the sports page and can memorize stats like crazy!
Even if you’re not into sports, chances are, you read all throughout the day if you really think about it. On top of that, God wouldn’t give us His Word, through a book, and not equip us to read it, understand it, memorize it, and enjoy it. He gives us everything we need for the Bible.
This video from John Piper and Desiring God hits the nail right on the head in regards to the Bible. The fact that we have the Bible should blow us away and at the very root, the reason we don’t read the Bible is because we don’t want to read the Bible.
[vimeo id=”130148742″]
This Book Is How You Hear From God
The Bible is how we can hear from God every single day. We just have to believe this, open it up, and read. Pray for God to give you the desire to get in His Word each day and that you would be transformed by The Bible.
Resources and additional things in our lives to help us follow Jesus are fantastic and there’s nothing wrong with any of those, but let’s not let those substitute the Bible, which is the only perfect thing we have.
Start reading one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) or start with a New Testament book like James to help get you started. Either way, return to your First Love, who is Christ, by beginning again to read the Bible every day and hear from The Lord.
Questions: Do you believe you can hear from God every day through the Bible? Is reading the Bible a struggle for you? Please comment below and join the discussion.
Here are other Frequently Asked Questions and how the Bible answers them.
I recently moved out of my boyfriends home with my daughter but I am finding it extrely difficult to sleep at night because I think over and over again about my decision to obey Christ. I don’t want to be a single mom and not harm my daughter but I know I am trying to obey God. How can I be at peace about my decision ? I’m scared my Relationship is over
Hey Yvone, first off, thank you so much for sharing! Second, I never want to just say something that belittles your situation or makes it sound like it’s not difficult, but if you’re making decisions to glorify The Lord and be obedient to what the Bible has called you to do, you can trust that He will give you peace. Your unsettling right now might not be because of God, but more of a relationship and when you compare the two, you’d want God to be the higher priority. So when those two things come head to head, if you’re… Read more »
Someone once told me, “Let your ears be bigger than your fears” meaning we should listen to the comforting voice of the Lord!
Thanks for sharing Steve!!
The only way to here the voice from the lord is through the bible
Thanks for sharing Herman. Hopefully that is what came across in the post if you read it.