God's Voice 3 TUNING INTO THE VOICE OF GOD

The world we live in this is full of invisible signals. There are sound waves, radio waves, microwaves, TV signals and telephone signals to invisible signals you must have a tuner or receiver.

Right now you are surrounded by millions of television pictures but you cannot see them because you need a television. It is the same with radio signals. If you want to hear your favorite radio station you need a Hi-Fi or radio tuner. Your TV or radio however are useless to you unless they are plugged in and turned on! If you want to be able to receive the signals that God is sending you, then you need to 'plug-in' and 'turn on' your spiritual receiver.

TURNING YOUR RECEIVER ON

Man is made up of three parts, the body, the soul and the spirit. Each part has it's own function in receiving signals. Understanding these functions will help you 'plug in' and 'turn on' your spiritual receiver.

The function of the body.

Your body is made up of five elements called senses. They are sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste. Each one has a specific purpose:

i.    Your sight enables you identify objects.

ii.   Your touch enable you to identify textures.

iii.  Your hearing enables you to identify sound.

iv.  Your smell enables you to identify aroma.

v.   Your taste enables you to identify flavour.

Your five senses when put together enable you to identify the outside world. The function of the body is to make you world conscious. It makes you aware of the environment in which you live. If you are looking at this right now then your body is turned on!

The function of the soul.

Your soul is made up of three elements. They are your mind, your emotions and your will. Each one also has a specific purpose:

i.   Your mind tells you your thoughts.

ii. Your emotions tell you your feelings. 

iii.Your will tells you your desires.

Your mind, emotions and your will put together tell you about your inside world. Therefore the function of the soul is to make you self conscious. It makes you aware of yourself. If you are reading this now then your soul is turned on!

The function of the spirit.

Your spirit consists of itself and has a specific purpose.

i. Your spirit connects you up with God. Romans 8:16"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children." Your spirit enable God to make a connection with you and it makes you aware of God's thoughts. The function of the spirit is to make you God conscious. If you are born-again your spirit is turned on to God and you can communicate effectively with him. If you are not born-again your spirit is asleep or is turned off and you will not be able to receive any of the signals that God is sending to you. Being born-again simply means that your spirit has been born or woken up. if you are not sure if you are born-again then you can have your spirit turned on to God right now by asking God to save you. Before this can happen, you need to believe that Jesus died for you and that God raised him from the dead, also you need to confess him as your Lord. If these two things are in place, you can ask God to forgive you of anything you have done wrong and ask him to save you. If you would like to know  more about becoming born-again you can write to us contact your local spirit filled church.

TUNNING YOUR RECEIVER IN

If you have turned your spiritual receiver on you now need to tune it into the right frequency. There are essentially four key things that you can do which will help you to recognize God's voice when he speaks to you.

Key I. Meditate on the word of God.

Joshua 1: 8"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." There has been much confusion over what the world meditation means. Some religions will have you believe that meditation is to sit crossed legged with your eyes closed and to empty your mind of your thoughts. A classic example of this is Buddhism. According to the bible this is not true meditation. This type of meditation can seriously damage your walk with God. If someone tells you to meditate like this then my advice to you is to not participate in it. In fact the biblical definition mean quite the opposite, it means to fill your mind with thoughts. Scripture meditation involves getting one verse from the bible and constantly repeating it to yourself. As you do this exercise regularly(every day and night) you will begin to hear God teach you himself about his word.

Key 2. Act on the word of God.

James 1:22"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." As you begin to hear God, he is going to give you some very specific instructions about what to do. In the beginning you might get an impression in your spirit that God is telling you to do something. God's word will always be fulfilled, so by stepping out in faith you will be able to determine if what you heard was from God or not. For example, if you get an impression that God wants you to pray for someone because he wants to heal them and you act on that word but nothing happens then the word was not from God. But if they are healed you can then listen for dame voice the next time. Don't worry God won't throw you into the deep end and ask you to heal the sick until he knows you are ready and that you know his voice. He will probably start teaching you through other daily things first. Also we must remember that God will not ask you to do anything that is contradictory to what he has said in the bible.

Key 3. Pray in tongues.

I Corinthians 14:2"For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit." You have a 'hotline' right into the throne of God and you can use it at anytime of the day or night. It is called the gift of tongues. The gift of tongues in just one  of the spiritual gifts that is available to all those who are born-again and are baptised in the Holy Spirit. When you pray in tongues you pray directly to God and he hears and understands every word you say - even if you don't. As you are praying in tongues God will speak back to you. If at any time when you are praying you run out of words, try praying in tongues for a couple of minutes. God will then give you something new to pray about.

Key 4. Establish a desire.

Psalms 37:4"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." How much you really want to hear God's voice? If you are not that bothered then you will probably struggle to hear him clearly. God wants to grant you the desires of your heart. If your heart's desire is to hear him speaking to you and to recognize his voice then he will not disappoint you.

EXERCISES

Follow these four exercises to help train you to hear God's voice. 

Exercise I.

Every day this week choose one verse from the bible and meditate on it by repeating it to yourself quietly for five minute at the stroke of every hour. Write down anything that God tells you. 

Exercise 2.

Every morning this week before you go to school, college or work pray and ask God what he wants you to do. Write what he tells you down and then do it!

Exercise 3.

Once a day, every this week pray in tongues for a minimum of 5 minutes. Afterwards write down what you think God is telling you to pray for and then pray it or write it down if that is appropriate. 

Exercise 4.

Simply ask this question to yourself every morning this week "How much do I really want to hear God's voice."

CONCLUSION

You have the ability to hear God's voice. All you have to do is turn your spirit on and tune it in! It is a wonderful privilege to be able to communicate with the God who created the heavens and the earth.

PRAY

"Lord Jesus, give me a new desire to hear your voice."