Last week we saw that there are many issues in life that we need to directly receive God’s guidance for. The Bible gives us general direction on most things in life, but we know that there are some areas in our lives where we must seek God for specific answers. Today, we are going to look at “how to hear from God.”
Remember, before we ask God for specific direction, we must be willing to follow His general directions found in the Bible. As we’re learning to follow these guidelines, we are then placed in a position to receive direct direction from God. How do we receive specific direction from God? Pray! Prayer is talking directly to God and is the basis of our personal relationship with our Father. When praying for direction, we can do what He tells us to do in His Word…ask Him for wisdom. James 1:5 states, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” In this scripture, God promises us that if we need wisdom concerning what to do, we only need to ask and He will gladly give it.
The next step is getting into a position to hear what God gives us. This is where many Christians fail to benefit from God’s direction. They ask, God gives them wisdom (He always does what He says He will do), but they fail to “tune in” and miss out on His direction. Let me use an analogy to explain. In the very room where you’re sitting, there are many radio signals that have been sent out by transmitters. Although they’re present, you can’t access them unless you “tune them in” through a radio receiver. To listen to God’s wisdom, we must tune Him in, too!
How do we do this? The same way the Apostles did. Acts 13:4 says that they spent time worshipping and waiting in God’s presence. When they did this they were able to hear the direction that God had provided to them. We too, need to ask God for wisdom and then spend time being thankful and worshipping in His presence until we receive our answer.
Next week, “How does God speak to us?”