Part 1: God Still Speaks Today
God still speaks today, and learning to recognize His voice is an essential part of developing a deeper, more personal relationship with Him.
God is a personal God who desires to have a close and vibrant relationship with His people. Throughout Scripture, He demonstrates how He interacts and communicates with us. We should desire to have this kind of relationship with Him as well.
In fact, the very nature of the word relationship implies communication between two people. What kind of relationship would you have with someone who never spoke with you? It would soon become dead, dry, and distant.
From Genesis to Revelation, we see a God who speaks.
In Genesis, in the Garden of Eden, God walked and spoke with Adam and Eve. (See Genesis 3:8.) In Revelation, when John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, God spoke to him through dramatic visions. (See Revelation 1:10.)
And between these two occasions, God spoke to many different people:
- He spoke to Noah. (See Genesis 8:15.)
- He spoke to Moses. (See Exodus 6:2.)
- He spoke to Joshua. (See Joshua 4:15.)
- He spoke to Samuel. (See I Samuel 3:10.)
- He spoke to David. (See II Samuel 23:3.)
- He spoke to Isaiah. (See Isaiah 8.)
- He spoke to Ezekiel. (See Ezekiel 2:2.)
- He spoke to Jonah. (See Jonah 1:1; 3:1.)
- He spoke to Peter. (See Acts 10:13.)
And God has not changed. He is the same today as He was in the days of these biblical characters. (See Hebrews 13:8.)
God Has Always Been a God Who Speaks
Hebrews 1:1–2 says:
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…”
God spoke in times past, and He has continued to reveal Himself in these last days, supremely through His Son. He has always desired to communicate with His people, and that desire has not changed.
He still wants us to know Him, listen to Him, and follow Him.
Jesus said in John 10:27:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Notice the relationship in those words: My sheep. My voice. I know them. They follow Me.
Hearing God is not merely about receiving information from Him. It grows out of a relationship with Him.
Learning to Recognize the Shepherd’s Voice
I currently live on a sheep farm, and I have observed how the sheep recognize their shepherd’s voice and follow him when he calls.
I walked out to the sheep the other day and tried to call them. I used the same words the shepherd used—but they did not come.
Why?
They did not recognize my voice.
They knew the words, but they did not know the voice.
What a picture of our relationship with God!
Jesus did not simply say that His sheep know His words. He said:
“My sheep hear My voice…”
We must learn to recognize the voice of the Lord.
Matthew 11:15 says:
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
We need to take the time to attune our spiritual ears to the voice of the Lord.
Have you ever been around someone long enough that you recognize their voice even if you cannot see them? If someone close to you calls on the phone and simply says, “Hello, it’s me,” you may immediately know who it is.
Why?
Because you have spent enough time with that person to recognize their voice.
The same principle applies to our relationship with God. The more we know Him, spend time in His Word, pray, listen, and walk with Him, the more familiar we become with His character and His ways.
Are We Listening?
God is speaking. The question is: Are we listening?
We have a responsibility to cultivate a listening heart—to become increasingly attentive to His voice. We do this by developing a vibrant, personal relationship with Him and learning to recognize the ways He communicates.
Hearing God is not reserved for prophets, pastors, or a select group of unusually spiritual people. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice.”
That includes you.
Perhaps a good prayer to begin this journey is simply:
“Lord, teach me to recognize Your voice.”
Questions for Personal Reflection
- Do I truly believe that God desires to communicate with me personally?
- How much time do I intentionally spend listening to God rather than only talking to Him in prayer?
- What characteristics of God’s voice and nature have I learned from spending time in Scripture?
- Is there something God may already be saying to me that I have been too busy or distracted to hear?
- What practical change could I make this week to become more attentive to the Lord’s voice?
In the next blog, we will explore the many different ways God speaks and begin learning how to recognize His voice in each of them.
Coming Soon: When Prayer Feels Stale
I am also preparing a new six-day prayer journal called When Prayer Feels Stale. It is designed to help you renew a prayer life that has begun to feel dry, routine, or disconnected and rediscover freshness in your conversation with God.
Watch for more information soon about how you can receive your copy.
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