‘My sheep hear my voice.’

 John 10:27 NKJV

 

Hear, that ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

 

Matthew 4:4 NIV

 

Note: Words in bold indicate my emphasis

 

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Like all true best friends and confidantes, the Lord does not wish you to experience Him second hand but firsthand, directly, one on one.

This is why He’s made it possible for you and Him to engage each other in conversation.

For us humans, the fact that God has given us the ability to genuinely hear Him speaking to us, and to speak in turn to Him, to ask Him questions, and to hear Him answer, to present honestly to Him our anxieties and concerns and KNOW that He will respond personally to us —is perhaps the most mind-boggling of all Christian realities.

Don’t be surprised, therefore, if some folk tell you that you are deluding yourself.

I want to assure you that it’s not you, but they, who are deluded.

I want you to know for sure, and never ever forget, that the Lord HAS given you and me the ability to hear Him speaking to us.

It’s a gift. It’s not something you can ever earn.

What you need to do is to make use of this gift.

You need to know

• how to do this
• WHY this is so critical to your overall wellbeing

This article deals with both things.

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When you want to get God’s perspective on any life situation or experience, and when you need to make important life choices, it’s critically important to know how to hear God’s voice clearly.

This is true at all times in your life, but especially in times when you’re experiencing inner pain or crisis 

And here’s something else to bear in mind:

As we women reach our mid-thirties, the choices in our lives start to become significantly less black and white.

They become greyer.

I want to assure you that it’s not you, but they, who are deluded.

Decisions can become far more complex.

In addition, our mid-30’s is also often the time when we as women are ourselves changing.

We start to look inside ourselves more than before.

We ask deeper questions about the real meaning of our lives.

You need, therefore, all the help you can get from the Lord if you are to make wise and rewarding life decisions.

In fact, this is the time in your life when hearing God’s voice can be crucial to maintaining your overall quality of life and wellbeing —what the Bible calls ‘shalom’ —i. e. not just ‘peace’ in the narrow sense, but TOTAL wellbeing.

Please believe me:

You CAN hear the Lord speaking to YOU individually.

You CAN ask Him questions.

You CAN count on Him to answer your questions.

But here’s the thing:

I’m prepared to guess that what you’re really in need of is the CONFIDENCE to believe that the Lord CAN speak to you —to YOU personally, not to someone else, to YOU.

You have a hard time believing that the Lord is actually trying really hard to speak to you!

You’re also not 100% sure that you can actually ask the Lord questions and have Him answer you.

Yes, you believe God speaks to everybody in a general sense through the Bible.

But you’re not at all sure that He can speak to you as an individual personally, directly, and one-on-one.

You say: “Jan to be honest I’m not really sure if it’s possible to hear the Lord speaking to me, directly, and one-on-one. And I don’t dare ask Him questions because I simply can’t imagine Him ever answering them.”

I hear you.

Here’s your solution:

Even if you don’t have that confidence right now, you can DEVELOP it.

The simplest, most effective, and completely guaranteed way to develop this inner confidence is to pray with your heart. 

When you do this, you and the Lord reach a point where genuine mutual trust develops.

And with that trust comes a genuine, deep friendship.

When this happens, suddenly you WILL WANT to start conversing with the Lord.

Why?

Because you’ve now developed the CONFIDENCE to believe that the Lord WANTS to be your friend.

And just like any other friendship, you’ll automatically want to talk with your new Friend.

 And He certainly can’t wait to talk to YOU!

You’ll come to know that He WANTS to hear your problems and anxieties, and that He WANTS to answer your questions!

And guess what?

This is exactly what the Lord has been waiting for all along.

He wants your friendship.

Why?
Because He knows that only fast friends can converse without holding anything back!

His invitation to you to befriend Him has always been there.

But He never imposes His desire on you.

It’s YOU who has to choose to be His friend.

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God Speaks to You in 2 Ways