I’m always amazed by the number of Christians who tell me that they rarely (or never) hear from the Lord. Much of the Bible is comprised of stories of people who “heard from the Lord,” then decided to follow His directives and directions for their life. Abraham “heard” from the Lord (Genesis 12:1-8). He everything behind and moved where the Lord wanted him to go. Joseph “heard” from the Lord and was able to interpret the dream of Pharaoh when no one else could (Genesis 41), and his ability to “hear” from the Lord is what got him promoted to the position of Prime Minister of Egypt. Moses had an encounter with God in the wilderness by a burning bush, and there the Lord told him to go back to Egypt and lead the people of God out of slavery (Exodus 3-4). And when there were times of great crisis and need, Moses “heard” from the Lord and was able to determine what to do that would facilitate the Lord bringing supernatural provision or protection to His people (Exodus 17).

After the death of Moses, Joshua “heard” from the Lord as he was preparing to lead the people of God into the Promised Land. In Joshua 1 the Lord spoke to Joshua and told him that he would bless him with His provision, power and presence as he led the people of God, and that he would give him wisdom and success as he studied and lived out the Word (Law) of God. Then, Joshua “heard” from the Lord and received explicit instructions from him concerning how to conquer the fortified city of Jericho (Joshua 6). In studying Joshua’s life, one of the few times he made a mistake was when he believed the story of the Gibeonites and accepted them as friends because “he didn’t seek counsel from the Lord” (Joshua 9). And many others in the Old and New Testament and throughout history have been able to “hear” from the Lord.

There are a number of different ways people “hear” from the Lord. Most of the Biblical characters mentioned above “heard” from the Lord in their “inner being” through an inaudible voice or distinct impression in their spirit or mind. The most common way to “hear” from the Lord is through reading, studying and meditating on the truths of the Bible, or hearing them taught by an educated and/or Holy Spirit inspired teacher. Another way to hear from the Lord is through dreams and visions like Joseph did. A fourth way to hear from the Lord is through the counsel of godly individuals. And then sometimes throughout history, the Lord has sent angels to individuals (i.e. Abraham, Joshua, Gideon, Mary) with a message from Him.

“Hearing from the Lord” is one of the primary keys to experiencing strength, satisfaction and success in the Christian life. Over the next several days I’m going to be blogging about “hearing from the Lord.” Today, I want to close by simply saying, YOU CAN HEAR FROM THE LORD IF YOU WANT TO! Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice . . . and they follow Me” (John 10:27). If you are one of the Lord’s “sheep”, you can and should be hearing from the Lord, and your ability to “hear” from the Lord will in great measure determine the success of your life. So follow this blog in the coming days and let’s learn and dialogue together about “hearing from the Lord.”

By the way, I’d love to hear back from you about some of your experiences in regards to “hearing from the Lord.”