God Doesn't Speak to Me...

If that sounds like you, my initial encouragement is do not lose heart. There is hope. And you're going to have to fight for it. First, let's see what we can find in scripture about the idea of God speaking. We want to make sure we begin with a valid foundation before we move forward. Jesus sheds some light on this subject when he explains to the disciples that He is the Good Shepherd and they are the sheep. "The sheep hear [my voice, and I call my] own sheep by name and lead them out. " John 10:3  What an intimate picture. Not only does he call out to us, but he knows us by name, and leads us towards Himself. I can just picture Jesus saying, this way guys. This is the way to life. Follow me!

Now, if we're unable to hear Jesus's voice, why would this example be given in the scriptures? That would just be cruel to get our hopes up. Well, Christ is not cruel. He desires that we know Him "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father." John 10:15 If your earthly father was mainly a source of pain and disappointment for you, that may not sound like much. But God the Father and Jesus are the most united, strong, intimate relationship in all of the Universe, and they are inviting us into that fellowship. And there is no way that we can become that close to Jesus if we cannot speak to Him and hear from Him.

All through the ages, and all through the Scriptures, God speaks to His people. He spoke to Adam. He spoke to Moses. He spoke to Jonah. He spoke to Elijah. He spoke to Daniel. He spoke to Abraham. He spoke to Jesus. And He will speak to you. The responsibility falls on us to listen.  It's not a question of if he speaks, but when. In the book of Hebrew it says "Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness." 3:7-8 The truth here is huge!When you hear His voice! Wow. There's more here though. When we hear His voice, it's our choice how we respond. He gives us free will. If you choose to you can rationalize His voice away and say that wasn't really God. Or you can choose to believe it was indeed God, but choose to disobey. God forbid we choose the latter.

There is another component to keeping your heart sensitive to God's voice, and that is the simple fact that we have an enemy. Call him what you wish: Satan, the devil, the evil one. He's real and he wants to destroy. He is constantly planning on how to steal the life God is trying to offer you through Christ and His spirit. One of the primary ways Satan does this through deception. He did it to Eve in the garden. And he does it to us all the time. He'll whisper in your ear, "God doesn't speak to you. He doesn't even care about you."

Here's the really scary part. Often, we believe Satan's lies. We swallow them hook, line and sinker. Once we've made an agreement with the evil one, he now has a foothold in our life. Believing that God won't or doesn't speak to you can actually keep you from hearing God's voice. Why? Because it kills your faith. You have to take back the truth and renounce that agreement you made with the evil one and take your freedom back. To do this you literally have to pull Satan's hook from your heart, and ask God to remove the lie from your body. Once you've discovered what the lie is bring the Cross and all of Christ's power against the lie, and break your agreement with it. Ask Jesus to fill you His Spirit. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom." 2 Cor 3:17 Then with faith, ask Him to heal you, to speak into your life and He will.