Why Can’t I Hear God?
Why can’t I hear God? How do I know I am hearing God and that it isn’t just my own fleshly desires, my own reasoning, or possibly the enemy? Haven’t we all wondered these questions?
During a Bible study the other day, a dear brother in Christ asked those questions. He is amidst making some school and career decisions. He so wants some direction. And what I heard is that he really wants, desires and aches (you could hear it in his words) to do what God wants him to do. Amongst the group there was a lot of good counsel thrown around. So much his head must have been swirling and his ears sore. The verse that the study leader had used to incite such a question from my friend can be found in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John.
The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:2-4
In this Scripture, the sheep are you and me, those who believe that Christ is the Son of God. What a grand metaphor! There are 38 references to “sheep”, in the New Testament. Almost all of these 38 verses employ the word “sheep” metaphorically, referring to God’s people. And of course, the Shepherd represents our Lord and Savior. When speaking of Shepherd and sheep we cannot ignore the Shepherd’s Psalm, Psalm 23. It should be noted that the Shepherd, God is the doer (directing, leading, restoring, protecting, delivering, supplying, encouraging, comforting, etc.) in this Psalm and the sheep are basically the receivers.
In the same way, God speaks (do) and we, the sheep, listen (receives). Maybe we have a difficult time hearing God because we are not really listening. I think many of us expect the Lord to speak to us loudly, plainly and directly, answering our myriad of questions and requests. In a pinch, we want Him to tell us, “do this, do that, turn here” or “turn there.” I do not deny or argue against the belief that God can and does speak to us this way, through ”the still small voice” of the Lord (I Kings19:11-12). However, I will stand strong on the belief that God’s great desire is that he wants to speak to each of us personally and daily through his written Word, the Holy Bible. Pastor John Piper, Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota shares a fantastic message about “Hearing God, June 2007.
To hear the audio or read the text of this message by Dr. Piper, click here Dr. Piper
To answer the second question – How do I know I am hearing God and not someone or something else? – consider first the question of how do we know the voice of our children or spouse, or parent, or co-worker?
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We know it because we have spent time with that person.
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We know it because we have answered to that voice so many times before.
It always amazes me how a mother can be in the hallway down from the nursery, and not respond at all to the screams and shrieks of the children in that nursery, until it is the scream of their own child. To us men they all sound the same (I know – a gross over-generalization!). How did the mother know it was her child? Because she has heard that voice so many times before, she can distinguish it from all the others.
In the same way, we cannot know the voice of the Lord unless we spend time with Him. His written Word is His voice. The personal messages which He will whisper to us will be the same voice found in his written Word. He will not contradict what he says in the scripture when he tells you something specific to do or somewhere particular to go.
The point of what I am saying here is: God’s Word is alive, it is 21st century and ready for you today. Can you hear God? Are you listening? Do you know his voice?
“He who is of God hears God’s words;” (John 8:47)
LISTEN!
