LISTEN & OBEY

John 10:2-6
² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Here, Jesus is saying that all those who are truly his “sheep” (disciple) – will “know his voice” and “follow” it. For Jesus, discipleship to him is not just about the learning of the principles – it is an interactive, dynamic, living relationship.

Notice that being a disciple does not only entail knowing and hearing his voice but also following his voice. Think of when a parent says to their child, “Listen to me.” They don’t just mean pay attention; they also mean, “Do what I’m asking you to do!” This is the Father saying to his children, listen to me, and obey, and it will go well with you. For Jesus, to listen and to obey is the single most important thing of Christian Discipleship!

Now, the authenticity reflection question just discussed is a thought-provoking one. The word "obey" likely gives us mixed feelings because it goes against the "be true to yourself" culture. But the truth is that, as we become disciples of Christ, we are to keep transforming ourselves to become more and more like Christ, and not remain the sinful, original selves we were born as.

Learning to hear Jesus’ voice is one of the great tasks of a disciple; but obeying it is even more important. We must trust that obedience is not an obstacle to happiness, but obedience is the path to it. Until we believe that God wants our deepest happiness, we won't desire to hear or obey His voice. Once we trust in Jesus’ good intentions, our main goal will be to listen for His voice. So, let us learn to listen and obey!

LISTENING TO GOD

The question is how? How do we “hear” God’s voice? Let us quickly go through six ways we hear God’s voice.

1. Jesus

Hebrews 1:1-3
¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

We hear God’s voice in Jesus Himself. Modern Christians refer to the Bible as “the word,” but when you read “the word” in the New Testament, it is usually referring to Jesus and the good news of His Kingdom. Hearing God’s voice begins and ends with Jesus, the Word. All the other ways God communicates come through Jesus and point back to Jesus.

2. Scripture

2 Tim 3:16
¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.

All the words in the Bible are God's words and are absolute truth. Therefore, reading Scripture is a way to listen to and obey God. In fact, as we learn other ways of hearing God, we should test whatever we hear against Scripture because God will never contradict His own word.

3. Circumstances

Some of the circumstances of our lives are the shepherd’s voice coming to us to lead and guide us – opportunities, closed doors, limitations, giftings, relationships, where and when and to whom we are born, the situations we find ourselves in – God is often in those circumstances, coaxing us forward by his voice.

4. Desires

One of the ways we discern God’s voice is by listening – both carefully and critically – to the desires of our heart. Much of secular culture tells us “Be true to yourself” and just “follow your heart” But this is, at best, a half-truth. The Bible has a far more sophisticated view of desire; they tell us the heart is complex, full of both beauty and ugliness; light and shadow.

Some of our desires, left unchecked, would lead us over a cliff to ruin. Of course, because our heart has been infected by sin, we have to sift through our desires to find God’s desire within us. But overall, desire is one of the ways we “hear” God’s voice. So, if you feel a pull in your heart toward a career path or a new friendship, listen for God’s will in that.

5. Prophecy, dreams and visions

1 Corinthians 14:3
³ But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.

In the charismatic tradition, people are often trained in how to hear God’s voice for other people; often, it’s as simple as opening your imagination to God before you pray over a person, and waiting to see if a word or phrase or line from the Bible or a picture or short film begins to play in your mind’s eye, and then offering that to the other person as a possible word from God, to be then tested against Scripture and in community.

Often people “prophesy” without even knowing it, they just say to you whatever is on their mind, but as you hear it, you feel a weight from the Spirit of God, and you sense, that is a word for you.  

God also speaks through dreams and visions, which are like waking dreams. In both the Old and New Testaments, this is a common way God communicates.

6. Listening Prayer

Which is simply waiting quietly for God to speak into your mind or heart.  

You see, because the Holy Spirit is within you; God can reach directly into our thoughts, feelings, and desires by the Spirit. When a thought arises, we might wonder if it's from God, thinking, "No, it's just in my head." But our head is where thoughts, emotions, and ideas originate—it's the center of our conscious experience.

Now, all our thoughts must be tested to determine the source. But the truth remains, God can and will speak directly into our thought life. Therefore, much of developing a rich prayer life is learning to wait quietly for His voice.

Adapted from Practicing the Way (practicingtheway.org)