Sunday Brunch- God, is That You?

Have you ever wondered how to discern if something you're feeling or thinking is the voice of God as opposed to your own desires/thoughts or something waaaay more sinister like an attack from the Evil One? I wonder that all the time! I'm learning to recognize God's voice from any other as His is a unique; very distinct voice that calls us out of ourselves and points us to His truth and His glory. Allow me to share what I've learned thus far.

HIS Story
You have to familiarize yourself with God's story (ehem, the Bible) before you can begin to recognize His voice. Think of your two best friends. Now think if you never spent time with them; you never spoke to them. You didn't read their text messages or maybe even a blog they wrote. Now think about trying to hear and understand God's voice if you don't read one of our most direct connections to Him- the Bible. The Word is God's love letter to us. It is more than a moral roadmap it is the essence of God's character. The more familiar we become with God's essence the easier it is to recognize His words to us. " And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed." Joshua 1:8 MSG

The Gift of Gab
We have direct access to speak with God whenever we want. We can, and are encouraged to talk with Him ALL THE TIME! Eldest Son loves to talk! I mean he doesn't tire. He doesn't care what he's talking about, he just loves to talk. Often, I find myself absolutely exhausted by his incessant need for dialogue BUT God wants us to converse with us non-stop. Prayer is our direct connect with God. We can come to him with anything and He will patiently listen, never snoozing on us or becoming distracted by anything else. This is something to celebrate! We have a friend in God (John 15:15, James 2:23) that will always make time for us and truly truly desires to hear our voices.

Now, don't mistake God for an ATM. We can't just pray and ask and expect for our prayers to be answered. Think about your earthly friends. How tired of you would they be if every time they hung out with you, you were asking them for something. "Hey, can I borrow $5? I left my wallet at home. Oh, by the way, I really need some beans to cook the rest of my dinner. Can you pick some up and drop em off at my house? Can I get a ride to work?" Thank goodness God is big enough and gracious enough to be able to deal with us when we come to Him in that manner (I'd dare to say all of us have done that to Him at some point in time). We should be spending a good amount of time, praising God for who He is, thanking Him for all he's done and will do for us, confessing where we've wronged Him, intervening (intercessing) for others who need prayer and then asking God for our needs. Say it fast with me- Praise, Thanksgiving, Confess, Intercess, Petition.  "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Blessing of Silence

God is patient with us, but just like our earthly conversations, dialoguing with God is an EXCHANGE. As much as we pray to Him (spiritually converse), we should be silent before Him to HEAR and LISTEN to His voice. A lot of times we drown out God's voice because we won't shut up! In short. Don't let your mouth be the roadblock to NOT hearing God's voice. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” - Psalm 46:10 "Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases." Ecclesiastes 8:3

Don't Put God in a Box
We do not know the ways of God (Ecc. 11:5) nor do we know HOW He will speak to us. Don't assume you know how (the medium through which) God will speak to you. I've heard testimonies of followers of Christ sharing how they've audibly heard God's voice. For years I thought something was wrong with me because I didn't hear God in that manner. I was wrongly trying to anticipate and manipulate how God was going to talk to me. Only when my reading and prayer life became more consistent did I realize God was talking to me all along. He has chosen to speak to me through the medium in which I would be able to hear Him most clearly- my dreams. God has given me words for my life, encouragement when I've been discouraged, messages for friends and family, and all sorts of other loving and perfectly right on time words He's had for me in my dreams. But God doesn't exclusively speak to me through dreams. He's spoken to me through my children, messages He's given other believers for me, and any other way God deemed appropriate for me at the time.

I've realized the closer I've gotten to God; the more I've leaned into and leaned upon Him; the clearer His voice has become. But, He is so awesome that He's spoken to me even when I was farther away from Him. He spoke to me when I wasn't in relationship with Him, but His words were as clear as mud because of where I was at. But still He spoke. It was only in retrospect (after I became closer to Him) that I realized those impressions, proddings, and dreams were all Him. God was looking out for me even when I wasn't seeking Him. My best advice to you- don't anticipate HOW God will speak to you but just always be OPEN to hearing His words however they may come.

So, You Heard a Word....From Who?
Ok, so you've heard a word. You think it's God, but how do you know? How do you know it's not the Evil one trying to confuse you? There are a couple of questions you can ask to better ascertain an answer.
1. Does the message I received line up with God's Word or does it somehow deviate? If the message you received told you to go jump off a cliff, you can pretty much dismiss that as an attack from the Enemy. Jeremiah 29:11 says God doesn't want to harm us so if the message if contradictory, it probably ain't God because God doesn't contradict Himself.
2. If you're still unsure, go to a trusted friend (who is also a believer) and share the message you feel you received. They may be able to sharpen your understanding of the message. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). Just make sure you're not going to your friend FOR the answer. Only God knows.
3. If you're STILL unsure, go back to God. He'll give you the answer. God can clear up any confusion. (Jer. 33:3, John 10:27, Isa. 30:21)

Hopefully that helped! Have a wonderful rest of the week. I pray you make time to better know God through His Word and through talking and listening to Him. I pray you if you've yet to hear God that this would be the week where His voice penetrates through the busyness of your week.

References: 
The Bible (The Message Version and English Standard Version)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-moll/is-god-really-speaking-to-you-4-questions-to-help-you-discern-his-voice_b_3248509.html

Sunday Brunch happens every Sunday as a spiritual encouragement for readers of the Fiery Wife blog. Come back next week and see what God is serving up for you to eat. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! (Ps. 34:8)".