If we cannot see God, is it possible to hear God? At one time in my life, I would have said “Yes, but He only speaks to special people.” Now, I can tell you with absolute certainty, God speaks to everyone, but the important question here is: Are you listening?
When I was at the darkest time in my life, God found me in my dungeon, broke my chains, and carried me into freedom and into His light. Yet, even after being rescued, I still did not know my rescuer, my knight in shining armor. He was a mystery to me. You see Princesses, being “saved” is only the beginning of your story with the King. Knowing His voice begins with knowing who He is.
Let’s take a look at how we get to know a person. Imagine there is this new guy at your school. Your friends have told you what they found out about him, but the only way to really get acquainted with him for yourself is to talk with him, hang-out, spend time together, learn what His passions are, and find out his likes and dislikes. You have to do the same with God. The bible is a great place to start. It talks about God’s character, what He loves, His values, how He thinks of us, and much more. The bible really helps us to paint a picture of who God is and also, who He is not.
The next way to get to know God is spending quality time with Him, not just quantity. Create an environment that His presence will be attracted to. Begin to worship Him, thank Him, and tell Him how good He is before you hand Him a To-Do list (Matthew 6:31-34). He is a good God and He needs to hear that we recognize and honor who He is, not only what we need from Him. You do not have to spend hours on the floor, sobbing into your carpet or go to a revival conference to have an encounter with God. It only takes a heart that is hungry for Him and really, just a moment in His presence can change your life. So, it is not quantity, or how long you spend with Him, but quality, being intentional about being present and focused on what He is doing with you while in His presence.
When I started my own journey getting to know the King, what I discovered was, as I knew Him more, I loved Him more. Before that, what I knew of God was mostly from what my family, friends or pastor told me of God, but I did not know who He was for myself. I was not even sure if I loved God because I did not know God.
As I spent time talking to Him, I soon started to recognize when he would talk back to me. God is not limited in the ways He speaks to us. He can speak through the bible, an audible voice, prayers, dreams, visions, feelings, through other people, and that is only the beginning. Recently, He spoke to me through a painting. Someone had painted these huge keys on a canvas and it was displayed at my church. When I saw it, I knew in my heart instantly that God was reminding me that I had the keys to the kingdom. I had no doubt this was God because I recognized His Spirit from the quiet times I have had with Him. Princesses, the more you listen and become used to His spirit, the easier you will recognize when He is speaking to you in a new way.
Knowing God’s spirit and His voice is extremely important in our walk with the King. The enemy can put something in our paths that may look and sound like it is from God, but if we do not truly know God’s Spirit, we can easily be deceived. For example, let’s say you just met a girl named Robin. A few weeks after being introduced to her, you are in the mall and you hear someone shout your name. That voice could have been Robin’s, but it would be hard to tell since you do not really know her. However, if someone like your mom, dad, or someone really close to you called your name, you would probably recognize them easily. This is how we have to be with God, knowing Him so intimately that when the enemy tries to trick us and get us to make decisions outside God’s will, we can stand firm and defeat the enemy with the truth.
In conclusion, everyone can hear God, but it takes spending quality time with Him to discover who He is and know His voice. He loves you infinitely, without an end in sight, and will always be calling out to His beloved Princess, desiring to spend more time with you. However, be aware throughout the day that there are a lot of distractions we sometimes put before our God time. Our responsibilities, our time, our sleep, ministry, friends, relationships, school, work, video games, and social networks can easily become excuses to justify why we have not spent time with God. It is unfortunately too easy to get so wrapped up with life that our priorities get hazy. Just remember, God gave everything to spend eternity with you. So my question to you is: What do you need to put aside to spend time with Him?
My prayer for you is that as you seek His face and as He reveals Himself to you in new ways, you fall deeper and deeper in love with God, and hear Him more clearly everyday.
I will end with Jeremiah 29:12-14a
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.