“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119:105 ESV
I had good intentions.
I woke up early, and in the quiet moments of a new day, I resolved to spend time with the Lord. Specifically, I needed God’s wisdom concerning a financial decision.
In the stillness of the morning, I heard only the ticking of the clock and the faint whoosh of the white noise machine in the bedroom where my husband slept.
But inside my brain, a thousand voices clamored for attention, urging me, “Do this. Buy that. Listen to my opinion.”
My mind swirled with images of people to please and people to plead for in prayer.
Worries cluttered my thoughts. Fear of the unknown taunted me.
I sat on my barstool, sipped my coffee, and tried to focus on Jesus, but distractions surrounded me. A dishwasher to unload. An appointment on my calendar. An assignment to complete.
How could I possibly hear from God?
Listening to God
“Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!” – Psalm 81:13 ESV
Maybe you’re like me. We want to abide in Christ. We yearn to stay connected to the Lord and to live fruitful, purposeful lives that glorify God.
Abiding in Christ involves keeping the lines of communication open, allowing Him to speak to us and guide our decisions.
We desire to hear from God, but don’t listen. We study about God. Then we spend time talking to God.
Or, rather, we talk at God. Like paupers coming before a king, we recite our list of petitions, hoping He’ll grant our requests.
But we require an intimate conversation with our heavenly Father, where we talk less and listen more.
God Speaks through His Word
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” – 2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
In ancient times, God spoke through visions and dreams, in burning bushes and still, small voices. But usually, He communicates with us through the Bible as the Holy Spirit makes His words come alive in our hearts and minds.
God’s Word provides more than just a collection of stories, parables, wise sayings, and general principles.
God speaks to us personally, individually, and specifically through the Bible.
Studying God’s Word
For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12 AMPC
If we want to hear from God, we begin by reading a passage of Scripture.
It’s important to read Scripture in context. We need to read the verses that come before and the verses that come after. It’s unwise to randomly pick a verse and assume God is speaking to us.
Several tools can aid with Bible study:
- A study Bible will include information to help us understand the context of different passages.
- Sites such as blueletterbible.org help us understand the meaning of the Greek and Hebrew words used in the original texts.
- Sites such as biblegateway.com enable us to read the passage in different translations.
- Sites such as biblehub.com and bibleref.com provide online commentaries and other tools.
Meditating on Scripture
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” – Psalm 119:15 ESV
After we’ve studied a particular passage, we hear from God by meditating on it.
- When we meditate on Scripture, we sit in silence, away from distractions.
- We ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us.
- We read a passage of Scripture and note the words or phrases that stand out to us.
- We listen and discern what God is telling us through Scripture, especially as it applies to our individual circumstances.
My Beloved
“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way.” -Psalm 25:8-9 ESV
“Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will He instruct in the way he should choose.” – Psalm 25:12 ESV
I’ll share a method I learned from a dear friend and mentor who models an intimate relationship with God.
She writes “My Beloved” letters. She uses passages of Scripture to detect what Jesus wants her to know. Then she writes what she hears Jesus say to her, His beloved.
As I struggled with distractions in my quiet time, I decided to write a “My Beloved” letter in my journal to discern what God was telling me.
I read Psalm 25, a psalm of David.
Here’s a portion of what I wrote:
“My beloved,
If you want My guidance, you must first come to me in humility, for I lead the humble in what is right. You must recognize your sins, and for My name’s sake, I will pardon them. Because I am good and upright, I will instruct you. But you must fear me.. Then I will tell you which way to choose. If you come to me with hopeful, patient trust and a respectful, awe-filled attitude, I will embrace you as a friend. I will guide you, “pluck your feet out of the net,” and keep you from making a bad decision. I will guard you and keep you safe from enemies who would take advantage of you.”
If you read Psalm 25, you can see that everything I wrote in the My Beloved letter came straight from Scripture. But it was personal, and I could apply God’s word to my specific circumstances.
The words of Scripture became more than just information on a page.
God wove those words of Scripture into a personal message for me. They became a conversation, where the Lord instructed me, admonished me, and promised me His guidance and protection.
I confidently made my decision.
When we abide in God’s presence and meditate on the scriptures we’ve studied, God speaks.
Tenderly. Lovingly. Personally. God speaks to us through His Word.
Images courtesy of Priscilla DuPreez and Rod Long on Unsplash.