God speaks to us when we are intently listening for Him, and He speaks to us in times when we are least expecting it.  As a matter of fact, I think that God is trying to speak to us most of the time.  The issue lies in the question, “Are we listening for Him?”  We can get so caught up in going, going, going, that we forget to tune into God and listen for His voice.  We can get so busy with life that we can forget to communicate with Him.  But we have to spend time conversing with our Creator if we ever expect to know His Will.

John 10:27

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

One of the basic principles of Christianity – that God speaks to His people – can be quickly overlooked and forgotten.  We have so many concerns about the decisions we need to make in life that, at times, we fail to ask God for the answers.  How often do we face a major decision point, are quick to weigh out the pros and cons, but slow to simply ask God His thoughts on the matter? God has all of the answers that we need in life.  Did you know God wants to reveal His plans and direction for your every step? Even the exact situation you are in now.  He desires to speak to you and show you the paths you should travel.  He has all of the wisdom we could ever need in order to guide our family, careers, finances, future, health, and everything else we will ever face.

Proverbs 2:6

“For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

In order to hear God’s voice, we need to tune into His frequency.  Remember the old radios with the dials  that had to be turned to the exact spot on the tuner in order to get a clear signal? That is what listening to God’s voice is like.  We have to line our life up with the center of His wave-length.  When we pick up His wave-length, we begin to hear God’s direction and wisdom clearly.  By tuning into His frequency, we begin to hear the secrets of His heart.  We can’t just hope to stumble upon His channel, we must learn to “dial in” our spiritual ears in order to hear His voice.  So the question is, what are the frequencies that God speaks to us through?  There is an infinite number of ways that God can speak to us, but I would like to focus on 4 of the more common wave-lengths that God uses to communicate…

1. His Word

One of the greatest ways God speaks to us is through His Word.  It is impossible to truly know Him without knowing His Word.  His Word is who He is.  You may experience God’s presence at times in your life, but you will never fully develop a relationship with Him without His Word.  If you want to get to know God, get to know His Word!

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

It is through the hearing and reading of God’s Word that we begin to open the lines of communication with Him.  The Bible is our telephone line to God.  Through it, we have conversations with Him.  He shows us His heart and His ways through the principles in His word.  As the Word of God is revealed in our heart, the heart of God is revealed in our life.  If we are not in His Word, our line becomes disconnected.  There is nothing worse than getting disconnected from someone you are in the middle of a conversation with, but that is what happens when we lose our connection with His Word.  If we are not in His Word we will miss out on incredible conversations with our Creator.

Not only does the Word help us to know God and connect with Him, it is also food for our spirit.  A person would not choose to eat only on the first day of each month and expect to be full for the rest of the month.  If they did this, their body would begin to break down and lose strength as malnutrition set in.  In the same way, we break down without consistently feeding ourselves with the Word of God.  We spiritually survive and thrive from the nutrients of God’s Word.  That is why Jesus said in the Beatitudes…

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst of righteousness, for they will be filled.” 

The Beatitudes are the attitudes we should live by.  The Bible equates the Word of the Lord with being food for our spirit.  As Jesus was fasting in the wilderness, Satan tempted Him with many things.  One of which was to turn stones into bread.  Jesus said,

Matthew 4:4

“It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The Bible is our source of strength, more powerful than the energy food gives us.  As you get into the Word of God, the Word of God gets into you.  As the Word is in you, you will begin to know the heart of God and hear His voice through it. Famous evangelist, F.F. Bosworth, said, “Most Christians feed their bodies three hot meals a day, their spirits one cold snack a week, and they wonder why they are so weak in faith.” 

We need to have a diet plan for God’s Word in our life.  What are we going to do to get a healthy dose of nutrition for our Spirit? We can’t just pick up the Bible when we feel like it, we must discipline ourselves to get into it daily.

2. Other People

Another way that God speaks is through others.  God will use those around us and those we may not even know to speak truth into our lives.  Some of the most influential people that God has used to speak into my life I do not know personally.  They are authors, speakers, and people I have heard of that have impacted me the most.  But God also puts pastors, leaders, family, friends, co-workers, and sometimes strangers to send a message to us.  He uses others to deliver many seeds of wisdom to us through many different ways.

We do not have to wait for random people to speak into our life though.  We can be intentional about seeking out those that can speak truth into our life.  It is so important to have mentors around you that have the freedom to challenge you.  Those that can lift you up to a higher level.  If you do not have people in your life that you trust to help you, then you are dangerously flying solo.  God created us for community.  We are designed to be in relationship with others so that we can help each other out in our times of need.  That is why Acts 2 gives us a snapshot of what our lives should look like…

Acts 2:42-47

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  

Make sure that you identify some people in your life that you allow to speak God’s truth into you.  After identifying them begin to surround yourself with their wisdom.  Listen when God is speaking through them.  Get around the right people that will advise you and counsel you in Godly paths.

Proverbs 15:22

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

Listen when your mentors speak.  We have just as much a responsibility to listen, as the one speaking has a responsibility to communicate clearly.  Over the years I have heard people in church say, “I just don’t feel like I am getting fed from the pastor.” Though I understand there might be an issue of the Pastor not communicating well, I also can’t help but think, is the listener truly listening? I am convinced that you can hear truth and God’s voice through the most unlikely voices in the most unlikely places.  How do you think the prophet Balaam felt when his donkey spoke to him as recorded in the book of Numbers? God can use anyone to speak to you.  We need to devote ourselves as the book of Acts says to the teaching of Godly people who will challenge us.

As a word of caution, make sure you are listening to the right people.  There will be those that will come along and offer their “wisdom” for your life, but it must line up with God’s word.  Be careful of those that try to run your life for you.  Build trust and accountability with the people who God has put around you and those you  have chosen to mentor you.  Can God speak through anyone? Absolutely, but usually He uses those that have a place of authority over us.  Who are the people that speak into your life? If you can’t identify any, you need to seek those out that will mentor you.  Approach them and ask for their time to take you under their wing and challenge you to be better.  Mentors don’t have to be personal contacts either.  Some of my greatest mentors are those I have never met, but I read their books, listen to their teachings and follow their example as I said earlier.

3. Circumstances

The third way God speaks to us is through the circumstances we are going through.  There is always a lesson to be learned when we are going through situations in our life.  The good, the bad, and the ugly all have a lesson to be learned from.  Going through certain circumstances in our life doesn’t always mean God caused it, but it does mean He can speak to us through it.  Remember Joseph’s story? His brothers turned against him, threw him in a pit, then sold him to slavery in Egypt.  Yet, through all this Joseph stayed faithful to God and eventually through a series of circumstances became the king of Egypt.  When his brothers came to him this is what he said…

Genesis 50:20

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

What perspective Joseph had! Can you imagine going through the circumstances he did by his own family members to turn around and see how God used it for something even greater.  God has a way of working things out for His glory.  Even when things are not going as planned in life and all seems to be going wrong, we can trust that God will use those circumstances to make us better.  When life deals us circumstances that we don’t understand we can choose to become better or bitter.  If we allow God to speak to us through our circumstances we can become better.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

God will cause certain circumstances to take place in our life so that He can get a message to us.  We have to approach our circumstances with the right attitude.  We can’t choose what happens to us but we can choose what happens in us.  When we take the time to pray over our circumstances God will begin to lead us to the right perspective.  Always ask yourself and more importantly God, what lesson He is teaching you.  Understand that experience is not the best teacher.  Just because you go through something doesn’t mean you learned something from it.  There are many people who go through circumstances just to repeat them over and over, never learning anything from it.  However, educated experience causes you to reflect and learn a great lesson from your circumstances.  There is not a greater teacher than educated experience, meaning experiencing circumstances in your life and changing for the better as a result of them.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.  Always be learning from your circumstances as God speaks to you.  Life is a classroom and our experiences can become our education if we approach it the right way.

4. Our Thoughts

The fourth way God speaks to us is through our thoughts.  This is why we are to have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16

“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

God can give us ideas that will be breakthrough moments for us and others.  Our thoughts have the ability to be so powerful if we allow God to speak to us through them.  We are one thought away from an idea that can change our destiny.  We can have the mind of Christ to know His will.  Spend time allowing God to speak to you through the ideas and dreams He gives you.  Don’t waste your thoughts, keep them focused on positive things that will bring about a harvest.  Worry has no fruit, however worship produces trust.  Fear has no fruit, however faith produces power.  When there is faith in the future there is power in the present.  Our thoughts have the power to produce Godly decisions and directives.  That is why the Apostle Paul encouraged our thinking.

Philippians 4”8

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  

When we think about the Godly things we begin to think the way God intended for us to think.  Those Godly thoughts are His thoughts.  Many times God will give us incredible insight into a situation when we ask Him for wisdom.  The wisdom He gives us comes through our thought process.

James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  

God will give our thoughts clarity when we ask Him for ideas.  Not just good ideas but God given ideas that have the power to change the course of life.  There is a big difference between good ideas and God ideas.

Good Ideas…are ideas that come from our own perceived wisdom.  They are calculated, emotional, and physical responses that are determined by circumstances.  Good ideas are generally reactive to whatever is happening around us.  They fade away after time.  They can easily crumble.

God Ideas…are powerful nuggets of wisdom that allow us to see past the calculated, emotional, and physical responses in life.  They are God given convictions that we know within us are true.  God ideas don’t fade away.  They can’t be analyzed.  They aren’t based on circumstances.  They are based on God’s ability to change the circumstances.

God ideas are big, they usually cause our limiting beliefs to cringe.  They stretch us and move us out of our comfort zones.  Good ideas will always want to keep us safe, however God ideas cause us to believe for greater things.  Good ideas can trap us appearing to be great, but God ideas truly are great because they come from a great God.  Good has been and always will be the enemy of great.