{"id":4631,"date":"2018-07-29T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-07-29T14:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=4631"},"modified":"2018-05-21T12:27:18","modified_gmt":"2018-05-21T17:27:18","slug":"choose-to-listen-and-recognize-gods-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=4631","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Listen and Recognize God’s Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yet Another Year of Choices<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

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Music has given me much joy through the years and I\u2019m pretty good at identifying singers of old standards or early rock n\u2019 roll. Being able to recognize someone\u2019s voice is a great way to bore all your friends. \u201cWho\u2019s singing that?\u201d I\u2019ll say. They don\u2019t care, of course, but I give the right answer and it fills me with a certain amount of pride. In the game of life, it\u2019s not all that important to be able to recognize someone\u2019s voice \u2013 unless it is the voice of God.<\/p>\n

Hearing God\u2019s voice is a tricky proposition. People tell me they hear God\u2019s voice all the time. God tells them to do this or God tells them to do that, but I\u2019m skeptical. Sometimes it seems like they are not really listening for God\u2019s voice to guide them, but to put a stamp of approval on what they have already chosen to do. In that case you can get God\u2019s voice to tell you anything you want to hear. And you can always blame God if it doesn\u2019t work out. After all, He told you to do it!<\/p>\n

God speaking directly to a person is the exception not the rule, even in biblical times. In ancient times people were not always happy to hear God\u2019s voice. It was usually telling them to do something they didn\u2019t want to do. Moses had to lead the complaining Israelites. (Exodus 3:14) Hosea had to marry a woman of ill repute. (Hosea 1:1) Job found out how insignificant he was. (Job 40:1) Paul was struck blind. (Acts 22)<\/p>\n

Such was the case with Ahab. He wanted to attack the King of Aram. All his advisors knew he had already made up his mind and just wanted God to bless his decision. So they told him what he wanted to hear. \u201cGo for it! You will win.\u201d The prophet Micaiah cautioned him against going.<\/p>\n

Ahab never cared much for Micaiah because he always told him the truth. In 1 Kings 22:8 (NLT) he said, \u201cThere is still one prophet of the Lord, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.\u201d Ahab, like all of us, only wanted to hear support for what he wanted to do. If we listen closely, we may hear God\u2019s voice. However, He may not tell us what we want to hear.<\/p>\n

As God\u2019s sheep we should be able to recognize His voice. (John 10:4-5, 27) However, we cannot recognize the voice of one we are not close to. Therefore, we need to be in constant relationship with God through prayer and Bible study \u2013 praying to align ourselves to God\u2019s will and studying to become more like Jesus.<\/p>\n

When Christ lives in us, recognizing His voice becomes easier because we know God\u2019s voice will not tell us to do things contrary to the biblical principles He has set in motion. And He expects us to be able to discern what those are. A voice telling us to snipe people from a tall building or get revenge is not the voice of God.<\/p>\n

However, God is the great communicator and He can speak to us in many ways. He can speak through\u2026<\/p>\n