Step 3 – Listening
Listening – We became willing to allow God to personally mentor us in every area, so we submitted every belief to Him. We pressed into learning to hear well His still small voice. In humility we submitted everything we heard to the discernment of others who had gone before us. We recognized that our our false beliefs were the root of our bad behavior.
Hearing
“Listen carefully, my dear child, to everything that I teach you, and pay attention to all that I have to say.” -Proverbs 4:20 TPT
In American churches we have lost the art of hearing God speak. We prefer listening to preachers to listening to the still small voice of God. In some churches, listening to God is discourage and some even treat it like heresy.
“Fill your thoughts with my words until they penetrate deep into your spirit.” -Proverbs 4:21 TPT
We have a God that wants to talk to us.
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” -John 16:13-14 NKJV
What would life look life for you if you could hear God yourself? What kinds of freedoms could you enjoy? What kind of answers could you deploy?
Hearing your Father speak is your birthright. This is why He has declared Himself to be a Father. Only bad fathers refuse to speak to their children. Good fathers not only listen to their children, they also offer needed wisdom for every situation. Scripture is not given as a replacement for God speaking to you Himself. Scripture is given as a witness of who God is.
“Then, as you unwrap my words, they will impart true life and radiant health into the very core of your being.” -Proverbs 4:22 TPT
So much of what we need for freedom is only found through hearing. Jesus even said to be careful how you hear.
“If you continue in My spoken word (Greek – something said), then you are truly disciples of Mine (someone mentored by Jesus); and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. …everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” -John 8:31-32,34,36 NASB
Freedom from sin is directly tied to listening to the voice of God. This is the biggest reason that most Christians struggle with sin. Sons of God know their Father’s voice.
Listeners are Mentored by God
“But when the Father sends the Spirit of Holiness, the One like me who sets you free, he will teach you all things in my name. And he will inspire you to remember every word that I’ve told you.” -John 14:26 TPT
What would your life look like if Jehovah God, creator of the universe, took you under His wing, and mentored you Himself into the fullness of being like Jesus? This question is exactly what we are purposing as the steps we need to be a fully awakened son. God Himself wants to mentor you just like a master craftsman will mentor an apprentice. We believe that you can receive personal instruction, through intimacy with God, that will awaken you into your destiny. Every one of these steps are about building that connect so that you can hear God as a Father, Mentor, and Teacher.
‘Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.”’ -John 5:19-21 NASB
This is the pattern of Jesus’s life. He was mentored personally by God. God is offering the exact same opportunity to you. The Holy Spirit comes to us so that He may speak directly into your hearts what He hears the Father saying, and to teach us all things in Jesus’s name.
Will you say ‘yes’ and allow God to mentor you?
Learning to Hear
When Holy Spirit speaks, He speaks directly to our spirit. Because your spirit man and your soul are intimately linked, your mind perceives the words coming to you as echoes in your brain sounding very similar to your own thoughts. As you grow in sensitivity, you will discover that the words of Holy Spirit carry a different feeling about them than your own thoughts. You will often feel love, acceptance and peace attached to these words. One person describe them as the first words that come, and the words that still linger.
Because the words of Holy Spirit often sounds so similar to our own internal conversation, we must learn to distinguish His voice from our own. Utilizing a close friend, group sponsor, or personal minister, to help you learn to discern is paramount. Do not lean upon individuals that lack experience with the voice of God, they will often hinder your progress rather than benefiting it. We suggest you utilizing a group sponsor at this stage.
Many people struggle to hear God’s voice at first, so God has given me two questions that you can ask yourself. These will immediately launch you into hearing God’s voice.
- Does God love me enough to talk to me?
- Does God love me enough to make sure I hear Him correctly?
Once you settle these two questions in your heart you will discover that you immediately can start hearing God. The reason that these two questions have such impact is because the only reason you can’t hear God it’s because we need to exercise faith to hear. These two questions cause you to put your faith in the right place. Saved and unsaved alike can hear God. For this, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not actually required. But, once you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you will find your capacity to hear God’s voice greatly enhanced.
Because the voice of God is usually interpreted by our brain, there is great opportunity for us to twist what we hear until we are more seasoned in the practice. Therefore it becomes vitally important that we compare what we hear to what other people are hearing.
There is a specific tone and character about the things God says. There are personality qualities that show up when He speaks. A person that has spent quite a bit of time hearing their Father will recognize His words with ease. His words also carry the anointing. Someone who is used to spending time with Father well recognize the presence of God on words that He has spoken to someone else.
Because of our capacity to misunderstand what we are hearing, and our ability to add our own ideas, there is a great need for these words to be confirmed by other believers who are familiar with the voice of God. Jesus says that every word should be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. This requirement never disappears. Any person who is unwilling to allow what he hears to be challenged and confirmed, has already been deceived.
As you work through the process of learning to hear God’s voice, get in the practice of submitting everything you hear to those who trust. Submit them to the group. Figure out who has history with the voice of God, specifically those who are walking in Godly character and freedom resulting from their time with Father. Anyone who has surrendered their very core to God’s mentoring, will demonstrate a transformed lifestyle.