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In the last part (Part 4), I will discuss about the “WHAT” factor – What if we are still unsure? Especially for major decisions, it is imperative for us to really know that it is the voice of God’s. Following our “intuition” is going to cost us grief in the future if we are not in tune with God’s will.

Then I’ll close it with the “WHEN AND WHERE” – when you feel God is silent or just doesn’t care with what you are going through at the moment. Or when you just can’t seem to hear His voice or answers to your prayers.

WHAT – What if we are still unsure?

 
There are moments when we are still unsure what God wants from us even when we’ve prayed hard. Perhaps there are 2 difficult choices that we have to make (such as studying in different universities or being offered a job in 2 different companies).

If you are still unsure (as both options seem good):

1. Keep praying for it EVERY DAY and WHOLEHEARTEDLY to find God’s wisdom

   Jeremiah 29:11-13 – 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart

   God promises when you really seek Him, you will find Him. God says when you ask for wisdom, He will give it generously without finding fault (James 1:5-8). Pray for it. Fast for it.

2. Ask for signs from God

   If you are still unsure and you really need to know God’s will, ask for a sign. However, don’t let this become a habit and certainly remember your position when you ask from God (that He is your father IN HEAVEN). If you really are close to God, you should be able to identify God’s voice clearly so you don’t need to ask for “supernatural” signs. I remember when I gave God a deadline to answer my prayer so many years ago for a sign. I was ashamed now, although in the end, He indeed answered and showed me that sign on the last day! Occasionally, I still ask for signs when I am really unsure and when I really need to find out His will for really major decisions.

   Read how Gideon in Judges 6 and Abraham’s servant in Genesis 24 about asking for signs from God. Even signs can be misleading, so keep the prayer up and be closer to God.

WHEN? WHERE? – When God is silent

There are times when God is silent. If you really can’t hear from Him no matter how hard you’ve prayed, then pick a choice (out of the choices you are praying about – as long as it does not contradict with the scriptures). Take a step of faith and walk on it (and keep praying about that choice). I’m sure when this happens, He wants us to walk in faith with Him – to strengthen our trust in Him.

This is probably the hardest moment in your life when you think God has left you and as if He doesn’t care anymore about the decision you are about to make. Wrong! He allows times like these to bring you even closer to Him than before. Open your heart for God to speak through the scriptures, through others, and through things that you would never have thought possible.

When God is silent – He is there. He wants us to grow our faith in Him.
When God is silent – Doesn’t mean He doesn’t care
When God is silent and we are at our deepest, darkest valley – it is the time we realize that we can’t live without Him, without His love, without His wisdom, without His grace.

Ask Him. He listens. He will answer. In His time.

I hope that these series have been a blessing to you and I do pray that you will always follow what God wants from you, not what YOU want. Often we don’t know what we want but by following what God’s want, you’ll find that you’ll always have joy in whatever you do. It’s never a disappointment when you follow what God wants from you. God bless.

I shared this topic to our Youth group last Saturday. I received good feedback about it so I decided to write a summary about this topic so you can shared it to others too.

How do we hear God’s voice? This is probably one of the most “popular” questions from every Christian out there, including myself. We often wonder: How do we hear from God? How do we know that it’s from God? When does He speak? Which option should I choose? Which job should I take? Should I go back to my home country or should I stay here permanently? Should I be with this man or woman? And many others. As such, it is important to be able to hear from God and to hear it clearly.

I’ve decided to divide this topic into 5W + 1H: Why, Who, How, What, and When/Where.

This is How to hear God’s voice – part 1. I’ll discuss on the importance of hearing the voice of God briefly.

WHY – WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE

(1) Because He is Our Creator!

He created us and therefore He knows every single thing about us – our strengths, our weaknesses, our gifts, etc. A clay is being shaped by its potter – for a purpose that only the potter knows! (Make sure you check my post about God is the Potter and we are the clay later on). Therefore, it is important to find out what He wants in us.

(2) Because we may have a great plan but He knows the MASTER plan!

Ecclesiastes 11:5 – “Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything”Human beings often think that they have made a good plan for the future. We often think that our plan is the best one we can ever think of. However, it is always based on what we see, what we perceive, what we think. We never know what the future holds but God does.

(3) Because we are His children

Just like we are supposed to listen and obey our parents, we need to listen and obey God. We have to respect Him and shouldn’t close our ears when He speaks! We are to follow what He wants out of love, fear (in a good way), and respect!

(4) Because God disciplines us when we are stubborn

There are times when God disciplines us because we don’t want to listen to Him. Sometimes He let us do what we want but at other times, He disciplines us. It is not because He is a scary God but He disciplines us out of love, just like what parents would do to their kids when they don’t want to listen. Don’t let this happen to you because when God “slaps” us, it hurts! Listen to Him and listen well for your own good! The Israelites didn’t want to listen to God and they were disciplined by God for 40 years!

Zechariah 7:11-14 – “11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts.13 “As It called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts,14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”  – ESV

It is really important to listen and ask from God for wisdom. What looks like a simple yand trivial decision can actually affect your future for many years to come!

Next: Who? How do we know it’s God’s voice or the devil’s? Stay tuned for Part II.

“God, what is a million years to you?”
God said, “A million years to me is only a second.”
The man wondered.
Then he asked, “God, what is a million dollars worth to you?”
God said, “A million dollars to me is a penny.”
So the man said, “God can I have a penny ?”
And God cheerfully said,
“Sure!…….just a second .”

‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:

‘I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.

‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’

‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

Source: Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho