Hearing The Shepherd’s Voice – Episode 173
Have you struggled in your relations with God? Is hearing the Shepherd’s Voice too faint? Sometimes in our humility, we believe we are too sinful to ask to be in the presence of the Almighty. In this episode, we explore that the voice of God is a whisper away.
For immediate download: A Few Minutes with God plus study guide
Truth Seekers Mystery Series – Entire Set and Study Guides
One More Child: Book
Is it true that we are not worthy? Yes, and yes. But isn’t it also true that by the death and resurrection Jesus set us free, saved us from our sins, and has welcomed us with open arms to everlasting life with Him? The Scriptures are filled with the invitation from the Almighty to grow closer to Him. Why do we struggle to hear Him? There are too many reasons to list but the biggest is we can’t get past our own sinfulness and believe that God actually wants to speak to us in a personal way.
I’ve spent the bulk of the past several years on this podcast sharing with you all the ways to be open to the voice of God, to understand His love for us is beyond measure, and to explain that He is always waiting for us. But all of these words will fail to convey the depth of His love for us because we do not have words sufficient in the entire world to do it justice.
How can I a mere creature explain God’s love to you? I can’t. Only you can experience it in a personal way but it takes humility and an openness to understand that we hold the key. Yes, God has given us the ability to go to Him or to turn away. We are so busy with the nonsense of this world that we won’t even stop for five minutes a day and just listen. Sure we pray, we talk, we may even witness to others, but do we listen?
So many of us are truly sincere and want to do God’s will, and I do not doubt that for a minute. But, we go on our own steam, using our own wants and needs and prioritizing the “have-to-do list,” first. When you think about it, what is more, important on any list that would supersede time with God? Recently I listened to one of my favorite priests on YouTube, Father Goring. He gives short homilies and teachings and one recently was about hearing the Lord and doing His will. He explained about a man who was healed miraculously and then went to the hospital and prayed for the sick wanting them to explain the same miracle of healing that he experienced. The results were a failure and when the man cried out to God asking why, the Lord answered, “I didn’t ask you to do this.”
In our inexperience, we want to help save the world, but that is not our job. What is our job? For each of it is different, but can you imagine working in any job with any boss and not waiting for instructions before completing our tasks. We’d be fired on the spot. In a sense, our Creator gave us a manual, and it is filled with examples and verses that show time and again that God desires a covenant with man. What is this and how do we achieve this relationship with God? By spending time with the Lord and praising Him, and accepting what happens in our lives. Yes, this is easier said than accomplished, but I for one am blessed to offer you the podcasts on this network as a labor of love. From me to you, as we continue on the road least traveled.
Hearing the Shepherd’s Voice
John 10:11-18 states:
Luke 23:39-43One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us! But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom
Hearing God means making a commitment to Him, to repent and sin no more, and to follow His ways. Asking to sin no more takes a grace from God, we can not do it on our own.
When we listen to that prompting in our spirit, a leading that seems to come from nowhere, a push if you will to do something outside of our comfort zone, that may be the Holy Spirit. It is the idea of going right instead of left, the idea of talking to the lady who seems distraught in church and asking if you can pray for her, the idea to give of yourself in some small way for another. When we do what is right and just what is our reward?
Hearing the Shepherd’s Voice
How do we hear the Shepherd’s voice? If we are expecting a booming voice that shakes the foundation of our home we may be disappointed. The Lord speaks to us in many ways, and you can ask Him for a word, or a sense of His presence. It is the burning in our hearts that He is present, and an overwhelming sense of peace. A joy that surpasses all understanding, a knowledge that you know that you know that He hears you and is present. Are you welcoming or are you putting up barriers?
- I’m not good enough.
- No way do I hear God.
- He can’t be talking to me.
- I never hear God.
We have a book of thousands of words that Christ spoke and these are not just for the people of the day they are for you, and for me. It can be when we are lead to read a particular Scripture verse, or during our time of prayer when we stop and listen. Is the Lord leading you to write something down? It can be when we really want that snack and decide to forgo it and pray for those without. It can be a time when we are lead to pray for someone that keeps coming to mind, it can be reaching out to others outside of our comfort zone and inviting them to church. It can be in praising God daily, it can be in focusing on the positives in our life or it can be in the small success of practicing self-control.
In all of these things, we praise God and ask Him for his help!
Dear Lord, we want to do your will and we want to hear your voice but we need Your help and grace to do this. Please, dear Lord, we want to follow your ways. I repent from any way I have sinned against you and I ask for your mercy and your forgiveness. Thank you for dying for my sins, Lord. Please expand my time and give me the burning desire to spend time with you in silence. Open my ears to hear your voice and help me in my everyday walk with you. I ask for the following needs: … and I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen!
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