God's Mouthpiece
4 Keys To Hearing God's Voice (Habakkuk 2:1-2)
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Habakkuk, a minor prophet of the Old Testament, saw the injustice taking place among the people of Judah. He questioned God's wisdom about how long He would allow it? God speaks to His heart and lets him know that He will raise up the Babylonians to take Judah into captivity. Habakkuk is appalled at God's choice of armies to punish Judah, as the Babylonians were more treacherous than Judah. God lets Habakkuk know that, once Israel repents, He will turn around and execute justice against the Babylonians according to their treachery. Habakkuk still does not understand everything God has chosen to do.
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In order to seek for clarity in a time of what seemed confusing to Habakkuk, his next few actions give us simple keys to hearing God more clearly ourselves.
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Habakkuk 2:1-2:
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"I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart [watchtower];..."
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Key #1: Get above [or away] from the noise of life to listen more carefully and without distraction.
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"And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved."
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Key #2: Use the eyes and ears of your heart to listen and look to see what God will speak to your hearts and show you in the theater of your imagination. After all, isn't this one of the reasons He created our imagination? We cast down vain imaginations and any high thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5), but we are meant to hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:27). We know the difference between His voice and the voice of the enemy if we know God's Word (John 10:5). Why do some people not hear God's voice or see what God wants to show them? It is usually because they are too busy and distracted to listen and look, and because they do not believe that they can. God knows what we hear and see from Him will be questioned, as Habakkuk knew he would be reproved by those in Judah. But that is why He exhorts us to "Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15).
"Then the Lord answered me and said..."
Key #3: Expect an answer or a vision when you ask God for answers. Sometimes His answer may not make sense at the time. Many are the times when He spoke to me, and months or years later, something happened that surprised me - until I went back and looked at the Word I had been given by God. So when you inquire of God, tune to your inner man, where the Holy Spirit dwells. Expect an answer. God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
“Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, [so] that the one who reads it may run [with it].
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Key #4: When you hear from God, or He shows you something, write it down. First, you need to remember what you heard and saw. Second, know that doubt is probably going to confront you about it. Third, when it happens, you will be encouraged by going back to see it written down just as it is unfolding. You may not have understood the answer when it came from the Lord, but years later when it happened and your heart is pricked about what you wrote down days, months, or even years earlier, your faith will be strengthened. You will usually learn important things about yourself, about God, and about your circumstances in the process.
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Many people feel that they are of no consequence to God: that He doesn't think about them or love them. Some even think that you have to be special in order to hear God or see things He wants to show us. If you believe like this, then consider the message given in this next video. It was given to a small gathering of people, but meant for all those who know and serve Christ today and for the rest of time here on earth. I pray that you will hear and receive the message as from God's heart to yours.
I don't know about you, but that message has been a powerful word to my life. I have listened to it over and over again, and have used it to minister to countless people since it was recorded and made available on YouTube. Ever since the night of that little gathering for prayer in North Carolina, where the word was spoken during a time when the Spirit of God was moving among those gathered, it has blessed, strengthened, and encouraged hundreds and hundreds of believers. Fear must be vanquished in order to live in confidence and peace. As He said, "Perfect love casts out fear." So, the key is to get as close to Love Himself as often as possible. Let Him resolve your fears, make wrong things right again, and begin to open doors of blessing to your life!
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Pray the following prayer if you feel it is appropriate for you. If you have never exercised the ability to see the Lord in a vision or to hear His voice intentionally, or if you have tried this and failed, I would invite you to pray this prayer.
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“Father, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You for the spiritual equipment that You gave me: eyes to see Jesus and ears to hear His voice and Your voice through the Holy Spirit who lives inside me. I want to repent if I have not tried to use this spiritual capacity that You deposited in me whether I didn’t know I could or whether I was afraid that it was wrong. If my spiritual muscles have atrophied, Father, please heal them. I want to thank You for restoring these abilities in me tonight and I ask that the Holy Spirit would take control and help me to have an encounter with Jesus.
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Read ALL of the instructions to the end (at least once, maybe twice) before you start the next exercise.
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EXERCISE 6
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Look back on Page 3. Select one of those times when you wondered, "Where were You God?"
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Because God is El Roi, He saw everything that happened to us throughout our lifetime thus far. Because He lives outside of time, although He will not change the outcome, He can show up in our experiences of oppression and give us fresh perspective and truth. It is not the things that happened so much that crush us, it is what those things cause us to believe about ourselves. The enemy loves to take advantage of experiences of oppression: times when we are neglected, abused, rejected, or experience pain. He strikes immediately to the heart of our identity. It is this lie about who we are that seems to stick like those gray dots.
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Now, picture the scene surrounding that scenario you chose. If the experience was extremely painful, picture it immediately following the most painful part. Close your eyes and picture yourself in the scene you chose from your worksheet (or in a safe place immediately following). Can you see yourself there?
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Once you see yourself in the scene, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to take over the eyes of your heart. Look around the scene until you find Jesus. Once you see Him (or even get an impression of where He is), look and listen to what He shows you and communicates to your heart. Once you’ve seen or heard Him, write it down on the blank side of page 3, across from the matching scenario you chose.
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(Now that you've read the directions, go back and walk through this exercise entirely, and write down what you hear and see).
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Once you've experienced two-way, heart-to-heart communication with the Lord through the indwelling Holy Spirit, (and even if you don't this first time around), you can go on to the other scenarios you wrote on page 3, where you felt like God was not there, or did not see. Try this exercise with each event you wrote down for this exercise, and practice your communication with God. If you were not already accustomed to having this type of communication with God (which is promised and clearly outlined in Scripture - Joel 2, Acts 2, John 10 and all those you've already seen throughout this journey), you will find that the "spiritual muscles" of your spiritual senses, that have atrophied from lack of use, will become stronger and stronger. Remember, he who has will receive more, and he who has not (or doesn't use what he has), even what he had will be taken away from him (Matthew 13:12).