Yesterday, a friend asked me, "How do YOU hear from Jesus?" Hearing from God has been a recurring theme the last couple months. It is interesting to me what people think about "hearing" from God. Some are very strange and some are sound. First, I do believe that God is speaking to everyone, but like radio waves, some people are tuned to AM when the signal is coming through on FM - but even then, there will be messages on AM that tell that person to tune to FM - if you catch my meaning. Hearing Jesus is something that comes in many ways, but every way must be TESTED (as the scripture tells us) so that we can be as sure as possible that we are truly hearing from Jesus -- or not.
The following is a bit expanded from what I answered my friend about hearing from God - the book of Hebrews says this in chapter one, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." So we can all be sure that God is speaking to us by means of his son, Jesus. So, how does Jesus speak to us today, and how can we know we are hearing him?
1. BIBLE READING – God has already spoken in biblical history and through Jesus, so that is a solid place to begin. I often listen to the Bible on my iPod. Often I will take whole books of the Bible, like Genesis, Isaiah, Psalms, Romans, Hebrews, or the gospels, and will listen to the entire thing at one sitting everyday for a months to a year. I listen carefully until I can hear the verses in their own context in a way that washes away the layers of theological dogma I’ve received “about” certain verses. When that happens, and it does, I often hear the voice of the Lord in a fresh and unique, way. Once I listened to the book of Romans everyday for over a year. It changed my life and Jesus spoke to me clearly about a number of very important things in my life.
2. PRAYER – of course, listening through my times of prayer is as important - prayer is listening as well as speaking. Listening to God in prayer is at least as important as it is to speak to God in prayer. My prayers are often rooted in the scriptures I am reading at the moment. But, I take time to get alone and pray, and not merely pray through the day - as I go along - though that is also helpful. There is something important, special and vital about spending an hour or more in a closed room, praying and looking at the scriptures in a prayerful/contemplative condition of heart. God has already spoken in time and space, and those words come become personally meaningful in this kind of prayerful environment - but one must make the effort to create this environment. It is a lot like building a nest. One must be intentional about this kind of prayer.
3. FAMILY & CHILDREN – Jesus speaks to me through the voices of my family members as I am sensitive to their input, their fears and joys, their cries and desires, their touch and their love. There have been times when I was feeling low that my grandchildren hugged me and kissed me and told me they loved me. I heard Jesus speaking to me through their love. Without Jesus I wouldn't have these grandchildren. I am so grateful for the love of my family. It comforts me to know that God's family is infinitely more wonderful than my own. I hear Jesus talking to me about "FAMILY" - the new family into which he has brought me. I hear him say, "I love you too."
4. MUSIC – I have certain musicians I listen to often, but not usually the church kind, and I get a lot out of that. Sometimes Jesus will speak to me through the mouth of a singer who is processing their experiences through their art. The same happens to me with visual artists as well.
5. COUNCIL – I ask others, particularly those with spiritual authority, preferably not quasi-christians, but I also explore ideas/feelings/questions with people who are totally unrelated to the things about which I am trying to “hear” God. This is PROACTIVE SEEKING and it overcomes the problems that passivity and inactivity causes. Jesus said to ask, seek & knock, and that includes speaking to others, not exclusively speaking to God. When we speak to others, especially those with long life experience (elders), we get distilled wisdom that would take us decades and tons of pain to acquire by ourselves. I highly recommend listening to older/wiser people. I often hear Jesus speaking to me through them.
6. REASON and Intellectual argumentation – In my own mind I weigh one thing against another. This, again, keeps me from a passive attitude and helps me to "own" my decisions - be they good, bad, or indifferent. This way I learn to make better decisions as I go, I hope. :-) Obeying the Lord, following the Lord, understanding the Lord's will is an imperfect process and it involves a lot of trial and error. Anyone who understands "spirituality" will agree with this, for "now we see through a glass . . . darkly . . ." The Anglican church says that three things are necessary for a vibrant faith - a) scripture b) tradition c) reason. I agree with this. It is popular to be against tradition, but this, in my view is short sighted. Traditions exist for a reason, and even Paul tells Timothy to practice and teach the traditions he had learned. Traditions guide us and provide wisdom as well as structure for us, but these are not to be engaged mindlessly. REASON can never be abandoned. Reason must be an integral part of our "hearing" from Jesus.
7. SERMONS and “teachings,” both recorded and in person – This is one of the ways I get the “distilled” ideas of both scriptures and life, but through the grid of different minds/hearts/spirits than my own. I receive different perspectives, and that is awesome. I am not alone, and I am not trapped by my own limitations. I am expanded and enhanced by the lives of others. Not that I agree with everything I hear, but it helps me to turn information in ways I would not do so by myself; plus people like N. T. Wright and others are such wonderful scholars and speakers that they give me access to knowledge I just would not discover by myself. These people help me tremendously. It is important to listen to the better teachers and to avoid the weaker teachers. I think this is a biblical principal, as well as common sense.
8. DREAMS & VISIONS - Sometimes I have dreams and “visions” – though I NEVER seek these things. This is a bit more sketchy and subjective, and I don't like to recommend that people look to dreams or visions for guidance. I think this is subject to all sorts of abuse and MUST be scrutinized through the grids of some of these other things I have mentioned. But, that said, I have had spiritual dreams from time to time and Jesus has spoken to me through them. This has not been often, but it has happened. I would caution people to neither seek dreams or visions, nor reject them out of hand. Jesus can and does speak to us this way. The trouble is, it often will take someone like a Daniel of the Old Testament to interpret them, and that requires speicif spiritual gifting that most of us don't have. If you do have a dream you think is from the Lord, share it with an experienced spiritual counselor with gifts enough to help you descern its meaning.
9. GATHERINGS – I truly “HEAR” from God during public worship sessions with God’s people. The effect of GRACE on my soul throgh connection to corporate worship is often profound, and is probably one of the most regular contexts in which I hear God's voice -- and I believe this is the way God intended for us to hear him most often - in the context of people gathered to worship Jesus. This is why I tell people to go to church meetings, even if they don't like some things about it. Jesus speaks to his people in the context of the "worship service" in unique and consistant ways.
I am not a fan of people prophesying over other people, telling them what the will of God is for their lives. Not that this cannot happen, but it is, in my view, the most uncertain way to hear from God and subjects the "receiver" to enormous problems of manipulation. If God is going to speak to me, he can speak to me directly through the mechanisms I mention in this blog post, he does not need to send someone to prophesy over me -- BUT -- if he did/does -- then I would still subject that "word" to the same tests as I would subject any other "word," to the scriptures, to tradition, to reason, to those in spiritual authority over me, to my parents, to other mature believers, and so forth. I would be VERY suspicious and uncomfortable about anyone prophesying over me (like, "The Lord wants you to go to Africa to be a missionary" - or - "Someone in this place is experiencing pain"), and such statements should set off the "baloney-sandwich" bell in anyone's mind until it is proven one way or another.
10. WATCH & PRAY – Jesus said, "Watch and pray." I interpret that as, "PRAY and “PAY ATTENTION” to thing happening around you. I try to do this, particularly in my daily life; particularly if anything unusual happenings which could be regarded as out of the ordinary or slightly unexpected. Though they could be dramatic, these changes are usually subtle,. As life unfolds, Jesus speaks to us through these daily events, but one must be watching for them. One must pay attention or they can miss what God is saying to them. At the same time, one must not "read something into" the events of their life. Generally, if you are paying attention, it will be rather clear (though subtle) what God is saying to you.
11. CULTURE – God does not only speak TO the culture through the gospel, he also speaks THROUGH the culture to his people. This is why Christians need not fear the culture, but rather interact with it. Jesus was perpetually in connection with his culture. He was smack dab in the middle of everything. He still is. God is, I believe, constantly speaking through the mechanisms of culture - every culture. Of course, I am sensitized to the art world, so those things tend to speak to me a lot, but I would say that God speaks to each of us through the parts of our own culture to which we feel most rightfully connected.
12. DIALOGUE - with others – sinners as well as saints, spouse as well as strangers, friends with whom I have walks this walk for many years – friends whose spiritual sensibilities are mature and well developed. Council from non-believers also often instructs me. Just because someone is not of the same "persuations" as am I does not mean they have nothing to say to me. They do, and I listen for the council of Jesus through my interaction with others.
13. WORK – I hear the Lord speaking to me through the work I do. Much insight has come to me through tending my gardens, through painting, and through building. I built custom home for a number of years. I am a bit of a carpenter and love to build things. Jesus speaks to me through the works of my hands.
14. NATURE – I see and hear God in nature ALL THE TIME – loudly and clearly as well as subtely and nuanced. The Apostle Paul tells us that, " . . . since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made . . . ." I once learned a "deep" spiritual lesson through an experience I had in my garden with wasps and cabbage worms. It blows my mind to this very day. I also love astronomy and all kind of things that have to do with space, the universe, and the ways the earth, moon and stars move. I watch the insect world, study birds, observe trees through each season and enjoy being in direct contact with nature – and I hear the Lord speak to me all the time through these things - just as Jesus used these elements in his own teachings in the gospels - e.g. sower and seeds, the withering of the fig tree, the fields white for harvets, being able to read the signs of the sky but not spiritual signs, the draught of fishes, and so much more. Even the story of Jonah is bound up with the phenomena of nature. The Bible is full of it, and to miss how God is speaking through nature is a huge mistake. This is one reason why I am a "green" believer. We must steward nature, not only for nature's sake, but because of how God speak to us all through nature. To destroy it ruins the quality of how he speaks to us.
15. MULTI-CULTURALISM – I travel a bit, and I hear Jesus speaking to me through the lives and customs of other people and other cultures. I have always said that if I had not become a “minister” I would have probably pursued a career as a cultural anthropologist. I could easily have become a sociologist or psychologist. I love people. People are God's highest creation on this planet, as far as we know, and it is easy to hear Jesus speaking to us by interacting with those who are created in his likeness and image - especially when they do what they do differently in the context of their own unique and wonderful cultural contexts.
16. SCHOLARSHIP – being a student of many things, I hear Jesus through everything I investigate and study.
17. GUT FEELINGS – over time I have learned to pay attention to those intuitive gut feelings. When I do, I prosper. When I ignore them, I usually suffer for it. I try to pay attention to that nagging feeling that something is not quite right - be careful - be observant - don't trust everything at face value. That is usually Jesus telling me to be cautious.
18. CONFIRMATION FROM OTHERS - "Confirming words" from others – when God speaks into my life, there is often a confirmation of that word through the direct “words” or "reactions" of others. Many times they don’t really realize that they are confirming (or disputing) something I think God has spoken to me. The Bible tells us to honor and obey our parents. That does not stop when the law says we can be emmancipated at age 18. I respect, honor and obey my parents to this day, and both of them have passed away many years ago. I honor them still to today. I think this is right and good, and it helps me to TEST whether Jesus is really speaking to me, or if I just have a bit of anxiety or indigestion working on my mind.
There are more ways, I am sure, to hear from Jesus, but these are just some of the things that came to mind when my friend asked me that question. The point is, "GOD IS SPEAKING TO US ALL THE TIME - BUT - ARE WE LISTENING?"
