DID YOU HEAR THAT?
I recently came across an article about African elephants using subsonic frequencies (sounds too low for humans to hear) to communicate with each other over incredible distances. During the dry season the elephants search for water using their sense of smell (they can smell water as deep as 8 feet underground). When an elephant locates a source of water, it vocalizes a subsonic rumble that other elephants can hear from 2 to 6 miles away. When enough elephants have gathered in response to this call, they form a circle and begin stomping the ground to drive the water to the surface.
As incredible as this is, what is even more incredible to me is the resistance of so many individuals to acknowledge the reality of the spiritual realm because of their inability to perceive it with their limited physical senses. Even the technology that we build and use to extend the range of our senses is limited. Even while acknowledging these limitations, they would deny the existence of anything that cannot be subjected to some form of metric.
One topic that raises such doubt, even among believers, is our ability to hear God speak to us. As a prophetic community we teach and encourage people to listen for the voice of God. It is, in my opinion, impossible to live in Christ-likeness without hearing the Father’s voice as He directs us daily through the many good works He has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10). And yet, when a comment is made that someone has heard God speak to them, it often generates looks of confusion and questions of concern. Here are some of the most common questions we get.
DOES GOD REALLY SPEAK TO US?
The truth is that we are God’s creation, and that He is DESPERATE to speak with us. He will use anything He can to achieve this intimate level of relationship with us.
He will speak through nature (Psa. 97:6)
He will speak through music (Zep. 3:17)
He will speak through the counsel of others (Job 15:8)
He will speak through dreams and visions (Joel 2:28)
He will speak through the cannon of scripture (Psa. 119:11)
And He will speak to us with His voice (Acts 9:10-11).
The Bible tells us, in the book of Genesis, that God would spend the cool of the day in fellowship with Adam and Eve. But after they disobeyed (sinned), they hid themselves when they heard Him coming. God cried out to them, “Adam, where are you?” They recognized His voice. They responded to His call, and they conversed with Him. We were designed to have conversations with God. We were created for that very purpose, but sin dulls our ability to hear His voice. At a minimum, it dulls our desire to hear His voice (sin makes us want to hide from Him). There is also a level of accountability that cannot be ignored when you hear God speaking to you. Not surprisingly, there are those who choose not to acknowledge or pursue this level of intimacy and relationship with the Father. When Jesus taught about the great day of judgement (Mat. 7:23), He told us that many who have performed miracles in His name will be told, “depart from me, I never knew you”. It is impossible to have an intimate relationship without conversation.
HOW DO I KNOW IT’S REALLY GOD SPEAKING?
OR
HOW DO I KNOW IT’S NOT “JUST ME”?
This is a really important concept to grasp. IT’S NEVER “JUST YOU.” There is a spiritual war being waged over each one of us. The Father is determined to see us transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Satan is intent on destroying the effectiveness of our relationship with the Father, and ultimately the effectiveness of God’s Kingdom. Every random thought that we have is influenced either by the Father, or by the forces of darkness. With every thought we are allowed a choice to turn towards the Father’s love, or away from it. Even Jesus was subjected to this process. Following His baptism, Satan tempted Him (Mat. 4:6). Satan SPOKE to Him, attempting to influence Him. Satan even used scripture in the attempted deception. But Jesus TESTED the word. Jesus used scripture to test the scripture Satan used, and found the message devoid of truth. We need to develop the habit of testing every word, every thought, every dream, every voice that comes to us. We test with prayer. We test with scripture. We test with the counsel of other believers. Eventually, just as newborns learn to recognize the voice of their mother, we learn to recognize the loving voice of the Father, and still we test. I think the Father takes special delight in proving Himself to us. So test Him. That’s how we know who is speaking to us.
DO YOU HEAR AN AUDIBLE VOICE, OR AN INNER VOICE?
This question is troublesome to me because of the assumption and judgement of God that precedes it. The question is formed on the assumption that if God (who is spirit) wants to communicate with us (spiritual beings, but temporarily in physical form) He would most likely do this through the physical realm, and a judgement is then made that an audible (physical) communication is more valid than an inner (spiritual) communication.
An audible (external, physical) sound travels as a wave of energy, measured as a frequency, until it reaches your ear. In your ear this sound wave is transformed into an electrical impulse which excites neurons in your brain. Your brain then interprets these excited neurons as “sound”. We can classify and categorize these sounds. We can store these sounds. We can recall and reproduce these sounds at will. We can modify them or change them. We can create an infinite variety of these sounds as we think and speak. Most human beings are quite adept at manipulating the neurons in their brain in this fashion, and yet could not begin to explain how they do it. Is it that great a stretch to believe that an all wise, wonderful and loving God who created us could simply excite a few neurons in our brain to communicate with us? Why would we insist that the validity of His communication be based on the creation of a physical vibration that will eventually be turned into an electrical impulse that we are capable of producing all on our own (even if we don’t know how we do it)? Of course, a sound originating from an external source could possibly be heard by another person as well. Then again, it might not be.
If another person does not hear what you heard, does that mean the sound did not occur?
If a tree falls in the forest . . .
The real question is not “was it an audible or inner voice?”
The real question is “DID YOU HEAR HIS VOICE?”
As incredible as this is, what is even more incredible to me is the resistance of so many individuals to acknowledge the reality of the spiritual realm because of their inability to perceive it with their limited physical senses. Even the technology that we build and use to extend the range of our senses is limited. Even while acknowledging these limitations, they would deny the existence of anything that cannot be subjected to some form of metric.
One topic that raises such doubt, even among believers, is our ability to hear God speak to us. As a prophetic community we teach and encourage people to listen for the voice of God. It is, in my opinion, impossible to live in Christ-likeness without hearing the Father’s voice as He directs us daily through the many good works He has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10). And yet, when a comment is made that someone has heard God speak to them, it often generates looks of confusion and questions of concern. Here are some of the most common questions we get.
DOES GOD REALLY SPEAK TO US?
The truth is that we are God’s creation, and that He is DESPERATE to speak with us. He will use anything He can to achieve this intimate level of relationship with us.
He will speak through nature (Psa. 97:6)
He will speak through music (Zep. 3:17)
He will speak through the counsel of others (Job 15:8)
He will speak through dreams and visions (Joel 2:28)
He will speak through the cannon of scripture (Psa. 119:11)
And He will speak to us with His voice (Acts 9:10-11).
The Bible tells us, in the book of Genesis, that God would spend the cool of the day in fellowship with Adam and Eve. But after they disobeyed (sinned), they hid themselves when they heard Him coming. God cried out to them, “Adam, where are you?” They recognized His voice. They responded to His call, and they conversed with Him. We were designed to have conversations with God. We were created for that very purpose, but sin dulls our ability to hear His voice. At a minimum, it dulls our desire to hear His voice (sin makes us want to hide from Him). There is also a level of accountability that cannot be ignored when you hear God speaking to you. Not surprisingly, there are those who choose not to acknowledge or pursue this level of intimacy and relationship with the Father. When Jesus taught about the great day of judgement (Mat. 7:23), He told us that many who have performed miracles in His name will be told, “depart from me, I never knew you”. It is impossible to have an intimate relationship without conversation.
HOW DO I KNOW IT’S REALLY GOD SPEAKING?
OR
HOW DO I KNOW IT’S NOT “JUST ME”?
This is a really important concept to grasp. IT’S NEVER “JUST YOU.” There is a spiritual war being waged over each one of us. The Father is determined to see us transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Satan is intent on destroying the effectiveness of our relationship with the Father, and ultimately the effectiveness of God’s Kingdom. Every random thought that we have is influenced either by the Father, or by the forces of darkness. With every thought we are allowed a choice to turn towards the Father’s love, or away from it. Even Jesus was subjected to this process. Following His baptism, Satan tempted Him (Mat. 4:6). Satan SPOKE to Him, attempting to influence Him. Satan even used scripture in the attempted deception. But Jesus TESTED the word. Jesus used scripture to test the scripture Satan used, and found the message devoid of truth. We need to develop the habit of testing every word, every thought, every dream, every voice that comes to us. We test with prayer. We test with scripture. We test with the counsel of other believers. Eventually, just as newborns learn to recognize the voice of their mother, we learn to recognize the loving voice of the Father, and still we test. I think the Father takes special delight in proving Himself to us. So test Him. That’s how we know who is speaking to us.
DO YOU HEAR AN AUDIBLE VOICE, OR AN INNER VOICE?
This question is troublesome to me because of the assumption and judgement of God that precedes it. The question is formed on the assumption that if God (who is spirit) wants to communicate with us (spiritual beings, but temporarily in physical form) He would most likely do this through the physical realm, and a judgement is then made that an audible (physical) communication is more valid than an inner (spiritual) communication.
An audible (external, physical) sound travels as a wave of energy, measured as a frequency, until it reaches your ear. In your ear this sound wave is transformed into an electrical impulse which excites neurons in your brain. Your brain then interprets these excited neurons as “sound”. We can classify and categorize these sounds. We can store these sounds. We can recall and reproduce these sounds at will. We can modify them or change them. We can create an infinite variety of these sounds as we think and speak. Most human beings are quite adept at manipulating the neurons in their brain in this fashion, and yet could not begin to explain how they do it. Is it that great a stretch to believe that an all wise, wonderful and loving God who created us could simply excite a few neurons in our brain to communicate with us? Why would we insist that the validity of His communication be based on the creation of a physical vibration that will eventually be turned into an electrical impulse that we are capable of producing all on our own (even if we don’t know how we do it)? Of course, a sound originating from an external source could possibly be heard by another person as well. Then again, it might not be.
If another person does not hear what you heard, does that mean the sound did not occur?
If a tree falls in the forest . . .
The real question is not “was it an audible or inner voice?”
The real question is “DID YOU HEAR HIS VOICE?”
