“But the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits”

(Daniel 11:32)

Driving to the studio of ICFN television station I was pondering in my heart the words that I was going to preach that Monday morning and all of a sudden I was reminded of the scripture in Daniel chapter 11 which spoke about  the strengthening of the saints in the final days. Then as I got to the studio I searched for this verse and here it was verse 32. I was astonished by the goodness of our God to me and that He could speak to us in our inner most being, even by reminding us of His written word.

Yes knowing God means truly having a conversation with Him. Not only being able to speak to Him, but the ability of hearing Him in many spectacular ways. Greatest of all in hearing Him through His word.

Knowing God simply means to have our spirits born from above so that we could hear Him communicating with us more clearly as His children. Without being able to hear Him in our hearts we cannot say that we know Him or are truly born again.

The ability to hear God in a paternal way is a gift given to us by grace when we are born again. This special gift of hearing is developed as we grow in the knowledge of His word and also through His Spirit’s illumination in us as we walk in Him.

As we are given the grace of being born again the Holy Spirit gives us a greater freedom to call upon Him as Abba Father, and this is the most magnificent gift of all to any believer, which is the right to hear His communicative voice in us. Even though we read after the fall Cain heard and communicated with God in his fallen state, yet it is very much different I believe as we receive His Spirit in us as sons.

Hearing God’s voice is an awesome revelation of His majesty, yet in itself demonstrates His unfathomable love for earthly men like us.

It speaks of God’s intention to communicate with His creation and it makes us partakers of His divine attributes. It also provides comfort and assurance that we are not left alone in this planet called earth, even when other created beings remain silent.

Hearing God’s voice speaks of His loving care for us, especially His begotten Children through Christ His Son. Being able to hear His voice in its different forms assures of His eternal attributes of love and care and also His omni presence and His personhood. Him calling us sons of men has given us a greater privilege to also receive a higher status by being also called as sons of God.

Having received such divine honor I would say it is now our legal privilege to be in communion with Him, an advantage received by being grafted into His heavenly identity.

It is a great privileged position, which many do not understand its depths. The unbelieving say how could you hear and speak to the One whom you’ve never seen? Thus they begin to muck this very fabric of our sonship in Him.

Let me add that the scripture proves that even the birds of the air and the four-footed animals have this ability to hear and even obey His voice, let alone His own children created after His own image and likeness.

Having said all this let us now see why some do not hear Him speaking to them? Or how sometimes they mistake His voice withother voices? Are these people forbidden from hearing His voice? Or are they just unaware?

Can the wicked and idolaters hear His voice also?  Looking into the scriptures I see that yes the animals too can hear Him in His speech.

I have Laban the Assyrian an idolater as an example in the scriptures who did hear the God of Jacob before he meet him after Jacob fled from his house. Also the different Egyptian Pharaoh’s were able to hear Him through visions and dreams.

Then is hearing the Lord a sign of being accepted by Him or not? These are difficult and probing questions that their answers lie as mysteries to be unfolded in His word.

But for the redeemed of the Lord in knowing their Redeemer hearing His voice is an absolute necessity. This one being a biblical and a factual truth. The art of listening to the voice of The Lord is a very important part of knowing Him and all His true childrenmust be trained in hearing Him right. This is why Moses in speaking to Children of Israel said to them about the “Shema Yisrael”meaning Listen Israel with the intention of obeying.

This in itself tells me that we are not only invited to hear God’s voice, but to hear it in the intention of obeying it. That is why the New Covenant scripture is full of this saying “Whoever has an ear let Him hear”. This opens up a whole new different aspect of knowing Him, which depends on obeying His spoken or written word. A very good example is the young man Samuel who was brought to the Old Priest Eli’s house by her mother for service and training. Samuel was presented to God to become the future spokesman for God, but this happened after his hearing was developed in the house of a man who because of sin no longer was able to hear God voice. Eli is a very good example of spiritual decay in the priesthood due to the sin of compromise. Compromising God’s truth after many warnings can cause spiritual deafness.  Eli’s radical rebellion in compromising the truth with the acts of his wicked sons brought him this judgment resulting in first spiritual death and soon the death of his two wicked sons and himself. That is why the young man Samuel was brought to Eli the Priest for actual hands on training. Training in hearing God’s voice and also training in developing the fear of the Lord by seeing the Lord’s dealings with the compromising high priest. This way the future prophet was trained through experience and not in a seminary. To truly become God’s faithful spokes man to Kings like Saul and David Samuel needed to be trained in this intensity. In this he needed to know God face to face, in developing a heart after God by listening to His voice. All the prophets who were the Old Testament messengers of God were trained by God in very difficult circumstances, through much toil and suffering in obedience. Prophet Elijah is one of them who through intense training were prepared to rebuke kings like Ahab who through covetous idolatries listening to his wicked wife queen Jezebel killed Naboth.

In 1Kings chapter 21 we read how Elijah the prophet having heard from the Lord went to rebuke the king. These men were God’s true spokesmen trained by Him to bring correction to the kings let alone the people of Israel. In His meeting with King of Israel Ahab prophet Elijah spoke of God’s righteous judgment on him and his wicked wife and both of their deaths. Even though Ahab hated Elijah, but in this occasion the word says he humbled himself and truly repented and the Lord’s justice was delayed until he was murdered in his own stubbornly wicked planed war.

Therefore to hear the voice of God and to be trained by it is nothing but knowing God practically. Different men have different experiences of their own and none could copy another man’s relationship with God. The Lord reserves the right to have a very unique & personal experience with each of His people. Each one according to His own election according to grace.

The same Lord is the Lord of all. If the fowl of the air listen to His voice and obey to bring food to His elect, then what else do you and me have to say. As I said the birds of the air sometimes are more attentive to His voice than men who are created in His image. Prophet Elijah in being provided for by a crawl must have learned that even the unclean birds are hearing and obeying Him, how much more he should.

You see this kind of practical training taught him how to hear the voice of the Lord. Sometimes through nature, other times an inner quiet whisper, and other times an audible voice can be the means of His communication with us.

The woman of Zaraphat and her starving child were also confirmations to these communicative words of his God.

An unfathomable God can communicate with His own through any and all means.

Unclean spirits like the one’s speaking through the wicked vessels like queen Jezebel too could be bringing communication to the righteous.

Like the woman named Jezebel in the book of Revelations too, who seduced the saints could speak  to men’s ears, however only a true heart and a genuine love for the truth can separate one from another. Having a true love for the truth in the inward parts of men is the greatest test of the true voice of the Lord. The Lord leaves the judgment of His voice to its hearers when they are mature and well versed in the word and possessing pure motives. The seducing spirits, even with the Lord’s permission could speak to those who are wicked in their hearts. To the prideful and the ignorant. That is why we need to pay a close attention to the motives of our hearts too. This is exactly why in 1 King 22^nd chapter we read an unbelievable truth.

In the verses 19 through 23 when prophet Micaiah warns King Ahab of his second folly and the King refused to hear the voice of God through His prophet the Lord says the following unbelievable words.

“And the Lord said… Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?” So one spoke in this manner and another spoke in that manner, then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said I will persuade him. “The Lord said to him, in what way?  So he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, you shall persuade him and also prevail. Go out and do so. Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

(1 Kings 22:19-23)

Yes the Lord testing the motives of a man will give him over to the folly of His own wicked heart. Exactly what the 2^nd letter of Paul to the Thessalonian church speaks of the last day strong delusion that men will be given onto by God Himself.

Therefore this tells me that my hearing has a lot to do with where my heart is at the given moment. This is why the Bible says in the last days we will have many false prophets arising and taking disciples after themselves, and God would allow them to deceive and be deceived.

This is the very reason that God’s true prophets are always waiting and weighing the word to make sure they have heard from the Lord and the word was a true saying of Him.

If not in the massive way like the sound of a huge earthquake, maybe in a wind, but why not maybe in a still small voice.

The true children of God would receive His truth even to their harm and disadvantage and would ponder them in their hearts like Mary the mother of the Lord. The true children of God are ready at all times and in all circumstances to have communion with Him and their hearts are always open to His love, admonishment and even rebuke. They are not afraid of His voice as John the gospel writer says “The sheep follow Him for they know His voice, yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers”. (John 10:5)

This is the great truth which we should follow in knowing God that His own sheep no matter in which covenant those who remained faithfully obedient in all generations heard His voice and followed the voice of their shepherd.

But those who went after their own desired communications like in all generations another voice will bring them to their own desire and in the end will leave them broken and perishing through their own destructive appetites of their flesh.

Therefore let us follow Him in truth and in love, knowing that He cares to speak to us if we come to Him in spirit and in truth.