"...It is impossible to follow the Lord unless we hear and recognize His voice.”
Derek Prince
I am always amazed when a mom can distinguish which cry in a nursery comes from their baby. They can recognize their child’s cry because they have spent time listening to their child crying. Likewise, as we spend time in God’s presence listening to His voice, we begin to know the Father’s voice. The more time we spend in the Word of God, the better we understand God’s nature so we can discern God’s voice over the deceiver’s voice. Recognizing the Father’s voice is a process that requires us to intentionally spend time with Him.
Sometimes when others describe aspects of God’s character based on their perspective through the wounded eyes of their hearts, their vision of who God is and what He is like is distorted. During one such conversation, I remember thinking to myself, That’s not the God I know!
We learn to appreciate our spouse’s nuances by spending lots of time with them. Gradually, we can discern how they might respond to a particular situation. As we experience God in our daily lives, sit still in His presence listening to His voice, and immerse ourselves in His Word, we will become familiar with how His voice sounds.
In John 10:27, Jesus promises us, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” In Biblical times, a shepherd led his sheep by the sound of his voice. The sheep followed the shepherd by listening to him and went where they heard his voice. We listen to God’s voice so we can follow Him and obey Him.
The mark of Jesus’s sheep is that they hear His voice. It’s that ability to hear God’s voice that distinguishes His children from those who don’t know Him. Make it a priority to listen to God’s voice, to learn the Lover of your soul’s subtle distinctions, so that you can follow Him wherever He goes.
“The fact that they know the voice of the Lord enables them to keep from being deceived by the false prophets and teachers.” Derek Prince
Relevant Reflections:
How do you listen to the Shepherd’s voice? How can you tell it’s His voice and not someone else's?
Describe a time when you heard God’s voice and followed Him.
Image by Stefan Baumgartner from Pixabay
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