How Do You Hear God Speak?
“I seek You with all my heart… I have hidden your word in my heart… I meditate on your precepts… I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:10-16
Did you know that the percentage of Bible following Christians who read God’s Word daily (or even a few times a week) has dropped drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic?
According to the Barna research group and the American Bible Society, between early 2019 and 2020, the percentage of regular readers had already dropped from 14 percent to 9 percent. But the decline continued during the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, and by June, the percentage of daily Bible users had dropped to 8.5 percent.
See article from Christianity Today here!
I don’t know how frequently any of you read the Bible in a given week, or if you hear God speaking to you about your life, but I hope you do.
Here’s what I do each time I read:
- I ask God to speak to me because I don’t want to read without hearing Him speak.
- I always have a pen and my journal ready to make notes.
- I ask questions: Lord, what do you want me to learn from this? Speak to my heart, not just my mind—I want transformation, not just information.
- I ponder the passage to see what principle or command there is that applies to my thoughts, my attitude, my fears, my need for direction about current decisions I need wisdom about.
Let me give you an example. A few mornings ago, I started reading in Matthew’s Gospel and stopped to think and pray over the story of the Wise Men. You might think, well that is for Christmas and doesn’t have much to do with my faith journey. Well, it did! So here are a few insights I found just in Matthew 2: 1-12:
1. The wise men were stirred by God. The Spirit also stirs us to seek Him and it is often into unfamiliar territory. (v.1-2) (This led me to remember and praise God for the times His Spirit stirred me to adopt a new attitude or seek His direction into a fresh path of ministry.)
2. There’s always opposition when we seek God. It can be jealousy, suspicion, or other attacks by a friend, another Christian, or even a relative, all stemming from Satan in his efforts to stop us serving God. (v.3-4) (I recalled experiences of opposition and thanked God for deliverance from bitterness or giving up.)
3. Herod pretended to be supportive but was seeking ways to stop what God planned. This is a tactic Satan uses also. (5-8) (Learning to not put my hopes in other people but in God instead, was an early lesson in seeing Him work out His purposes in His way and timing,)
4. God continues to lead us--He goes before us to bring us to a place of worship of Christ and laying down of the one gift He desires, our hearts and lives. (v.9-11) (Being reminded of this truth that God goes before me (us), renewed my confidence that I don’t have to figure things out by myself but by praying and watching for His direction, I will find confirmation of the path to take.)
5. The wise men (and wise women today) listened and responded to God's change of plans for them. They didn't stick to what they were sure was the way to go but were willing to change direction. (v.12) . (Releasing the direction of our life to the Holy Spirit is vital if we want to live lives that honor God and put His purposes and plans ahead of our own.)
I hope these thoughts are encouraging to you, especially if you’re finding it hard to settle down and read and think, pray and praise, recollect and be inspired by all God has ahead of you.
Feed on the Word, and you will flourish. it is God’s promise for our spiritual and emotional well-being.
Blessings,
Poppy