The Evangelical Universalist Forum

How to Listen to God (Perspectives)

Theology
#1

Listening to the Word of God means listening to the Bible on audiotape. :wink:

No, I am kidding. Listening to God is a very subjective thing so will be different for everyone. For me, there are four main times when God “speaks” to me. One, I pray to God for something (could be anything, usually it is understanding or patience or something along those lines) and then when I get upset, God puts a thought in my head (seemingly out of nowhere) to chill out. Also, God speaks through the conscience to keep our moral compass in tune. Our conscience may either convict me not to do something wrong or to go out of way to serve others in a specific way. For example, if I see someone fall out of their wheelchair, God tells me to go help them back into their wheelchair. Third, when I read about certain Biblical theme and see a pattern of that theme throughout a period of time repeat itself in very personal ways, I know that God is working to get me in tune with that theme. For example, if I am reading about mercy and different people do me wrong all in a short period of time, then I know God is teaching me to be merciful just as He is merciful. Also, when people discuss problems affecting them or others, they sometimes offer insight that only God could have provided such as when pastors speak about people’s motives for their beliefs or actions. Sometimes, by discussing how our motives don’t always glorify God, I am convicted that certain apparently good actions I do are, in reality, selfish. God speaks to bring us into a moral and spiritual unity.

A big part of listening to God is being perceptive to God’s wisdom through ordinary, personal, or even unusual circumstances in life. We all listen to God more than realize. It is a matter of applying the spiritual “common sense” in a lot of cases. However, there are times when God does directly speak in your mind and you know it is not yourself. I have had this happen occasionally when I am meditating on some new aspect of God’s grace or divinity and something “clicks” in my head. Information from the Bible becomes significant and spiritual in nature. God uses different ways to speak to us based on the way we speak to others. I can tell people who get really excited and very zealous about God probably receive God’s message in a very powerful, but simple way. People who are quiet but speak clearly receive clear wisdom from the Lord.

On this website, I noticed that when people give their testimonies and share how their universalist beliefs are relevant to them, I am convicted about the love of God for all because people speak with clarity and resonance, not a confused intellectualism of doctrinal fear as I have seen on other Christian websites.

I hope that clears up what “listening to God” means. :slight_smile:

Some days, I can't stand it...
#2

Just to clarify – this is a post by Nick, answering a question as to what the “word of God” means to him. He answered the question, but that turned the topic, and since his answer seems to me to be a good topic starter on its own, I’ve started this topic for it. Nick can go back in and edit his answer if he likes, to make it more like a topic header, and this will NOT count as Nick’s one topic for this week (since I started it after all :wink: ).

#3

Thanks Cindy!

#4

Hi Nick, :smiley:
This is really well said and I’ve experienced the same sort of things from God, I believe. I wonder if others have the same experience? I may start a thread about “unusual coincidences” that can easily be explained in non-miraculous ways, but hold special spiritual significance for those that experience them. I’ve always loved hearing about those sorts of things from others.

Anyway, I think there is much wisdom in what you’ve written here and agree that the testimonies of people on this forum are especially inspiring. (Usually in the “introductions” threads). I’m so glad these threads are so encouraged here as they not only let us know a bit about new members but also are very edifying.

Thanks, Nick! :smiley:

Steve

#5

I think so too. I like the way you’ve edited it while still covering all the things you said before, Nick. :slight_smile:

Here’s one of my stories to sort of get things going (hopefully). I was in a rush to get to my daughter’s camp in time for the “rodeo” in which the kids got to display all the skills they’d been working on for the week. And of course, being me, I was late. So here I am (by myself in the little truck), speeding down all these back country high plains gravel roads at a, well, kind of irresponsible velocity and thinking about nothing but getting there in time. Suddenly I “hear,” “SLOW DOWN. NOW!” The thought flashed through my mind that I probably should slow down in any case, but that it was probably my imagination. Still, I slowed down abruptly enough that I was skidding over the hill in a cloud of dust and gravel. Just in time to miss a 3-year bull calf standing in the middle of the road. My heart was pounding – and after that I drove a bit slower. As it turned out, the rodeo was l-o-n-g and s-l-o-w and I hadn’t missed anything. :unamused: Not a very DEEP story of course, but it was important to me at the time. :wink: And kind of funny, I thought.

#6

Hey Cindy,
That is a really cool (and amusing) testimony. I think there is something deeper going on. I don’t believe in coincidences. Do you?

Since we are going more in depth, I think it is necessary to bring up a new concept. Everything in the Bible has multiple aspects to them: physical, moral, spiritual, and prophetic. Take for example the story of David defeating Goliath. There is the physical event. The moral lesson is that with God all things are possible which is something that the Bible corroborate quite a bit. The spiritual aspect is that David was the only Israelite faithful enough to overcome the biggest enemy. Side note: David’s heroism as a young man gives me hope that I can be a hero for God as well. The prophetic aspect is far more difficult to grasp since it requires knowing all other prophetic basics from Daniel and Revelation and seeing how David fits into Christian history and finding out who the historical “Goliath” is. David and Goliath points toward the time of Jesus when He overcame death on the cross. Also, it points to down to the end of history when those who will face giants who oppose God’s plan for reconciliation. I will get back to this later when I have more time.
Things we experience physically have personal, moral consequences (positive or negative.) Also, our intent behind our actions has a spiritual correlation. Either our decisions glorify God or promote sin. Prophecy is the long-term physical revelation of the spiritual realm as according to the plan of God. Why do I bring up prophecy and how does it relate to listening to God? When we have come to a point in our faith when our beliefs and actions align and we pattern our lives after the will of God, we become the “good guys” in God’s plan of redemption. Jesus is the heavenly commander in chief. Obviously, if we are His troops, then He must relay commands to us by means of communication. This is where listening to God is really crucial. Since we fight with spiritual weapons (see Ephesians 6), we preach the Truth in love to all because the Truth is Love. Our weapon is love. Have you ever heard the maxim: “The best way to destroy your enemies is to turn them into your friends”? Therefore, when God speaks to us, He gives us a message of about love and must ultimately be relayed to others in love. Serve God by serving others wherever opportunity rises and give Jesus the credit for your actions. Opportunity to serve is like a knock from Jesus on the door of your heart. And yes, it really is that simple.

#7

Thank you Nick. I appreciate your time and your kindness in being willing to relate these things.
If I summarise your points as below, I hope that I am not misrepresenting nor in any way belittling important matters

(please correct me if I’ve got things wrong):

  1. During petitionary prayer, God puts a thought into one’s head.
  2. Through a pang of conscience.
  3. Through reading the Bible.
  4. Through other people.

I can agree with all of those but I wonder how we can be confident that we are hearing from God rather than from other sources (such as our own desires, our own neuroses, etc.). For example, it is true that many people read from scripture and believe they have received from God and yet come to radically different conclusions from one another.

#8

Hey, Nick

Actually, I think I do believe in coincidences. While I think I believe that God knows the future, I don’t think He orders/has ordered every single little event. I don’t think He ever allows anyone to come to any ultimately lasting harm, but I do think there are probably a lot of random events occurring all the time that just don’t mean anything at all. And while I could have ignored the thought I suspected of being “self-inflicted,” and kept on going, I think He knew well that I wouldn’t ignore it, that He could prolong my life here and that He chose to do that for reasons of His own (which He hasn’t chosen to disclose to me, but oh well . . . ) :wink:

For me, listening to God is usually a bit less exciting though. It amounts to asking about (for instance) a passage of scripture that I don’t understand. I don’t neglect to study what I can find ABOUT the passage, and ask others, but as I listen to Him, I often find I’m getting new insights that, once they’ve come, seem so simple and obvious that I wonder I didn’t see them in the first place. I share them with friends and loved ones and maybe with some of the folks here and see what they think about them. Ultimately it comes down to my own inner witness as to whether I believe the insights have come from God. They may be good and even true I suppose and still have come from my intellect – but maybe that’s not possible – I don’t know. Maybe anything good and true HAS ultimately to come from God. Still, I may have come up with something true that isn’t really the point of the question, if that makes sense. It may not be what God is saying to ME through THAT passage or that situation or that person or whatever, right NOW. In the end, you just have to decide, and hold it lightly (because you might be honestly mistaken) and not be too dogmatic about it. I think it’s always vital to listen to what brothers and sisters have to say, and to seriously consider the possibility they may be right if they disagree with you.

Then of course sometimes God just unasked, meddles with your life (and you’d better be okay with that because if you overcome His “meddling,” I guarantee you WILL regret it bitterly. Voice of experience, you know.) Or He comes out of the most unexpected corner and gives you a piece of advice or an encouragement or a preparation for something upcoming that you couldn’t know about. (I always hate to get that last, but if the trials have to come, it’s better to get the preparation and counsel than not to get it.) I suppose time and results ultimately prove or will prove these things out. If we’re wrong, and it’s in an honest effort to hear Him truly, we’ll be forgiven and also corrected when that time comes. You have a lot of good things to say, Nick – thanks!

Cindy

#9

Hey Pilgrim,

You provide a correct and good summary of what I am saying. You are absolutely right about the problem of misinterpretation. Misinterpretation comes from listening to God and yet having our selfish goals in mind. Whatever drives us away from whatever God intended for us to hear is called an idol. That shouldn’t discourage us, though. We should always double-check those signs although sometimes as in Cindy’s case there is no waiting.

When I said ‘double-check’, I was referring to the law of the double witness. A modern term is “checking your work”. When you listen to God and receive a Word, then you should check it against the Bible to see if it is indeed from God. The easiest way to do that is to check it against simpler verses or verses that have convicted you in the past and caused repentance. For me, the easiest way to check is to go look up the fruits of the spirit and the opposite in Galatians 5 where the character of God is simply outlined. If the message from God promotes His character then you can be sure that you heard right.

It is very difficult to give a general explanation for why people come to different conclusions about the Bible other than what I have already said. I’ll add that people who speak not according to the Word, have no light in them. (Isaiah 8:20) This sounds very harsh, but it is true. If people have idols in their heart that prevent them from purely speaking for God then there is no light in them. A different way of looking at it is that those who do not manifest the character of God in their heart will speak lies and only promote darkness. The Spirit does not cohabit with darkness but fights against it. If people come to different conclusions, then a general case can be made that at least one person has an idol in their heart. As a group, those who are in disagreement should go back to the basics and pray for understanding as I have described previously.

The most difficult scenario when it comes to listening to God is the pang of conscience. The conscience can be marred either from an early age or later one when one makes bad choices in life. Sometimes, by growing up in a certain society that teaches its own moral standards, we lose the natural ‘understanding’ of right and wrong and develop a new sense. This explains why so many Baptists have no problem at all with a loving God who can torture people forever. They were given a skewed conscience. Because our conscience is indirectly attached to our emotions, sometimes we mistake what our heart desires for what is actually right. It’s even more difficult when something appears to be right and it feels good with us, yet it turns out to be ungodly. The example I’ll give is when we praise freedom and us Americans run into problematic verses in scripture saying we should obey authority. We praise freedom and free-will and say that it is powerful enough to separate us from God because of our cultural conditioning. Sometimes, it would be better off if we submitted to authority and did as we are told and let God deal with bad authorities. The solution is still the same as before but takes considerably longer for our hearts to melt according to His standard. God is patient, though. :smiley:

#10

Hey Cindy,

Thank you for your kind comments. :slight_smile:

Everything you said was spot-on, though I do think coincidences have more importance than we grant them.

I think it’s about time I give another example of listening to God. It doesn’t really even need to be a coincidence, per say. It just started out as something, well, normal. Some background: During the summer, I was given some chores to do around the house. One that I do not particularly enjoy is cleaning the grout between all tiles in the house. The grout is dark and needs to be transformed back to its tan color. I have to scrub a white substance into it to make it change color. When I started out, I thought the grout was supposed to be white not tan. My dad got upset and told me to go back and clean up the soap off of the grout. I asked God to give me counsel:
I first saw that the grout is all the little things in life we don’t notice. When we don’t keep our mind pure, sin gradually darkens the mind. When the grout is not kept clean, it gets darker and uglier over time. We, as Christians, let the Holy Spirit clean and conform our mind to His standard. Likewise, the grout needs to be cleaned. I, in my stupidity, left the soap scud on the grout thinking that was supposed to be what it looked like. This is where it gets really interesting. My dad revealed to me that whitewashing the grout does not make it cleaner but appears to do that. Abba revealed to me that whitewashing my soul with religion is good as it trains me to be spiritual. However, the soul is not meant to end up with the appearance of religion (white color, metaphorically). Religion does not make me holy in the eyes of God, it is only a tool. The soul then must be cleaned from the excess religion just as I had to go back and clean up all the soap from the grout. The longer the soap is left on the grout, the more difficult it is to get it off. The more religious we become without becoming more Christlike, the more whitewashed (brainwashed) we become and it is more difficult to rid yourself of the idol of religion. This was mind-blowing news to me because I realized that for all the religion I was getting myself into, the more problems I ran into with God. God was saying that I need to stop letting fear from religion keep me from preaching the love of God for all in my church. The practical solution to stop the fear is to leave the church temporarily and allow God to fill my heart with love. Through this process, my loyalty to God will surpass loyalty to the church. This chore was not the first time I had received the message but a follow-up from what I have already been convicted. I could go into more detail on request (I enjoy sharing my testimony, so no problem with that.)
Through simple allegories like this, I learn big lessons from God. Sometimes, they are small and other times they are big. Conclusively, God is leading me and you (the reader) in unity, Spirit, and Truth.
Cindy, I have confidence that God is using you and will continue to use you in big ways. :slight_smile:

#11

Really a great analogy, Trent. Lots to think about there.

On the sillier side . . . I’m wondering what it says about me that when I buy grout, I get the darkest color available (and maybe even add some pigments to make it darker.) :laughing: If your soul is already black, it’s hard to make it look worse? :wink: Sorry – couldn’t resist. I really do that though, since our water is intractibly “irony” and stains grout in a big hurry.

#12

Ha ha, Cindy. :laughing: The analogy definitely doesn’t apply to you, then.