Hearing God book educational
As I convalesced, one of the books I read, Hearing God by Peter Lord, sent me digging further for a different sort of healing. Today, I will share with you about Hearing God.
Right away in the first chapter, I learned that we need to make deliberate choices to set our minds on God and turn to Him for everything. How we respond determines our sensitivity. The more aware we become of Him and the more we react positively, the more we will hear His direction. When this happens, we must share our experiences rather than keep quiet.
In the second chapter, the author discusses what a pure heart is. A pure heart desires one thing: God. To work toward this, we need help exposing our disobedience and making lifestyle changes to eliminate the things that crowd out God.
Things that prevent us from hearing God
Traps are discussed in chapter three. There are all sorts of traps: hurry and busyness, distractions, not recognizing God’s voice, predeterminations in our mind, trying too hard, and relying on ourselves. According to the author, hurry IS the devil. Ouch. I’m always falling into this trap. Intimacy can never be hurried. Quality time cannot be hurried with the Lord or with our family or with our friends. Each of these traps are discussed and solutions are provided for avoiding them.
Snares, which are more serious than traps, get discussed in chapter four. Snares include rebellion, double-mindedness, and pretending. This chapter meddled in my heart because refusing to forgive someone is rebellion. While I think I forgive, I don’t when I continue to feed the fire of anger and bitterness toward the person. I’m wrestling to be free of that one.
In chapter 5, hindrances such as runaway emotions, wandering thoughts, and an empty spiritual life are addressed. We need to admit our emotions to God and ask Him to help us deal with them. To properly hear God, we must silence ourselves internally. I haven’t figured that one out yet either.
Traditions cause barriers to hearing God. This comes up in chapter six.
How God speaks compared to how Satan speaks
The Lord desires a relationship of love and trust. Satan bombards through emotions and reasoning. Satan is urgent and compulsive. It appears I fall for Satan’s tricks a lot. Jesus wants to come into fellowship with us. Open the door to His presence. Fellowship means communion, communication, and interaction. This I noted in the seventh chapter.
Next, I learned God is relevant now. Here. Not elsewhere in the future. God will not burden our minds with concern about the future. The devil knows if we look back or forward, we stumble. God knows what we need and provides it when we need it. Satan wants us to see limitations rather than opportunities. The Lord speaks in the midst of circumstances and speaks plainly. Confusion and misunderstanding are not from God. God has self-established ways.
We can know God’s voice by its content. He is holy, healthy, loving, merciful, righteous, perfect, heavenly, and good. His voice never violates the truths of Scripture. God speaks to develop character rather than circumstances and deals with attitudes and concepts more than behavior. The Lord examines our hearts to bring about changes in our hearts. If we must say more than yes or no, it is from the enemy. God guides, leads, tells us what to do—Yes, No. God does not reason.
Walking in the Holy Spirit means trusting and obeying God. When we trust Him, we act in obedience, not because of guilt and reasoning. God promises guidance.
How to recognize God’s voice
In chapter 10, false guilt versus real guilt and Holy Spirit conviction versus Satan’s condemnation get discussed. The Lord never attacks a person’s self-worth. Thoughts that drive us to despair are NOT from God. Despair comes from Satan. God convicts behavior. He never condemns our worth.
A person can tell God’s voice by the explicitness when He talks about the person’s sins. We can recognize His voice by the value He places on us when He talks about our worth as a person.
We can recognize God’s voice when He is talking about others because He shows us how He sees them. Our relationships depend on our perceptions of people. God’s way tempers justice with mercy and forgiveness. God warns us that judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy. God wants us to do the loving. He will do the judging.
Satan’s message is hardened with revenge.
Relationship problems hinder hearing God
Our problems with people affect our relationship with God. Satan points us to the negatives of our own and others’ past experiences and to the “limitations” of the present circumstances. God stands by His word and will keep us focused on himself and His promises.
Next, I learned the results of hearing God’s voice centers around increased faith and gratitude. God’s voice brings encouragement. One of Satan’s main weapons, discouragement, makes us stop what we are doing or makes us impatient, or we perform half-heartedly. Satan attacks with past failures.
God comforts, uplifts, and encourages us to love, trust and follow Him. God’s voice brings peace. If we worry, fret or fear, we have not heard our sympathetic and understanding God.
Satan puts thoughts in our mind to cause us to judge someone. Satan puts thoughts in our minds to despise someone, reject someone, speak evil of someone, to carry a grudge. God asks you to make peace and help others. Hope is the expectation of good.
Joy and hope result in hearing God
Joy and peace accompany hope from God. This brings rejoicing, boldness of speech, and steadfastness.
God makes the difference, not us. God’s promise is always, “I will not fail you.” Hope comes when God reveals his intention to us and renews His promises. God’s voice creates and sustains our faith.
The devil causes doubt, unbelief, suspicion, anxiety, skepticism.
Chapter 12 reminds us that the only power the Evil One has over us is through our thoughts. We remember, receive new info, and reason.
Hearing requires a proper image of God and self
The topic of meditation gets covered in three chapters, packed with good information. God speaks to us about ourselves. He doesn’t speak to others about us or to us about others, although confirmation of His word might come through someone else.
Finally, how God sees us and how we see ourselves gets addressed. Hearing from God requires a proper God image and a proper self-image. Nothing is more important than our relationship with God. Know what God thinks of you.
Ministry is what God does through us for others. They last eternity. Dead works are what we do on our own, supposedly in God’s name. They don’t last. God only blesses what He initiates. When we listen to the Holy Spirit and obey Him, we have effective, exciting, enduring work.
This book is packed with great information and encouragement to help you in hearing God. I hope you’ll find a copy to read.
Is hearing God your desire? What areas stand out for you?
4 Replies to “Hearing God book educational”
This sounds like a power book, packed with insight and practical steps for individuals who genuinely want to hear and know God. I’m curious, overall, was the book refreshing and helpful or make you feel guilty? Was it a “I have to try harder” or a “God is working in my life!” kind of book?
I found it refreshing and helpful. Although I saw several areas I need to work on, I didn’t feel condemned at all. Since I sought answers, I felt I got a thorough answer with plenty of examples. I was encouraged in places where I realized that I have heard God, so that means I can again. Although I may not always feel like God is working in my life, He is, so that encourages me to press on. The book presents in a friendly way, I thought, so I recommend it to those seeking such. If I felt crushed, I don’t think I’d recommend it. That Jesus brings hope and Satan crushes resonated in the message. God convicts and shows us a better way. Satan wants us to give up. Thanks for asking, Gretchen.
It sounds like that book impacted you in a very good way Michelle. Sometimes I get tired of books/authors interpreting God to/at me. I hope what you learned will bring positive evidence of God’s presence into your life. Sometimes, there is just one thing that really sticks out, and if the author wrote the book for only that one thing and it helped one person, it’s all worthwhile 🙂
Yes, it made me more aware of what thoughts I’m dwelling on. I liked how he gave so many examples and made it relevant to every day life. Different people will find different parts valuable, I’m sure. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this, Deb.