"Every time the Lord faced an important
decision, He prayed. When He was being tempted
to do things by the world's methods instead
of the Father's, He prayed (Matthew 4). When
it was time to choose His disciples, He prayed
the entire night (Luke 6:12). If the Son of
God required a night of prayer in order to determine
the Father's mind, how long might it take us
in prayer to clearly determine our Father's
will?" Henry Blackaby
Let
prayer set the agenda of your life. Many of
us often worry about our lives. What should we
do next year? Where should we live? What school
should we go to? These are all good questions
that need careful thought. But if most of us were
honest, we would admit that we worry needlessly
about the choices we should make in everyday life.
It is right to get wise counsel and to weigh out
the options. However, when concern turns into
unnecessary anxiety, we are not trusting God who
knows exactly how to handle every situation we
face. Life becomes simpler when we learn to seek
God for every aspect of our plans. Our times spent
in prayer will bring revelation of His agenda
for us. We can be confident that in the final
analysis, it is God who knows what is best for
us and what will give Him the greatest glory.
We must learn to pray about everything and
trust in God's wisdom that far surpasses ours.
At times we may sense His direction and feel the
peace that comes from the Holy Spirit even though
nothing in the natural may look logical. Recently
we had this type of experience. We began to pray
about lengthening our ministry time overseas because
we felt God might want us to extend our visit
to certain countries. We sensed God's peace in
a particular direction even though the decision
to go home would have been easier and seemed more
logical. We had already been traveling for two
months, we were tired, had much to do in the U.S.,
and my father was ill, so an extension of another
two months needed prayerful consideration. There
were other reasons why going home would have been
the right choice from a human standpoint. The
problem is that very often God's viewpoint is
different from ours. He sees things far in advance
and from His perspective, which is far beyond
ours. In this case, we felt we must go with the
leading and peace of the Holy Spirit. The real
key for us was prayer and waiting upon God, listening
and hearing His voice. Through prayer, we discovered
God's agenda.
We may not know the full picture of why we were
to extend our time overseas. But we do know that
we had to take that step of faith that was guided
and empowered through prayer in order to do God's
very best. We knew that we were in the right place
and that when we did return home, we knew we had
completed what God had for us overseas. God loves
to hear us pray with fervency, having done so,
listen and step out in faith according to His
leading. Perhaps there is something that you need
to pray over regarding God's plan and purpose
in your present circumstances. Praying through
every decision, listening to His voice, and leaning
upon His understanding and wisdom will enable
you to determine His agenda. "Trust in
the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge
him, and he will make your paths straight."
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
Guidelines
to Hearing God's Voice Through Prayer
"But
as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident
in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope
and expectancy for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me." (Micah 7:7, Amplified)
- Bathe
your life in prayer - Pray about all the
decisions in your life daily. Ask Him for direction
so that you may fulfill His will for your life
for that day. Continually bring major decisions
to Him in prayer. Pray, listen, and wait with
expectancy.
-
Believe that God does speak to you -
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me" (John 10:27).
Accept this promise.
- Find
time to be alone with God - Take time to
pray and listen. Most of life is very busy,
but time with Him is of utmost importance so
we can hear from God. Often the Lord responds
with a thought planted by His Spirit into the
mind or heart.
-
Keep a journal of what God says - We
can better evaluate guidance and see what God
is saying when we journal on a regular basis.
Journaling helps us to ponder our thoughts and
impressions so we can clearly discern the path
God wants us to take.
- Test
what you hear
- What we think is God's voice may come from
the Holy Spirit, from the enemy or from our
own souls. Ask the Lord to confirm what you
think He may be saying. Through practice, we
learn to hear God's voice and the Holy Spirit's
leading. 1
John 4:1 exhorts us to test the spirits.
- Carefully
check all guidance with Scripture
- God's Word is truth. What we think God is
speaking should line up with Scripture. This
is why we should examine everything carefully
with the Bible. It is good to seek confirmation
from at least two other Christians before taking
action, especially on big decisions.
- Obey
God - We must be willing to act on what
God has told us. When we obey God, there is
blessing. If we still doubt what we think God
is saying, it is good to continue to ask Him
for confirmation until we sense His peace.
"Jesus
knew that His mission was not to attract a crowd,
but to remain obedient to His Father. It was
prayer that set the agenda for Jesus' ministry
(Luke
6:12). Prayer preceded the miracles (John
11:42-43); prayer brought Him encouragement
at critical moments (Luke
9:28-31); prayer enabled Him to go to the
cross (Luke
22:41-42); and prayer kept Him there despite
excruciating pain (Luke
23:46). Follow the Savior's example, and
let your time alone with God, in prayer, set
the agenda for your life." Henry Blackaby
Training
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