28.a. Hindrances to hearing God
by
in
Spread the Fire Magazine of April 1998
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Jesus assured us, that we are all born with a nature and capacity to hear God’s voice. That’s what He told His disciples, when He compared them to sheep, who can hear and follow a shepherd’s voice (John !0).
Why then is it so difficult? What keeps us from hearing?
Within us conscious and unconscious barriers block our ability to hear God’s voice. But these can be revealed and released:
1. Wrong motives
Listening is not just for hearing God’s voice and obtaining answers. Our goal is a deeper relationship with Him. He longs for intimacy with us. Listening to His voice and dialoguing with Him is a key to this kind of relationship.
2. Thinking we hear God in our minds, when He actually speaks in a still small voice to our spirits
We perceive spiritual truth in our spirits. From there our minds receive understanding, and teach us how to apply it. The Word promises: …..To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt.13:11). As we move away from dependence on the prowess of our minds, we are more likely to recognize the voice of God.
3. Talking
We keep ourselves from hearing God, when we do most of the talking. What is your style of prayer? Do you rattle off a list of needs, complaints, or even “Thank You”’s, and then rush away? Or is your prayer time punctuated with many silences to give God an opportunity to share what is on His heart?
Cease striving, and know, that I am God (Ps. 46:10). When God allowed Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted, he asked for wisdom. In this case wisdom is more accurately translated: a hearing heart. “Lord, give me a hearing heart.”
4. Impatience
How long do you wait for a reply? One minute, five minutes? God spoke to Moses a great deal; yet Moses once waited a full six days before God, and God only spoke on the seventh. If Moses waited that long, how can you or I expect to hear in a minute? The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good, that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord (Lam. 3: 25, 26).
5. Jumping to conclusions
Sometimes we hear from the Lord, but immediately assume we know what He means, and rush off to do something about it. We hear in our spirit, but perform in our flesh. If God gives a word, we need to wait for further instructions and the power from on high to accomplish the work. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts (Is. 55: 8, 9).
6. Crediting our minds for God’s voice
For years I (Dave) missed God’s voice, because I failed to understand, that the brilliant idea or choice piece of advice, that came at just the right moment in a counselling session, was really from God and not from my mind. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…..(Jam.1:16,17).
I’ve realized, that…..the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding (Prov. 2: 6). Instead of exalting my own wisdom, I’m learning to say: Thank You for that idea, Lord, and engage Him in dialogue about it. We miss these spontaneous impressions, when we expect God’s voice to be big and loud, or to speak in King James English. We may imagine, that He only speaks about deep, intense matters or commands. However, God’s preferred way is conversation, not pronouncements. He likes to walk with us in the cool of the evening, as He did with Adam and Eve. As we go about our day in dialogue with Him, we will begin to hear much more.
7. Fears
I (Linda) experienced many fears along my journey to hearing God. In my opinion the Israelites missed out, when God came and spoke from the mountain. They feared the exhibition of God’s power and chose to say: Speak to us yourself (Moses) and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, lest we die (Ex. 20:10). Like the Israelites most of us would rather let someone else do our listening for us.
Perhaps some of my former fears are ones you should choose to overcome:
I didn’t want to look like some crazy person, who claims God told them to murder someone. I felt mortified of the thought, that I might be associated with someone like that. I finally concluded: if I wanted deeper intimacy with God, I couldn’t let pride or worry over my reputation keep me from listening.
I didn’t want persecution from other Christians. In my experience, if I mentioned to a non-believer, that I thought I had heard the Lord speak to me, the result was usually a lively conversation; they were often quite interested in how that might work. But, if I mentioned the same thing to a group of Christians, they would often become quite argumentative. Why such a reaction? I believe it’s a case of sibling rivalry. No one likes to think, that someone else might be able to hear the Lord better. Christians sometimes prefer to make a theological doctrine out of not hearing God rather than risk learning how to listen to Him. In order to partake of the privilege of hearing God more frequently, I had to press past my fear of persecution by other believers.
I was afraid God would tell me to do something, that I didn’t want to do. If I didn’t hear God, then I could avoid doing uncomfortable things. I could rationalize convicting sermons, or let powerful Scripture passages conveniently slip from my mind. But how could I squirm out of obeying a direct command from the Lord? When I examined my heart, I began to see a lot of rebellion.
I was afraid that, if I listened, He would not talk to me. What, if He really wasn’t there? What, if He didn’t come when I called out? Then what? Terror gripped me to think what it might be like to be totally alone and abandoned in this world. To find out, if He really meant it, when He said I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you (Heb.13: 5), I had to face one of my deepest fears.
I was afraid that, if I heard incorrectly, I would be devastated and lose my faith. I greatly feared making mistakes. I had to grow in the knowledge, that God loves to talk to His children. He does not expect, that we will always completely understand Him, or that we will hear Him perfectly, but He is pleased, when we love Him enough to try. And yes, I did make mistakes - many of them. However, the Lord saw to it, that none had devastating consequences, and each was a learning experience.
8. Attitudes and misconceptions
Beyond blocks and fears, certain attitudes and misconceptions keep us from hearing our Lord (Matt.13:15,16).
We don’t know how to spend time with God without working. You probably expect that, every time you get within ear-shot of God, He will ask you to do something. We’ve slipped into thinking God wants us merely for the work we do. He’s got angels for that! Jesus said: No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends…..(Jhn.15:15).
What is a friend? Someone with whom you relax and comfortably share what’s on your heart. Friends know each other’s thoughts. Friends don’t always have to do something when they’re together. As we learn to be friends with God, we hear language such as I love you; I delight in you; You are precious to Me.
9. We think of prayer as monologue rather than dialogue
As children we were taught to say prayers like God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food. Amen. When we got older, we probably learned to add a thank You and a petition. If no one taught us, that the Lord might want to reply, we didn’t expect to hear Him answer.
10. We don’t really trust God
Do we really believe God wants to do good to us? His Word consistently says, that He does. Jer. 29:11-13, Deut. 7: 9 and Matth. 7: 7-10 are examples of His wooing love. Without expectation of goodness we would likely avoid listening.
11. Satan will try every trick to keep us from listening
Watch for thoughts, that are designed to throw you off : Yeah, but….., What, if….., That’s not possible….. Jesus warned , …..the devil comes and takes away the Word from their heart, so that they may not believe and be saved (Luke 8:12). When you hear a word, immediately record it, so that the father of lies cannot steal it from you.
12. Listening to God may be uncomfortable at first
When we listen to God, we are exposed to His mercy. We make ourselves vulnerable, yielding ourselves, spirit, soul and body. Yielding may make us uneasy, but we don’t have to fear judgment. We have a Mediator, Jesus Christ, Who invites us to…..draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebr.10: 22).
13. We are afraid of misunderstanding Him
What, if we confuse our thoughts with His Words? Jesus said, clearly and unequivocally, that we will be able to know and recognize God’s voice and will flee from a stranger, whose voice we don’t know (Jhn.10: 2 5). God’s Word promises, that if you seek the Lord, you will find Him (Deut. 4: 29), and if you ask for wisdom, you will receive it (Dan. 2: 23). You don’t even have to be superintelligent or well schooled to hear Him (Luke 10: 21).
14. What, if you are confused?
In some cases persistent and prolonged confusion while trying to hear, according to Jhn. 8: 43 – 45, 47, is an indication of a divided heart, that prefers living in lies rather than in God’s truth. These verses say, that some may not hear God, because they are not of God. This usually applies to non-believers, but can also apply to Christians, who don’t really want to know the truth.
15. It is hard to hear God, if you honour Him only with your lips
It is important to serve God with your whole heart and with a willing mind. He knows whether you are offering Him lip service or are truly searching for Him. His Word says that, if you seek Him, He will let you find Him (1Chr. 28: 9).
16. Let God talk with you!
Whatever your reasons for not listening, you can repent of them! Then begin a dialogue with God. He really does want to talk with you. He’s waiting!