I have just finished reading the book "Is that really you, God ?" by Loren Cunningham.In this book he shares with the readers the story of how he founded YWAM. I have copied the 12 points for hearing the voice of God from the book for your reading. Hope this will help each of us in our walk with the Lord.God bless.
Hearing the voice of the heavenly Father is a basic right of every child of God. A few of the many ways of fine-tuning this experience are as follows:
a. SUBMIT to His Lordship. Ask Him to help you silence your own thoughts, desires, a
nd the opinions of others, which may be filling your mind (II Cor 10:5). Even though you have been given a good mind to use, you want to hear the thoughts of the Lord, who has the best mind (Prov 3:5-6).
b. RESIST the enemy, in case he is trying to deceive you. Use the authority which Jesus Christ has given you to silence the voice of the enemy (James 4:7; Eph 6:10-20)
c. EXPECT an answer. After asking the question that is on your mind, wait for Him to answer. Expect your loving heavenly Father to speak to you. He will (John 10:27; Ps 69:13; Exodus 33:11).
2. Allow God to speak to you in the way He chooses. Don’t try to dictate to Him concerning the guidance methods you prefer. He is Lord – you are His servant (1 Samuel 3:9). So listen with a yielded heart; there is a direct link between yieldedness and hearing. He may choose to speak to you:
Through His Word: this could come in your daily reading, or
He could guide you to a particular verse (Psalm 119:105).
Through an audible voice (Exodus 3:4).
Through dreams (Matt 2) and visions (Isa 6:1, Rev 1:12-17). But probably the most common of all means is through the quiet, inner voice (Isa 30:21).
3. Confess any unforgiven sin. A clean heart is necessary if you want to hear God (Ps 66:18).
4. Use The Axehead Principle – a term coined from the story in II Kings 6. If you seem to have lost your way, go back to the last time you knew the sharp, cutting edge of God’s voice. Then obey. The question is, Have you obeyed the last thing God told you to do ?
5. Get your own leading. God will use others to confirm your guidance but you should also hear from Him directly. It can be dangerous to rely on others to get the word of the Lord for you (I Kings 13).
6. Don’t talk about your guidance until God gives you permission to do so. Sometimes this happens immediately; at other times there is a delay. The main purpose of waiting is to avoid four pitfalls of guidance:
b. presumption, by speaking before you have full understanding:
c. missing God’s timing and method;
d. bringing confusion to others; they too need prepared hearts (Luke 9:36; Eccl 3:7; Mark 5:19).
7. Use the Wise Men Principle. Just as the Three Wise Men individually followed the star and in doing so were all led to the same Christ, so God will often use two or more spiritually sensitive people to confirm what He is telling you (2 Cor 13:1).
8. Beware of counterfeits. Have you ever heard of a counterfeit dollar bill ? Yes, of course. But have you ever heard of a counterfeit paper bag ? No. The reason is, only things of value are worth counterfeiting.
Satan has a counterfeit for everything of God that is possible for him to copy (Acts 8:9-11; Exodus 7:22). Counterfeit guidance comes, for example, through ouija boards, séances, fortunetelling, and astrology (Lev 20:6; 19:26; II Kings 21:6). The guidance of the Holy Spirit leads you closer to Jesus and into true freedom. Satan’s guidance leads you away from God into bondage.
One key test for true guidance: does your leading follow principle of the Bible ? The Holy Spirit never contradicts the Word of God.
9. Opposition of man is sometimes guidance from God (Acts 21: 10-14). The important thing again is yieldness to the Lord (Dan 6:6-23); Acts 4:18-21). Rebellion is never of God, but sometimes He asks you to step away from your elders in a way that is not rebellion but part of His plan. Trust that He will show your heart the difference.
10. Every follower of Jesus has a unique ministry (I Cor 12; I Peter 4: 10-11; Rom 12; Eph 4). The more you seek to hear God’s voice in detail, the more effective you will be in your own calling. Guidance is not a game – it is serious business where we learn what God wants us to do in ministry and how He wants us to do it. The will of God is doing and saying the right thing in the right place, with the right people, at the right time and in the right sequence, under the right leadership, using the right method with the right attitude of heart.
11. Practice hearing God’s voice and it becomes easier. It’s like picking up the phone and recognizing the voice of your best friend … you know his voice because you have heard it so much. Compare young Samuel with the older man Samuel (ISam 3:4-7; 8:7-10; 12:11-18).
12. Relationship is the most important reason for hearing the voice of the Lord. God is not only infinite but personal. If you don’t have communication, you don’t have a personal relationship with Him. True guidance is getting closer to the Guide. We grow to know the Lord better as He speaks to us and, as we listen to Him and obey, we make His heart glad (Exod 33:11, Matt 7:24-27).
