When God speaks, I listen… So why don’t you?

Last updated on: September 11, 2013 at 11:27 am by Kurt Willems

When God speaks, I listen… So why don’t you? 2013-09-11T11:27:50-07:00 Kurt Willems

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Hearing God. One of the great dillemas of the Christian life. Can we actually “hear God” and if so, what does that mean?

Some believe, for instance that God only speaks through the Bible. In some extreme cases, this leads to a subtle form of bibliolotry (worship of the Bible instead of the God therewithin). But if we take the Bible on its own terms, it seems as though the Book itself counteracts this claim consistantly.

Others believe that God speaks to them at the pace of what Dallas Willard calls: “a word a minute.” God, in other words, tells these folks: “turn green at the light.” “Buy this car, not that one.” “Drink milk, not Gatoraide.” “Make ____ (insert important, dramatic decision) and not _______.” My friend Jan Johnson refers to this sort of thinking as the “red light, green light” approach to interacting with God. Often, it’s over-indulgent and leads to causual talk: “I got the salad you asked for, but a different type. God told me that we should eat kale and not spinach.” God, god, god… everything in this person’s life is attributed to God as if being human wasn’t in itself important to this God.

This can apply in several ways to pastors. Some pastors nonchalantly talk about how they “have a vision from God” to raise such-and-such millions of dollars for new carpet in the church building. He even comes up with a divine slogan: “Carpets for the Kingdom!” All of this casual talk about a vision from God, if we are not nuanced and wise as pastors, can become unhelpful to folks in our communities as they begin to wonder: When God speaks, the pastor listens, the “red light, green light” folks listen, so what is wrong with me? Why can’t I listen? God must not think too much of me.

This is paradoxical, as Dallas Willard points out in Hearing God. Loose talk about “hearing God” leaves others feeling as though such is an impossiblity for them. Can you relate?

I, personally, believe that we can in fact hear God. We know a couple of things from the Scriptures. God wants to give us the “mind of Christ.” God often speaks through great events or a still small voice. The question is, are we willing to allow God’s thoughts to saturate our thoughts? Are we willing to experiement with what Bro. Lawrence called: practicing the presence of God. All this means is that we attempt to be in a constant state of prayer and devotion throughout the day. As we work, play, eat, and worship. This is choosing to acknowledge Christ as a companion, even if we don’t “feel” a thing.

Perhaps we won’t all hear God in the same way. Maybe some will have pictures or visions come to mind as God’s means of communication (lets be careful how we share these). Others may have thoughts come to mind that are consistant with who they know Christ to be. Others may simply live in the satisfaction that they are giving mundane tasks to God. Whatever the case may be, hearing God need not be extraordinary, but might only require submitting to the rythmns of devotion in the everday realities of human life.

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