HOW DOES GOD SPEAK TO YOU?

So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country. Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah. And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. (‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭1‬:‭43-45‬ ESV)

How does God speak to you?  Does He speak to you through His Word or at church?  Perhaps He speaks to your through circumstances or even through other people.  For some of you it might be through impressions and thoughts.

Here's a fact: God speaks to all of us but the problem lies in whether we are listening or not.  Often, after ignoring the voice of God in our lives, we eventually come to Him and cry out - only to find that that He is not listening because of our rebellion.

As a child, one of my most vivid memories is of a time when we didn't have much in the way of food.  In fact, we had none.  I remember my mom praying and saying that God spoke to her about what to do.  By this time, I was hungry so I was all ears about what we were going to do next.  My mom went into the kitchen and gathered all the dishes and silverware and set the table.  When she was finished she then called us all to dinner.  You can imagine the look on all our faces as we all sat around the table.  My father had us join hands as we thanked God for the food we were about to eat.  (I think I prayed with one eye opened).

What we didn't know was this - there was a lady who had just bought a bunch of groceries and was on her way home and God spoke to her about giving them to our family.  (I'm so thankful that she was listening to God.)  Without hesitation she drove to our house and knocked on the door - which was just as we finished praying and thanking God for our food.

As my mom opened the door, she said, "Can I come in and see your cupboards?"  My mom told her that it was ok.  As she opened all our cupboards and saw that there was no food, she said "I'm so glad I heard from God.  He told me to bring some groceries over to you right now."

You can imagine the level of faith that rose within our family at that time.

I can tell you story after story of God's faithfulness and how God brought blessing upon blessing into our lives because either we listened to God or because someone else listened to Him.

It is true - God is speaking all the time but are we listening?

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ESV)

I used to be a Ham Radio operator.  It always amazed me of all the radio frequencies that were in the air at the same time.  All it took was for me to dial the right frequency which enabled me to hear what that channel was projecting.

God's voice is one of many voices that is coming your way right now?  He is speaking to you whether you want Him to or not.  He is waiting for you to tune dial His frequency in and He's waiting to give you instructions about your day and about your life.

God spoke to Samuel but he had a difficult time recognizing His voice.  Finally, after 3 different times, God spoke and Samuel listened.

And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” (‭1 Samuel‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ ESV)

This should be the prayer of each of us today - "Speak, for your servant hears."  Are you listening to Him right now?