Do you ever get frustrated when you hear people talking about hearing things from “GOD”? Or do you get a little cynical when someone says “GOD” spoke to me or “GOD” told me …? Chances are you get a little sideways at those people’s comments because you have never heard Him audibly for yourself, or personally seen Him in a burning bush, or had Him write the answers to your life on your bedroom wall. In fact, most of us at some point in our journey have questioned if God is real and in turn have wondered if our prayers are just words hitting the ceiling of our circumstances and therefore a big waste of time and effort. Maybe even some of you are there right now, and I want you to try something before you throw in the towel on the whole “GOD” deal. After all, what if you are not crazy? What if He really is listening? What if He actually has a word or answer for you concerning your situation?

     The problem lies in the fact that most of us are listening for God with our ears or better yet we set these systems of tests for Him like Gideon did in the bible. Things like, “God if you want me to… then make the phone ring right now!” So what if the phone rings?! Then what happens? you would probably respond like Gideon did and make God do something else like, “ok God that was really weird that you made the phone ring, so if that was REALLY you then make a dog bark right now!” The problem with this method is doesn’t fit God’s designed line of communication now. See, we have been made spirit beings through the attonement of the Cross. John 4:24 tells us that God is spirit, and if want to engage Him we must do so in spirit. Remember the story right before that verse where Jesus talks with the woman at the well found in john 4: 7-26? He said to her, “A day is coming and is even now, when the Father will seek those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.” God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” It means we cannot continue to watch for God to speak through our system of tests but we must learn to engage Him in the Spirit.

     So now you may be asking, “How do I do that?” Well, take a look at psalm 37:4. It tells us that if we will delight (press in, discover, celebrate, and be intimate acquainted) in the Lord, then He will give you (place, write out, make known) the desires (direction, purpose, cause) of your heart (spirit). So, if God is spirit then He is speaking to me in the spirit. Therefore I must press into Him and know Him and delight myself in Him so that I will hear Him in my heart (spirit). When you are delighting yourself in the Lord you can trust your heart. What is your heart telling you? Write it down on paper or a in journal, then go press into Him, sing praises to Him, offer thanksgiving to Him and then come back to what you wrote down. If it surges in your chest as you read it, it is most likely the voice of God you have heard. If it seems to clash with your spirit, it was most likely a rational plan, fleshly desire, or powerless substitute for what God is truly saying. We have so much to be thankful for concerning how God has chosen to speak with us. Think about it for a second, why would we use smoke signals when we could pick up a cell phone. Why would God use burning bushes now, when He has given us such a powerful medium of communication in His Spirit. Try this for a season and I assure you that you will be the one saying “God has been telling me….”