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Practical Advice on Guidance Learning to Hear God, is the Christian's birthright and, at the same time it is the place where we get goofy in our walk more readily than any other. We get intimidated by the sometimes exaggerated stories of others' experiences of being led by God and often, rightly, suspect that a lot of hype is involved. Still, everything in the Bible supports that this matter of receiving spiritual guidance from God is a genuine feature of the Christian life. The discussion below is written to help you understand better just how God reveals his direction for our lives. |
| God's Guidance --What it means to "hear" God. |
“They…will listen to my voice,…”. Jesus—John 10:16
The subject of God’s guidance is mired in no small amount of confusion. As I mentioned earlier, there are two extremes. There are those, who use the familiar four word declaration, “The Lord told me,” only to announce their own plans and as a warning not to question their judgment in this matter. This is frequently accompanied by a point-of-view that it is somehow the height of spiritual achieve-ment to have God act as your personal advisor on even the smallest matters of life. However, real guidance from God invites accountability from other believers. A person who is sensitive to God’s promptings should also be aware of the very human tendency to manipulate circumstances and make a “sign” of just about anything. Those who have been scared away from this topic do have some good reason.
Above all else—whatever God may “speak” or reveal in the area of personal guidance— these leadings never carry the weight or authority of Scripture. “Words” of guidance from the Lord are not new teachings or Scripture. I firmly believe, both from Scripture and my experience with present day prophecy, that guidance is mostly related to the practical matters of carrying out God’s mission. Consider the passage in Acts 13 where it tells us that
1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers….2 While they
were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they
had fasted and prayed , they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
How did the Spirit “say” to them? Could it be significant that we are told there were both prophets and teachers in this gathering? I find it reasonable to assume that the Spirit revealed his message to and through one or more of the prophets mentioned. The description “the Holy Spirit said” is “spiritual shorthand” for the whole process. Notice, too, that no one twisted some passage of Scripture to justify these directions. Observe also that no new teaching was produced by this activity of the Spirit. I am convinced by this and similar examples, that the New Testament gift of prophecy did not produce Scripture. Nor were prophecies by New Testament prophets regarded as Scripture. It would seem that the gift of prophecy functioned as a form of strategic guidance. Consider the guidance received by Ananias in connection with the conversion and healing of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9). Or the prophecies of Agabus (Acts 21:7-12). Notice also in Acts 21 that Philip the evangelist is reported to have had four unmarried daughters who also prophesied. Nothing is even mentioned of the specifics about their prophecies. I believe this is largely because their “words” from the Lord, while useful in their specific situation, were never intended by God to be vehicles of a timeless message for teaching, correcting and training in godliness. What am I getting at? Just this—when those who move in prophetic circles speak about their utterances as if they have the weight of scripture or deliver them as if God is speaking through them in the first person, this is precisely the reason to doubt God is in it.
“Hearing God” is not a completely sufficient label to describe the experience of God’s guidance. As a label “hearing God” covers a whole range of experiences and a process of discerning God’s will. Jesus described the same reality when he said that he didn’t do anything but what he “saw” his father doing. This was not a physical seeing but a spiritual discerning. In Acts the apostle Peter “saw” that a man had faith to be healed and, so, bestowed a miracle of healing on the lame man at the Beautiful gate. I have found in my own experience with God’s guidance that he has used a variety of means to lead me to move or act in a certain direction:
• Tested by God’s Word - Much of what God gives in guidance, given its
practical nature, cannot be fit into a single scripture. People who say,
“God gave me a verse telling me to do this or that…”, are simply misusing
the Scripture no matter how well intentioned. God will often use a verse to
highlight a principle that leads to taking a specific action, but the verse itself
doesn’t say, “Go to Anne and ask her forgiveness.” This belief that we must
have a specific scripture verse to validate every revelation of spiritual
guidance has led to some pretty twisted applications of Bible verses. What is
important, however, is that we test our sense of being led to an action as to
whether Scriptural principles encourage or prohibit the action. And this is
where counsel from believers firmly grounded in the Scriptures can be very
helpful.
• A Fully Developed Thought - I have had the experience of having God
interject a fully developed stream of thought that I was able to clearly
distinguish from my own. The thought came to me with a sense of power,
clarity and seemed to bear the authority of God’s weighty presence. I was
further inclined to take this thought as God’s and not mine because it was not
what I wanted to do…at first. This is because my “flesh” is rarely inclined to
go God’s way on the first go around. While these phenomena are not suffi-
cient for determining if it is really God, I have experienced them as part of
the mix of things that happen when I have experienced God’s leading. I
heard no audible voice, but “knew” as clearly as I know my name that I was
not manipulating a “word” from the Lord. I also find that such experiences
are often repetitive. That is, as I struggled with the idea, God would keep
coming back through the day, with this same thought until I surrendered to
act on it. I should add that such experiences must still be weighed to see that
they do not violate the principles of God’s word. I would quickly add that God
has only rarely used this means of guidance in my life and only at very critical
life junctions (Approximately a ½ dozen at most in 30+ years).
• Independent Confirmations - Often the Lord has followed up an initial
impression with independent confirmations. A person may “happen” across
my path the same day or later in the week and quite unexpectedly say some
part of the very same thing the I sensed God was pressing upon me.
This person had no forewarning from me to prompt such action. Some have
called this sort of experience a “double-blind” confirmation if two or more
similar independent confirmations happen with regard to the same leading.
• Tested by Trusted Advisors - I make it a practice to review my “impressions” of
God’s leadings with one or two mature Christians. I don’t burden them with
helping me make up my mind. I am simply asking their honest reactions, prayers
and advice. “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they
succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22)
• Unusual Timing of Events – Regarded as coincidences by some or
serendipitous events by others, I prefer to call the unusual merging of events
by their proper name: providential. God providentially controls all events
and circumstances. The book of Nehemiah shows us repeated examples of
God leading through this means while providing no other overt revelation of
God’s guidance. Nehemiah, following up on a prayer in which he sought
God’s favor with King Artaxerxes, moved ahead in a daring manner by
coming to Artaxerxes with a sad face (an act which could easily have cost
Nehemiah his life!) Nehemiah is not said to have received any “word” from
God to proceed. He simply went ahead in faith. God did give favor and the
rebuilding of Jerusalem was begun. Throughout the book of Nehemiah see
that God guides by blessing resolute, faith-filled action on the part of his
servant.Think also of Peter who, after his vision, found two men from the
very household he was being led to visit, already there and knocking at his
door! (Acts 10:17).
• Confirming Events - God may guide in a very brief instance on some
occasions, while drawing it out on others. I find that my certainty of God’s
leading in an area increases as I act on God’s first instruction and then see
confirming events follow. These confirmations may be unexpected enable-
ments and provisions to continue going the course. Or they may be spiritual
opposition (an indication that Satan is upset and bent on obstructing progress).
Either response can be an encouragement that God is leading.
In the end, you simply grow in ability as you pursue the activity of seeking and discerning God’s leading in fulfilling your life calling. Your personal history with God’s leading will grow over time and with obedience and so will your confidence.
God’s guidance is the birth right of every believer. How he leads us, in what manner and when, is entirely up to him. For our part, we should cultivate a sense of openness to guidance without being overly anxious that God do it in only the most spectacular or obvious ways. Those who will not do anything without “receiving a word” or an “impression”, or a “burden” are in danger of not seeking God but of practicing the sin of witchcraft (i.e., divination). Let me explain. While God is glad to impart “signs” and invade our thoughts with his own direction accompanied by the weighty awareness of his presence, he does not want us to develop an unhealthy addiction to these things. Nehemiah’s walk with God is a great counterbalance to an unhealthy preoccupation with signs.
I always used to resent those who suggested that God speaks in a more spectacular way with the newly born-again or the spiritually immature. The implication is that truly “mature” believers do not need these things. I still reject the out-of-hand dismissal of God’s leading. But I have come to agree with this much: God does not want his children to come to the place where they cannot decide the most simple routines of life and service without first receiving a “word” from the Lord. No parent delights in a grown child who has absorbed so little of their values and character that the child must continue to bring every decision to them. This is not the freedom of mature sonship. It is slavery, instead, and very much in line with what Satan does to folks who consult astrologers and other forms of divination.
Certainly, we should still call upon the Lord and consult him in everything. If, after praying and waiting on the Lord no specific guidance comes our way, we must not immediately think something is wrong, or God is displeased with us, or that we should do nothing until a “word” or a sign is given. Seek the Lord, be open to being guided, but be confident of his sovereignty and his behind-the-scenes control over all events. We might be wise to wait or we might be equally wise to move ahead in trusting confidence. How do we know? It isn’t always clear. If we always saw God’s will clearly it wouldn’t require faith. And for the time being it is impossible to please him without faith.
Above all test everything by the rule of the Scriptures. Exercise the fear of the Lord. Approach guidance with humility and he will direct your steps. I rarely, if ever, say: “God told me.” I prefer to say, with much more caution, “I think God may be leading me in this way or that…”.
The Daily-Weekly diary section of this journal incorporates a significant column for following and testing your impressions of God’s leading. If an impression, a “burden” (i.e., a sense of God’s pressure that persists until you act) or some beginning form of prodding from the Lord comes your way, record it. Test it with Scripture and with wise believing friends. Pray for success or for God to prevent you if the action is not his desire. Be honest about your own motives. Record the content of your impression. Make note of the results of acting on this matter. Make note of any follow-up action or further insight the Lord gives you. Prepare for an adventure!