Developing Your Spiritual Hearing

What happens around you doesn't have to happen in you.

- Ron Horner

Developing Your Spiritual Hearing

By Ron Horner

The following guidelines should prove helpful in developing your spiritual hearing.

1 - Submit the issue to God

For God is at work in you making you both willing and able to do his will and his purpose. (Phil. 2:13)

Ephesians 2:10; Numbers 23:19

There is an old saying...

GOD'S WILL...

...nothing more,

...nothing less,

...nothing else.

That should be our prayer.

Let's not be like Israel...

...they hastily forgot His works; they did not [earnestly] wait for His plans [to develop] respecting them; but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desire] in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul and [thinned their numbers by] disease and death. (Psalm 106:13-15 AMP).

2 - Believe that God will speak to you by His Spirit.

Whoever has my commands and keeps them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself [manifest myself or make myself known] to him. (John 14:21 AMP).

John 10:1-5

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

We must:

Submit the issue to God
Declare the kingdom of God to come & the will of God to be done concerning this matter
Maintain a spirit of expectancy and faith
Commune with God...pray in the Spirit
Open your heart to hear what He says

REMEMBER: It is His timing, His way, & His Word that we want!

Psalms 18:30 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

3 - Receive the message being transmitted. It is the Holy Spirit who dictates how He will speak, not us.

But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth -- the whole, full truth. For He will not speak His own message -- on His own authority -- but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father, He will give the message that has been given to Him] and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come -- that will happen in the future. He will honor and glorify Me (Jesus), because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you. (John 16:13-14 AMP).

UNDERSTAND THAT...

He may speak directly to your spirit
He may speak by His Word
He may speak through His servants
He may speak through a dream or vision
He may speak audibly
He may speak through our situations (Usually because we won't hear the other ways.

Circumstances must be confirmed by the Word and the Spirit. Don't trust them alone.)

(See Numbers 12:6-8; I Kings 19:9-13)

Realize that reading and meditating on the Word sharpens our ability to hear clearly.

Meditation is one of the primary ways we will cultivate our hearing of the voice of the Lord.

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Meditate:

To ponder, to mutter

1 Timothy 4:15 Practice {and} cultivate {and} meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry], so that your progress may be evident to everybody. [AMP]

Tune yourself to the "perfect pitch" of the Spirit; then, you will know when something you hear is "off".

4 - Test the spirits.

Beloved, do not put faith in every spirit, but prove (test) the spirits to discover whether they proceed from God, for many false prophets have gone forth in to the world. (I John 4:1 AMP).

Many voices are seeking to compete with us in this day and age. We must learn to discern the source of these voices. The Holy Spirit is our teacher in this and He is ready to teach.

Remember: Don't stop using the radio just because you heard a bad song!

Eat the fish and spit out the bones. Don't stop eating the fish!

1 Thess. 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

If what you hear doesn't exalt, magnify, and glorify Jesus and line up with the eternal purpose of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, forget it!

Check it out with James 3:17. The "words" you hear should have the attributes listed in James 3:17.

The wisdom that is from above is:

Pure
Peaceable
Gentle
Willing to yield
Full of mercy and good fruits
Without partiality
Without hypocrisy

5 - Wait for the peace of God.

If what you have heard seems right, but you don't have peace, put it on the back burner and wait for further guidance. Although what you heard may line up with the Word of God perfectly, it may not be God's perfect will for you or be the right time for it.

Three Harbor Lights

The Word
The Witness of the Spirit
Circumstances

Let peace be your umpire!

And let the peace of God rule (act as the umpire) in your hearts... (Col. 3:15 AMP).

The peace of God is one of the most accurate tests available in determining the will of God.

6 - Refuse to "go" when you don't "know"!

If you don't know, don't go!!!

But the man who has doubts -- misgivings, an uneasy conscience -- about eating and then eats [perhaps because of you,] stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin -- that is, whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful. (Romans 14:23 [AMP].

Faith is a word from the light, NOT a "leap in the dark"!

Walk in the light you have.
In the absence of new instruction, continue to obey the last instruction.
Don't expect new instruction if you aren't willing to obey the prior instruction.

7 - Seek & receive counsel.

The Bible is silent on some issues, very vocal on others. On those in which He is silent, seeking counsel is a wise move.

Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

Where no wise guidance is, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. (Prov. 11:14).

By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established. (II Cor. 13:1).

By wise counsel you can wage your war, and in an abundance of counselors there is victory and safety. (Prov. 24:6).

Also Prov. 8:14; 11:14; 12:15; 15:22; 19:20, 21; 20:18; 24:6; 27:9

In seeking counsel...

Be honest with yourself and with those to whom you go for counsel.
Seek counsel from mature believers.

If giving counsel:

Keep confidential things confidential. If you want people to confide in you, must be trustworthy.
Don't counsel above your head. Pass them to someone more qualified.
Make sure you counsel – not co-complain!

8 - Wait for God's timing.

Just as you waited on the Word concerning your situation, seek out His timing.

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV).

Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter. (Eccl. 8:5-6).

DON'T GET ANXIOUS!

Luke 12:26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

9 - Obey BOLDLY!

When you know the what, the where, the how, and the when...THEN, it's time to act and act BOLDLY!

Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. (Eccl. 9:10).

REMEMBER...

OBEDIENCE

IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY...

THE RESULTS

OF YOUR OBEDIENCE

ARE HIS RESPONSIBILITY!

Utilize the resources at your disposal:

Prayer
Praying in the Spirit
The Word of God
The counsel of mature believers and of course...
The greatest teacher in the universe...the Holy Spirit.

He knows how to aid you in developing your spiritual hearing.

Acknowledge Him
Talk to him
What you acknowledge, you experience
As you do expect Him to speak into your life. He has good things in store to guide your life and He is always right where you are
Journal - sit down and converse with the Father and as you tune in to the Holy Spirit speaking within, simply begin to write it down

Summary:

1- Submit the issue to God

2- Believe that God will speak to you

3- Receive the message being transmitted

4- Test the spirits

5- Wait for the peace of God

6- Refuse to "go" when you don't "know"!

7- Seek & receive counsel

8- Wait for God's timing

9- Obey BOLDLY!

For a printable version, click here.

Definitely NOT church as usual!