HEARING FROM GOD: A KEY TO LIVING A VICTORIOUS LIFE

MEMORY VERSE: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Revelations 2:29

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 44-47

One of the key conditions that must be met before a man can enjoy a walk with God is the ability to hear from God. The Lord told the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 28 that if they would listened to His voice, great blessings will be theirs. He also warned them saying: “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:”(Deuteronomy 28:15). Hearing from God is crucial to our existence on the face of the earth. We can give several examples of people who have escaped death because they could hear from God. A particular brother was dressing up one morning to go and watch car racing. He and some other brethren in the church had arranged to meet up at a particular spot where they could get a very good view of the racing track. Whilst he was shaving, the spirit of the Lord told him to remain indoors and study his bible. Being a brother with integrity, having given his word to his friends that he would attend, he didn't want to go back on his word. Nevertheless, he obeyed and remained in doors. By 8am the car race started, and he could hear their powerful engines from his apartment. After a short while, he had a deafening bang and he rushed out. He instinctively knew that the bang came from the racing track. When he got to the spot where he was supposed to meet his friends and watch the race from, he saw dead bodies, some with severed hands lying all around. As God will have it, when his friends got there around 8am and he was not there, they left to watch the race at another spot thereby escaping death too.

Hearing from God is a precursor to getting it right in the choice of a marriage partner and having a blissful marriage. Joseph, earthly father of Jesus, heard from God in a dream that he should take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20). The servant of Abraham who was sent to get a wife for Isaac heard from God before speaking to Rebecca’s parents (Genesis 24:13-21). The ability to hear from God is necessary if a man does not want to make costly mistakes in life or take a wrong step. The revered man of God, Samuel, almost anointed the wrong candidate as king over Israel. He was about to anoint Eliab as king when the Lord, who sees the heart of every man, told him to stop. Hearing from God puts one's mind at rest whilst others are panicking. Whilst everyone on onboard with Paul were screaming, panicking, some saying their last prayers - most likely asking for forgiveness of all their sins - Paul was unmoved by tempestuous wind, Euroclydon, that was blowing ferociously at the ship. The man of God had heard from God that, although the ship will be totally destroyed, there will be no loss of lives (Acts 27:1-44). I am not an author when it comes to hearing from God. I am still learning to hear from God and asking Him to help me to hear more. But, i can share an experience or two, in my life, that will help you appreciate the importance of hearing from God. Several years ago, i had a challenge at work and it was obvious that i was gone especially when someone was brought to replace me. I was favoured to have a lot of caring people around me (God bless their darling hearts) and they began to worry that i was going to lose my job. In the midst of all this, i was at peace because God had said to me through His Word, ‘Christ in you the hope of glory ‘(Colossians 1:27). Anytime people called, i would tell them "all will be well” and to the glory of God all went well. Had i not heard from God, i would have looked for another job, leaving where God wanted me to be at that time. When the Pharisees told Jesus to run for His life as Herod was making plans to kill Him, He told them "Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected"( Luke 13:31-32). Hearing from God puts you in charge of the situations in your life. Jesus was always in control of circumstances because He hears from God.

NOTE: To hear from God, one must spend time in the place of prayer. If one is not regularly talking to God, He will not talk back to the fellow. Also, meditating on the scripture, obeying the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit and living a life of holiness and purity are a must for anyone who wants to hear from God.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me a hearing heart.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.