Hearing the Voice of Our Shepherd

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

“Learning to clearly distinguish God’s voice is invaluable. Instead of going through life blindly, we can have the wisdom of God guide and protect us.” Andrew Wommack

 

  • Hello, dear sister! Call your prayer partner for your 10-minute prayer call! God is the one who has the power to work in your heart and the hearts of those you love. Prayer changes everything!
  • Today’s devotional relays how we can hear God’s voice, even though we are ordinary moms. Find a quiet spot in your home and prepare your heart to listen to the voice of your Shepherd. If you are His child, He lives in you!
  • Read John 10:1-14.

Hearing the Voice of Our Shepherd

I cannot think of anything more transforming in a person’s life than consistently hearing the voice of Jesus. It is one of the greatest benefits of being God’s child! Without this ability, we feel lost and left to ourselves. However, just one word from Him can transform the worst of situations.

Here’s good news: we can hear God’s voice; yes, even us ordinary moms! We were, in fact, created to have intimacy with Him in this way. His voice breaks bondages in our children, reveals insight into our marriage, and delivers peace into relationships in our home. He knows exactly what we need in order to turn any dire situation around, no matter what has gone wrong!

As you read in John 10 today, Jesus said in verses 4b and 5 (NLT), “he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow the voice of a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

Jesus was trying to explain to the Pharisees that He is the “One” they were looking for, the Messiah. They clearly were not His children because they were not able to receive what He said about Himself. They didn’t believe He was who He claimed to be (the Son of God), thus they could not hear Him. My friend, Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Precious Mom, because of Jesus and His Holy Spirit living inside us, we can now hear God speak.

God loves you so much and He deeply desires to have a living and vital relationship with you! This is why He sent Jesus to die for your sin, but He didn’t stay in the grave! God rose Him up again and sent His Spirit to live on the inside of you, to fill you with Himself, bringing your spirit to life. If you believe and agree in your heart that Jesus is Lord, that God raised Him from the dead, and you confess this with your mouth, then you are saved (Romans 10:9)! If you are saved, then you are God’s child, and if you are God’s child, you absolutely have the ability to hear His voice!

However, we often become so busy with the “stuff” in our lives that we forget what David wrote, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a). It is in stillness that we hear God, not busyness. In 1 Kings 19:12, Elijah heard the Lord’s voice in a gentle whisper. Often our hurried lives drown out His “still, small” voice. We must guard against busy, fussy living, which interferes with the quietness in which He speaks.

There are multiple ways in which God speaks. Sometimes we can mistake the Lord’s voice for our own thoughts. I love that He can invade us with ideas! Remember to always filter what you think through God’s Word because it helps you to know if it’s Him relaying a message, because we also have an enemy who tells us things that are not true. By knowing the Word and asking God to help us understand it we can know the difference between true thoughts and untrue thoughts. After all, Jesus is the Word (John 1:1), so we know His voice in our thoughts will always agree with Scripture!

Another way He may communicate is through impressions. Every one of us has, at times, done something we felt was wrong, even as we were doing it, yet we followed our feelings or gave in to pressure from others instead. We had the impression it was wrong, but we went our own way and missed His leading. Learn to pray and ask the Lord for His truth to be revealed. Be sensitive to hear, so you can avoid this pitfall.

“Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4 NASB). According to the Word, if you delight yourself in the Lord, your heart can be trusted. God will lead you by your desires when your heart is focused on Him.

Of course, God always speaks through Scripture. His written Word is Truth!

A lot of people are asking God to speak when in reality their ears are not hearing. Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let Him hear.” Learn to be still, listen to understand with your heart, and then obey. He is always wanting to communicate with His children—always. If you are having difficulty hearing, remember the last thing God told you and then do it. God doesn’t want us to bypass His voice with disobedience, because He knows what’s best for us! He speaks what He speaks for a reason. He knows our beginning and end, and we must learn to trust and obey.

Hearing God will completely transform everything in our life, bringing freedom and peace, which is what we desire. He leads us in paths of righteousness, bringing honor to His name in the process.

Blessings and Love,

Mari Jo Mast

Questions to Ponder

  • God speaks to His children in multiple ways, including:
  1. Through Scripture
  2. Through prayer
  3. Through the church (the body of believers)
  4. Through our circumstances
  5. Through our desires (if we’re delighting in Him)
  6. By impressions
  7. Through our thoughts (filtered through God’s Word)
  8. In the stillness or quiet
  • Do you believe that God is always speaking? Might there be something preventing you from hearing? Are you taking the effort and time to listen? What can you change about your lifestyle to hear His voice more clearly?

Faith-Filled Ideas

Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you to overflowing today. Spend a few minutes right now being quiet. Acknowledge He lives in you. Pray and ask Him to reveal Himself to you as you wait. Try to hear and understand what He’s speaking in your spirit. Ask Him to bring meaning to what you feel He is saying. Write it down. Practice this routine every day.

When you grocery shop, go to the park, or do everyday duties, remember God’s Spirit dwells in you and is speaking. Be ever sensitive to His influence in your life by staying aware of this awesome truth.

God is very much alive, and desires to share His deepest feelings and desires with you. You are His child and have a unique purpose—ask Him to reveal it. He will, in time!

Mari Jo Mast
Latest posts by Mari Jo Mast (see all)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.