Hearing God, Part 3

“Whoever has ears, let them hear.” – Matthew 11:15

All Christians want to hear God speak to them. I don’t know of a single exception. I’m sure that there a few of them, but over my years in ministry, almost everyone I’ve encountered value the voice of God. They try to tune into what the Lord is communicating and I commend them for their efforts.

For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been addressing the issue of the meaning of hearing God. (The links are here and here.) When we say we want to hear Him, what are we getting at?

We began by recognizing that the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, testifies about God speaking to people. And for Him to do so implies that we have the capacity to hear Him.

But hearing isn’t as simple as it appears. Relying on the work of theologian Bernard Lonergan about the philosophy of knowledge, we posited that hearing God consists of four operations or levels. The first one, which he called “experiencing,” we referred to as “sensing.”

Many believers, including me, use that term when it comes to discerning God’s will. It has a built-in modesty. When we say we sense that God wants something, we lack ironclad certainty. We’re willing to take the chance but we could be wrong. Sensing God’s voice is part of the process of hearing Him, but there needs to be more. We want more.

Listening

Lonergan’s calls his second cognitional operation “understanding.” Taking in information via the senses is necessary, but we have to treat what we absorb if we’re to benefit.

And this is how we often use the word “hear.” When we ask the question, “Did you hear me?” we may be wondering if someone’s ears took in the sounds our words made. But it can also refer to understanding, as in “Listen to me!” We say “listen,” but we mean more than acknowledging sounds. We aim for comprehension.

Listening is hearing that’s intensified or focused. Here are a few biblical examples of this second stage of hearing God.

• Abraham bargaining with God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:17-33)
• The conversation of Moses with God about his calling (Exodus 3:1-4:17)
• Moses repeating to the Israelites what God had relayed to him (Exodus 4:28; Numbers 29:40; Deuteronomy 1:3)
• The Laodicean church receiving Christ’s invitation (Revelation 3:20)

Abraham, Moses, and the Laodiceans heard words in languages which they understood. They had clarity about what the Lord was telling them; so much so, that they could reply with intelligence. This is the nature of conversation with God.

But sometimes people miss the meaning of God’s Word. They hear, but they don’t understand. The Bible illustrates this, too.

Mistaking

We can misidentify the voice of the Lord.

“‘Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ ²⁹The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. ³⁰Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine.’” – John 12:28-30

Thunder? An angel? It was neither; the Father spoke in public about His Son. Everyone there heard God’s voice, but no one knew it was His. (Except for the apostle John; he got it!)

What’s the benefit of a sound you can’t understand? The people heard God speak, but they failed to listen.

Ignorance

The book of Acts recounts Paul’s conversion three times. Each one sheds light on what it means to hear God.

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ⁵‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁶‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ ⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.” – Acts 9:3-7

In this first telling, Paul (whose original name was Saul) reacted to and understood everything Jesus spoke to him. Surprised, yes, but he got the idea–Jesus is the Messiah, so serve Him!

The others who traveled with him? They heard what must’ve sounded like a human voice because they were looking for the speaker but couldn’t see anybody. We don’t know if, like Paul, they understood what was being said.

“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ ⁸’Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.” – Acts 22:6-9

In the second speech, Paul clarifies that his fellow travelers sensed the voice of Jesus but lacked comprehension.

“About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. ¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” – Acts 26:13-14

Paul knew several languages, including Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. In the third account of his conversion, the apostle informed his listeners that he grasped what Jesus was saying. The others didn’t, but Paul provides no explanation. It’s possible they didn’t know Aramaic. But the answer lies elsewhere.

Heart

Discerning the voice of God is wonderful, but we may not understand what He’s communicating. It’s not a language issue, as though God were speaking to us in a dialect we never learned. The issue goes deeper; it’s a matter of the heart.

“‘Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.’ ⁴⁵But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.” – Luke 9:44-45

Jesus told His disciples about His impending crucifixion which befuddled them. Furthermore, they didn’t want to know; fear kept them from finding out. What were they afraid of? This indicates that they had partial understanding. They realized that Christ was talking about the cross, but such news didn’t jibe with their beliefs. The Messiah doesn’t die; he delivers the nation from the Gentiles and ushers in the kingdom of God.

“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³²He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.’ ³⁴The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” – Luke 18:31-34

Have you ever repeated yourself because people were having trouble following you? That’s where Jesus was at! The death of the Messiah made no sense to His disciples, so they couldn’t perceive the plan of God.

“He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” – Luke 24:44-45

After His resurrection, Jesus would wait no longer. He took His disciples through the Scriptures so they could appreciate how God orchestrated Christ’s death and resurrection for the salvation of the world.

The difference is that now, Jesus opened their minds. If we are to understand what God is saying to us, it will take the grace of Jesus working within us.

Application

Do you want the sound of God’s voice to reverberate in your ears or in your heart? That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it? Or do you wish to listen to what He’s telling you?

As Jesus announced to the crowd, the voice of the Father was for their benefit. And so it is for us, too. God speaks to us to foster our spiritual growth. Sensing His voice and listening to Him are awesome steps in this journey, but God has even more for us.