I do only what I see the Father doing (I) Hearing

Being the God-man, the persona of Jesus teaches, at least two things. Firstly it teaches us what God is like (If you have seen me you have seen the Father - John 14:9), secondly it teaches us what God intends man to be (I am the way the truth and the life John14:6). And if we are to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1), then we are to be imitators of the man Jesus Christ in His humanity. The challenge then (or rather one of them) is to do only what we see the Father doing (see John 5:19). This "seeing" is of course speaking about spiritual sight. I know people who literally see on the screen of their mind, but we “see” what the Father is doing in many ways including spiritual hearing. This hearing is not only possible, it is expected (My sheep know my voice - John10:27,16,4), and it needs to be cultivated.

The clearest way we hear His voice is through His word. We experience this most often as the “still small voice of God” (1 Kings 19:12,13) illuminating the verse or passage in some way. This might come as a particularly meaningful promise (i.e. Romans 8:28 one of my favourites). At times of fear or anxiety He might illuminate “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). When we read His Word regularly, especially when we memorize a verse or passage, we hear His voice by His bringing it to mind at a particular relevant time.

We also hear His voice through prophecy that has the same “feel” that we get when a verse stands out to us. I had a prophetic word like that a couple of years ago. It was that God has a thirty year plan for my life. It resonated with me, and I received it (receiving it is just one of the things we need to do with a prophetic word). I understood it as thirty years from that time. So the Lord brought this to mind again (as a memory) over the last couple of days, when it became clear that i still need to wait for the fulfillment of a long awaited promise. Through this, He is also reminding me that He is not in a hurry, that His timetable is perfect, that He is never early, and He is never late. What just came to mind as I write, is that Moses was 80 before he even started his ministry. He is also reminding me of His instruction to me from the very beginning of my Christian walk, and that I need to wait patiently for Him (Psalm 40:1).

Father thank You for the many resources You have raised up to help us to learn to hear Your voice. In particular I want to thank You for Mark Virkler though whom, and his YouTube videos, I have learnt a great deal. Father, most of us have a long way to go in learning this skill. And like everything else about You, there is always more to lean. Help us Lord to be diligent in the study and application of You and Your Word as workmen who need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15) in Jesus Name Amen