Listening to God’s voice
Written by Meghan Treacher | 16th September 2023
I felt stirred to write on hearing God’s voice for this month’s Rise Connect, and I just want to encourage you that God wants to speak to you, He is speaking to you and loves to speak with you.
I am continually blown away that we get to speak directly to God, but also hear what He has to say for us and for others. Over the past few years, I’ve felt challenged to be intentional with my time to listen to Him, but more recently have also felt excited to normalise conversation with God throughout all the small parts of my day. I love that every part of our day is significant to God, even the parts we may consider to be ‘boring’! Engaging in regular conversation with God throughout my day has dramatically changed my life and brought me so much closer in my relationship with Jesus.
Working as a nurse is full of immense privileges but also frequent challenges. I have found that listening to His voice throughout my day at work has relieved me of so much pressure; I don’t have to do it on my own or in my own strength. I love that He never leaves us. I will often find myself seeking God for help and insight when managing difficult clinical scenarios- but am also regularly moved by seeing God’s overwhelming compassionate and loving heart for the people sat in front of me.
I was particularly amazed by how God used me in one of my lunch breaks when I was working in hospital. I simply asked God to use me and prayed about how I should use my lunch break. I felt God say to go and visit a patient who had been transferred from our ward. When I visited her, the lady next to her sat bolt upright in bed and asked me to feed her lunch. I went to check that this was okay with the nurses who were looking after her- and the ward sister burst into tears of joy. It turns out this lady had stopped eating completely and had been refusing to eat for days. It was getting to the point where she would potentially need to get nutrients via a tube - but suddenly this lady had an appetite. I returned to feed her - and she said, ‘I don’t know what it was, but when you walked into the room, I suddenly felt hungry’. This was a real defining moment in my life because God showed me the power of being obedient when we hear Him speak. I felt challenged - am I seeking to hear Him speak regularly in my life? Am I often obedient when I hear God’s voice? And do I truly realise the significance of carrying the presence of God into a room?!! I am learning that the more time we spend with Jesus, the more we get to know Him and know His heart for us and for those around us.
Our creative God is not limited in the ways He can speak to us - He can speak through pictures, scriptures or dreams. He can also speak through creation, or through miracles or even in a whisper- just to list a few. John 10:27 says ‘my sheep hear my voice’- His voice is personal. He calls us personally and He leads us as we follow. God wants to speak to you. 1 Kings 19:11-13 says ‘After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper’. What always stood out to me about this was that you have to be close to hear a whisper. The goal is not just to hear His voice- it is all about intimacy with Him. He is desperate for relationship with you- and He wants to be close to you!
So, I want to encourage you this month to go after your relationship with Him and go after hearing His voice even more than before. Let’s go after being women that learn to live, love and think more like Jesus. Let’s seek to hear Him for ourselves and for others. And let’s be obedient to his voice when He speaks, because most importantly: you were made for relationship with Him.
LET’S DO THIS
In the busyness of life, let’s prioritise stilling ourselves to draw close and hear His whisper;
What is He saying over you?
What is He nudging you to do?
Maybe ask Him to speak in a new way for you – He’s a God of relationship, not routine; there’s always something new to explore with Him!