Parashat Shelach Lekha

Hearing God's Voice Num 13:1-15:41

The children of Israel did not have to guess about how to follow God. In Numbers fourteen, Moses intercedes after the damaging report of the ten spies. God was about to raise up a nation from Moses and judge the disobedient Israelites. Moses stated, in Israel's defense, that the nations knew that God spoke with them face to face, that his glory cloud dwelt over them, and that he lead them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Most of us would love this kind of direct, obvious interaction where the direction of God was unquestionable and a prophet was designated by God himself to ensure we knew what to do. God has provided other means for us to hear his voice. He does not work in our lives the same way he lead Israel when they journeyed to the Land of Promise.

Have you ever longed to hear the voice of God? Knowing that God has spoken directly to you and imparted his heart is one of the most intimate, affirming moments in the life of a child of God. It increases our understanding of covenant relationship and deepens our connection to God himself. Hearing God's voice affirms both his existence and his love for us. God always wants to speak with us and he does in many different ways. Knowing how God is speaking to us and hearing his voice is critical to having a deep, personal relationship with him and being led by the spirit.

Five reasons why we don't hear from God. 1. The first reason some do not hear the voice of God is because of sin issues. Unrepentant sin will always separate us from God. It will make his voice harder to hear. It will also make us more susceptible to the cares and pressures of life. It can rob us of strength and callous our hearts and ears to his presence.

2. As believers we need to commit to God's sovereignty and authority over our lives and be repentant and obedient to his holy word. As believers, we lead a life of seeking God first in all things and we can cultivate a love and reverence for his presence and holy things.

3. If we accept God's sovereignty and commit to doing his will, we need to learn his ways. When the hearing of his voice is coupled with the doing of his word, God will speak more and more. Learning God's ways is primarily done through reading his word, praying, and seeking his truth. Doing this will keep us focused on him and help us to lead biblically oriented lives. Sometimes our strength to do his will is connected to a lack of prayer. When our prayer life is weak we feel spiritually shallow and the voice of God seems far away. Sometimes we simply lose our focus and the things of life pile up and we are left with some carnal clutter in our spiritual space. Some of it could be a hindrance by the enemy, but a lot of it is our own lack of effort or discipline (Matt 13:3-23).

4. We do not hear the voice of God because we are not actually focused. We can get into a prayer routine where we are simply going through the motions, saying the same words, and going over our mental list, but our hearts are not seeking communion. There is a place where our whole person is involved and focused in prayer. We feel connected to God. We are aware of his presence and we are being attentive. In Pentecost, this is known as "entering in". In Jewish circles, it is known as kavanah. Lack of kavanah in prayer makes for shallow, half-hearted prayer. If we do not respect who God is, we will not hear his voice.

5. Sadly, the last reason we do not hear from God is because we shut him out. We believe he exists and believe that he speaks to others, but think that we are not relevant, worthy, or spiritual enough for God to speak to us. The second way we shut God out is when we insist that he speak and work on our timetable and according to our will (James 4:3).

Rav Calev Lehrer, PhD Apostolic Messianic International - Gulf Coast Region