Hearing God's Voice in the Midst of the Storm - MICHAEL BROWN CHARISMA NEWS

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Hearing God's Voice in the Midst of the Storm

9/8/2017 MICHAEL BROWN  charisma news

Hurricane Irma damage in the Dominican Republic. ( REUTERS/Ricardo Rojas)

As I write these words from the safety of my home, with the weather outside beautiful and calm, people in other parts of America (and the Caribbean) are suffering terrible upheaval. Lives have been lost. Families have been torn apart. Houses have been destroyed. Whole islands have been devastated.

So, I do not write this lightly. In fact, I think of the famous dictum of Rabbi Irving Greenberg when talking about the Holocaust. "No statement," he said, "theological or otherwise, should be made that would not be credible in the presence of burning children." (He was referring, of course, to Jewish children who were thrown into the fire by the Nazis.)

In that same spirit (and without intending in any way to compare the Holocaust to today's natural disasters), we should make no statement, theological or otherwise, about Hurricane Harvey and Irma (along with the fires in the west) that could not be made in the presence of families who have lost loved ones (or, lost everything else).

As for the cause of these storms, I will leave that to others to decide. Are these satanic attacks? Divine judgments? Completely natural occurrences? The results of global warming? Something else? Again, that is for others to say.

What I have sensed as I have prayed for the victims and prayed for the nation is a very simple message, one that I heard whispered rather than shouted. And it was not an angry, thundering message but rather one of loving appeal from the heavenly Father.

Do I believe that one day God will judge the whole world? Certainly.

Do I believe that His wrath will be poured on a rebellious creation? Without a doubt.

Do I believe that His voice will thunder with such intensity that the very earth will shake? Yes, I honestly do.

And yet it is not the voice of thunder or anger or wrath that I hear right now.

Instead, it is the still small voice that is heard in the midst of the fire, wind, and storm (see 1 Kings 19).

It is the voice that is heard as a toddler clings to her dead mother in the flood-ravaged streets of Houston.

It is the voice that is heard as a family desperately searches for a missing loved one in another city nearby.

It is the voice that is heard as a couple rides a boat through a flattened neighborhood in Barbuda.

It is the voice that is heard as a million people pack their cars in Florida and flee for their lives.

It is the voice that is heard as the proud human race cowers in terror in the face of a storm of monstrous proportions, as the work of our hands—the work of decades and even centuries—is leveled by wind and rain.

It is the voice of the Creator speaking to His creation.

It is the voice of the Father speaking to His children.

It is the voice of the Lord that says, "America, you need Me!"

It is the voice of appeal, the voice of mercy, the voice of the Healer ready to mend and restore.

You might say, "But how can that be? Surely God is not passive in the world. Surely He had power to stop the storms. Some would even say He sends the storms."

Again, it is for others to decide what is happening behind the scenes and how God governs His world (and again, let it be done with caution; see Deut. 29:29).

Yet even those who believe that the Lord is sending these disasters as a judgment on America must do as Job did many centuries ago. He was convinced that God was responsible for his terrible suffering, yet He knew his only hope was in God. So what did he do? In the words of a Jewish philosopher, he fled from God to God. That was his only choice.

But, to repeat. I am not saying that these hurricanes and fires have been sent by God as judgment. That is for Him to know and make known.

What I'm saying is that these storms remind us of our frailty, of our weakness, of our helplessness, of our need. What I'm saying is that they remind us that we are the creation, not the Creator, and our help is found in Him alone.

We can send satellites to Mars and build enough nuclear weapons to blow up the earth. And we can design robots and discover the meaning of DNA. Yet we cannot stop the wind and the rain and the fire. We cower before Mother Nature, recognizing our fate is not in our hands.

Right now, towns and cities in our nation are completely overwhelmed, and the rebuilding process will take many years. But that is also a picture of our spiritual state. We are torn apart, divided and devastated, and the time for rebuilding must begin now. Yet we can only rebuild with the help of our Maker.

It is His voice that I hear again, saying, "America, you need Me!"

If we seek Him, He will be found.

When I began to write Saving a Sick America last year, I was overwhelmed with just how sick we were. But the more I wrote, the more I felt hope rising out of the despair.

America can be saved.

Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Saving a Sick America: A Prescription for Moral and Cultural Transformation. Connect with him on Facebook or Twitter.

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What Elijah Can Teach Us About Hearing God's Voice - BEN WOODWARD CHARISMA MAGAZINE

These 6 steps will help you hear God clearly. (Micah H.)

What Elijah Can Teach Us About Hearing God's Voice

 7/14/2016 BEN WOODWARD  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

The SpiritLed Woman podcast is empowering women weekly to follow their purpose in Christ and boldly walk in faith. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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Elijah was a pretty incredible man. He was a prophet called by God to bring correction to King Ahab and his incredibly wicked wife Jezebel during a particularly rough period in ancient Israel. He saw many miracles in his life and was used mightily by the Lord to demonstrate the power of God to Israel.

But Elijah was also a man like us and there was a certain point when things got tough and he freaked out. At one particular point in Elijah's life, he had just called down fire from heaven and killed all the prophets of Baal. This had been a significant victory and an incredible display of God's power but immediately afterward Elijah is terrified and running for his life.

"And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." When he saw that she was serious, he arose and ran for his life ... " 1 Kings 19:1-3 (MEV)

It is often difficult to relate to an ancient story because they feel so distant from our current reality. But this response feels all too familiar. A major victory takes place and the right afterwards there is a dramatic failure. How many times have we seen people at the top of their game throw away everything senselessly? It happens so frequently that it has almost become expected. Elijah was having a crisis. Now that the major event was over, an event that could have led to his death, he doesn't know what to do anymore. He is a man without a mission and for someone with Elijah's personality, that can lead to major depression.

Adrenaline is an interesting chemical in our bodies. Without it, we can barely function on a daily basis. It is responsible for producing amazing feats of strength and courage in average human beings. But, when your body has to detox from all that adrenaline, things can get a little crazy.

Elijah was crashing hard and he had no idea what to do anymore. Even though he had just seen God send fire from heaven, he had no clear direction on what to do and that created a crisis. Without hearing God's voice, he could only react to his circumstances and he did—by running in fear.

Fear is not a good leader. It makes you question everything. It is a reactionary response, not an intentional choice. Very few wise decisions are made out of fear. If we are to be world-changing followers of Jesus, we need a better leader in our lives than fear.

When I was 14, I read a book about a man named Keith Green. He was a Christian musician who challenged the status quo, spoke the truth and impacted millions of lives. I wanted to be just like him. So I began to pursue a career in music. Initially, I had some success that allowed me to travel all over the world as a musician and singer. But year after year, my career did not "take off" like I thought it would. I kept forging ahead believing things would change, but it didn't.

I started to feel like a failure. In my 30s, I hit a point of crisis in my life. All of a sudden, I didn't know how to reconcile my current situation with what I thought my life should look like.

"God, I thought you told me to become a great musician and singer and prophetic voice to my generation? I thought my destiny was to be the next Keith Green? What happened? Did I miss it somewhere?"

I knew who God was, but I was struggling to hear His voice for my present circumstances. I had become so attached to what I thought I had heard in the past that it had become an idol in my life.

Increasingly, I would suffer from severe seasons of depression. I didn't want to feel the way I felt, but I didn't know what to do anymore. The more I was on stage, the harder I would adrenaline crash afterwards. I felt like I was going crazy. In the midst of all of this, I felt like I could no longer hear God's voice. I didn't know what to do anymore because all my dreams had died and there did not seem to be any way forward. To be honest, I was scared to listen to God's voice because it would probably mean I had to lay down the dreams I had spent 20 years of my life chasing.

I had made the dream of being a world-changing musician an idol. But now that it was probably never going to become a reality, I was paralyzed.

I wish I could say that this experience is uncommon. It might not be the dream of being a musician, but all around us are people struggling to deal with the death of their dreams. Some of these people have even been successful but now that the moment has passed, they don't know what to do anymore. In the midst of the pain of lost dreams, we have forgotten how to hear the voice of God and allowed fear to find a resting place in our lives.

We need to learn how to hear His voice for our future. God is speaking but our fear has disabled our ability to hear him.

I remember sitting under a tree one day when I felt like I had come to end of myself. I didn't know what to do anymore and I was complaining to God about it. I had allowed fear to cloud any view of my future. God may have spoken to me all those years ago, but now I needed to hear his present voice. God may have used the dream of being a rock star to get me moving, but now I needed a new word for a new season.

So I began to go on a journey to rediscover the voice of God in my life. I wanted to be able to hear Him in every situation, not just the "church related" ones. I wanted to hear him for my family, for my children, for my music, for my relationships, for all of my life. I began to ask the Lord to teach me how to be aware of His presence in the present. I knew that He was a good leader, but I needed to learn again how to be led by the leader within.

I met with some smart people and they began to help me form a grid through which I could actually discern what was going on. One particular friend, John Houghton, is a certified coach that I had been meeting with. We had been walking through this journey together and his advice had been instrumental in helping me decipher what was going on and what to do next. One day, as we were talking, he gave me a simple grid that immediately helped me silence the noise and hear God's voice in any situation. It has become, for me, the noise cancellation tool that I needed to shut out the noise and hear the Lord's voice for my life, my family and my future.

That grid was a series of questions to help me discern what was going on so that I could listen to the leader within.

1. First things first, stop the noise.

You can't hear anything until you silence the noise in your life and listen. We live overstimulated lives and actually dialing down the noise to hear the voice of the leader within is vital.

2. Ask yourself, "What is actually going on?"

This requires you to be honest about the situation. Take a step back and get real with yourself. What is actually taking place right now? What are the key factors that I need to recognize in this moment? Sometimes having clarity about the reality of the situation can diffuse the fear. Am I making more of this than there actually is?

3. What am I feeling?

My emotions tell me a story about what's going on inside. I can't ignore them, but I can't let them rule my decisions. What are my emotions telling me? Our emotions typically give us insight into what core values are being affected in our lives. The stronger the emotion, the more the core value has been impacted. As a friend told me one time, emotions can have a seat on the bus, but they can't be allowed to drive the bus.

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4. What is true?

This goes beyond the "facts" about the situation. This is about deciphering the truth. What is true about myself right now? What is true about God? This is the moment that you ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten your mind and allow the truth to penetrate your spirit. Where am I believing lies? What is the truth that will set me free?

5. What do I do now?

Once I have a better picture of what is taking place, now I can begin to ask the Lord what to do about it. This is the point where we can actually hear the voice of God speaking to us. This is the decluttered zone. This is the place of clarity.

6. Re-engage in the present.

Now that I have heard from the leader within, now I can re-engage in the process. A lot of people never make it to this point. They might get clarity and understanding about the situation, but they fail to apply it after everything is said and done.

Remember what the book of Proverbs told us?

"If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed" (Prov. 29:18, MSG).

This is a grid that helps me "attend to what He reveals". This grid helps me silence the noise, hear His voice and get the perspective and clarity I need to deal with any obstacle I face. It's not a fix-all, but it is a helpful tool to enable me to see and hear clearly.

Hopefully, it can help you do the same.

Is there anything you would add to this grid? Do you have a grid that helps you engage with the voice of the leader within?

Ben Woodward is a worship leader, speaker, author and songwriter from Australia. As you will find out by reading his book You Shall Know the Truth, he is passionate about helping people discover Jesus through worship and prayer. He lives in Kansas City with his wife, Kathryn, and three children, Eliana, Cohen and Paisley.

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Do You Want to Hear God’s Voice in 2015? - J. LEE GRADY

Do You Want to Hear God’s Voice in 2015?

1/7/2015 J. LEE GRADY CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Are you paying attention to the voice of God? (iStock photo)

When I was in my 20s I was praying about whether I should enroll in graduate school. Then one morning in my devotional time I came to Psalm 32:8 and it seemed to be flashing like a neon sign. It said: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go."

The Holy Spirit was emphasizing to me that God would teach me and that I didn't need additional schooling. That's not to say graduate school is wrong for everyone else; it was just not God's plan for me at that time. And God used a Scripture to clearly show me what path I should take.

The Bible promises that God will guide us. But many Christians find it difficult to hear God's voice. And in some charismatic churches we complicate things when we try to make guidance mystical or weird—as if you have to hear an audible voice from heaven about what color shirt to wear.

Years ago I learned from author Henry Blackaby that there are four distinct ways we receive divine guidance:

1. You can hear God's voice by reading the Bible. Friends have sometimes complained to me: "I just never hear God speaking." Yet when I ask if they read the Bible regularly, they say they're too busy.

God supernaturally inspired 40 authors over a period of 1,600 years to compile His love letter to us. After the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek, many people were martyred because they translated it in a modern language. God went to a lot of trouble to compile the Bible. Yet today Bibles are collecting dust in the homes of people who are too busy to read God's most direct message to Planet Earth!

When you read Scripture with a prayerful heart, God can cause a verse to jump off the page as a direct message to you. British preacher Charles Spurgeon recognized this years ago when he wrote: "When I have been in trouble, I have read the Bible until a text has seemed to stand out of the Book, and salute me, saying, 'I was written specially for you.'" Expect God to speak directly to you from Scripture.

2. You can hear God's voice through the supernatural inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an eerie presence that just hangs around. He lives in every born-again Christian, and He comforts us and actively speaks to us. He can do this in many ways: through dreams, visions, warnings, a sense of conviction, or—most often—through what we know as the "still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12) of the Spirit.

I have had prophetic dreams and visions over the years, but the most common way the Spirit speaks to me is through a deep sense of inward knowing. I will never forget a time in 1985 when God spoke to me while I was driving my car in Florida. A message came to me, not audibly but in my spirit: "You will move to Washington, D.C." It seemed to come out of the blue, and I knew it did not originate with me. Four years later I was offered a job in the Washington, D.C., area and I worked there for three years.

The ability to hear the Spirit's voice is developed over years as we grow in Christ. If you really want to hear Him, you should ask God to fill you with His Spirit. As you allow more of the Spirit's presence and power in your life, you will set aside your selfish agendas and sinful habits so God can communicate without any hindrance.

3. You can hear God's voice through people. God never intended for us to live in isolation. We are members of His body, the church, and you will hear God better when you are in fellowship with His people. God can speak to you through a pastor's sermon, a friend's wise counsel, a mother's rebuke, a mentor's phone call or a prophetic word given to you by one of God's Spirit-filled servants.

God uses the gift of prophecy, but you should never chase after prophecies. I know Christians who will travel across the country to attend a prophetic conference to get a word from God, yet they have not read the Bible in months or sat still long enough to hear from God on their own. Never treat the holy gift of prophecy like fortune telling. When God needs to speak to you in an unusual way, He has faithful messengers who will deliver it to you at the exact time you need it.

4. You can hear God's voice through circumstances. Not everything that happens to you is God's will. But God is sovereign, and He has power over nature, over government leaders and over all the details of your life. He opens doors that no man can shut. If you have been praying about getting a job at one company, and suddenly you get an offer at a different company, this may be God's sign that He has a better place for you to work.

My oldest daughter wanted to attend a college in Tennessee, and we were praying about her decision. Right after we prayed I got a call from the president of a college in Georgia. He was inviting me to speak at the school, but in our conversation I learned that this school was willing to offer my daughter a scholarship. She ended up enrolling in that school, meeting her future husband there and graduating four years later. God was totally involved in that phone call from Georgia!

As you begin this New Year, ask God to tune your ears to His voice in a fresh way. Guidance is not complicated when you sincerely want to hear Him speak.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter @leegrady. Is the author of 10 Lies Men Believe and other books.

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HEARING GOD'S VOICE IN A BUSY WORLD Written by John Paul Jackson

HEARING GOD'S VOICE IN A BUSY WORLD

Written by John Paul Jackson

Prayer is more than just speaking to God. It also means listening to God. It can mean quieting the soul, being still before Him, momentarily letting go of a busy schedule—and just listening.

The greatest “noise” that hinders us from hearing Him comes from our minds. My life is so full that my time is usually spoken for, and my mind is constantly working. Demands are placed on me. I’m recovering from radiation therapy and facing potential surgery. There is a lot of “noise” in my life right now.

In order to hear the still, quiet voice of the Lord in the midst of chaos and distraction, we need to develop the habit of meeting with Him on a regular basis. There, in His presence, we can practice two things that are capable of changing our lives forever.

1. Meditate on God

Some of my favorite times of prayer occur when I am meditating on God, focusing on His splendor and glory. When you look at Him—really, truly give Him your attention—you start to remember that He is good, that He is great, that His love is powerful and true, that nothing is too hard for Him. It is not uncommon to sit in His presence and wonder, How could I have forgotten that about You? In His presence, you remember who He is.

David would actually remind the Lord of what He had done in the past. These prayers have tremendous power as we recall the multi-layered promises God has given us: “Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, for they are from of old” (Psalm 25:6).

2. Meditate on His Word

Second, you can meditate on God’s Word by slowly and deliberately reading the Scriptures. This is called Lectio Divina, which means “holy reading.” Essentially, it is praying God’s Word. You meditate on a particular passage and wait for God to give you greater understanding about it.

Lectio Divina is about taking it slow and really sinking your teeth into one section of Scripture at a time, letting it soak down into your heart. It is a way to practice giving God your full, undivided attention. The more you practice this method of reading the Scriptures, the easier it becomes to focus on God without the distractions of the day taking over your consciousness.

This type of prayer, meditating on the Word, will radically transform your life. It has certainly transformed mine.

The Raging River of Hope

I often tell people, “What you focus on is what you make room for.” In other words, when we focus on the Lord, we make room for Him in our lives. The apostle Paul talks about this principle in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed.” Beholding the glory of God transforms us. We become the people we were made to be—children who look more and more like their Father. Hope washes like a wild river through our souls, and we are restored.

As we develop a habit of meeting regularly with God, we prepare our spirits to hear from Him in times of peace as well as in times of crisis. We’re able to hear His voice even in the midst of “noise,” and the distractions that pull at us from the world will seem like actual distractions. We will recognize them for what they are, because we know the more important thing.

The Art of Praying the Scriptures book, CD-Set and Study Card are all valuable tools that will help prepare you to pray God’s Word back to him. The book contains 175 pages of practical instruction on the process of meditating on and praying God’s word and it includes some of John Paul’s favorite Scripture verses. The 2-CD Set goes deeper into this teaching with John Paul sharing several stories and anecdotes. To see the Art of Praying the Scriptures teaching series.

CLICK HERE

Source: Streams Ministries