Hearing from God – by Neville

Hearing from God, by Neville Gardner (22 Jan 2023)

At Christmas, I heard from a friend in England for the first time in several years. Well, when I say ‘heard from’ I mean ‘received an e-card from’ – I didn’t actually hear his voice. These days, ‘heard from’ can mean receiving a card, letter, text or other electronic message, as well as actually hearing a voice on the phone. It’s the same when we talk about hearing from God – we don’t necessarily mean hearing his voice (but we might), we just mean that we receive God’s words in some way.

When my wife Nicky and I are in different parts of our house, we’ll sometimes shout to each other with questions and comments. There’s no guarantee that we’ll hear each other, and if we do, the message can be misheard – unless I’m asking Nicky if she wants a cup of tea! The sensible thing to do is to get closer to each other and speak normally.

God understands the problems of making himself heard. Throughout the Bible, God spoke normally to those close to him, but sometimes he shouted to make himself heard. In the Garden of Eden, God walked and talked quietly with Adam and Eve; but just before the Ten Commandments were handed out, “Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder”. (Exodus 19:19)

You’ll all know examples from the Bible of when God spoke directly to individuals (Moses, Noah, Elijah, Sarah – you can look up more later). Sometimes God sent messages by angels, visions and dreams, when that was the best way to communicate. He also used people to pass on his messages, speaking on his behalf. At the start of Hebrews, we read that “In the past, God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets.”

But then God changed his methods. The verse in Hebrews continues “but in those last days he has spoken to us through his Son.” The apostles and many other people, in crowds or as individuals, all heard directly from God, in the person of Jesus. They heard first-hand of God’s promises and what he wanted of them.

That was a long time ago, but God has never stopped talking to his people. You can be confident that God values you as much as anyone in the Bible. Because of that, he wants to talk with you, and he does so depending on what’s best at particular times and in particular circumstances.

So, how do we hear from God now?

There are times when God ‘shouts’, talking to people dramatically through visions, dreams and miraculous events, but I think that he normally gets close and uses the ordinary. You may not hear God’s actual voice, but you’ll still hear from him.

In effect, you can hear God whenever you want to, through ordinary everyday actions.

By reading the Bible, you are hearing God’s words.

By praying, talking and listening to that quiet voice in your mind, you are communicating with God.

By talking with other Christians, and hearing their stories, you may hear or pass on God’s words.

Dare I say it, God can talk to you through sermons.

It is by doing these same things, frequently, that you get to know what God’s voice sounds like.

Reading the Bible and contemplating God’s word is a way of hearing God. But finding the time to do that in today’s busy world is not always easy.

“Be still, and know that I am God” says Psalm 46:10.

We know that Jesus was in the habit of spending time alone, praying, even when other people pressed their needs on him. Luke 5:15-16 tells us…

“But the news about Jesus spread all the more widely, and crowds of people came to hear him and be healed from their diseases. But he would go away to lonely places, where he prayed.”

God is always close, but I’d guess that most of you at times seek places where can you find a particular peace and closeness to God. I’d also guess that for many of you that would be outside – in a garden, in the bush, by the sea or on a mountain perhaps.

God speaks to us through his beautiful world. In these situations, you can feel surrounded by God’s creation, but more than that, you can feel being part of it. God cares for, and provides for, everything he created – that includes you and me.

In Psalm 104 verses 24 and 27 we read:

Lord, you made so many things!

How wisely you made them all!

The earth is filled with your creatures.

All of them depend on you

to give them food when they need it.

You give it to them, and they eat it;

You provide food, and they are satisfied.

We know that gardens are special to God – the Garden of Eden was where he spent close times with Adam and Eve. The Garden of Gethsemane was where Jesus found the space to pray in a time of need.

Some of you will be familiar with a poem called God’s Garden, written by Dorothy Gurney in 1882. A popular verse is

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,

One is nearer God’s heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

Since the times of the New Testament, some people have gone to great lengths to find the time and space in which to get closer to God.

There is a small island off the south-west corner of Ireland called Skellig Michael. People go there now for several reasons. It is a wildlife haven, where birdwatchers go to be surrounded by thousands of circling and diving seabirds. The island is also home to strange-looking beehive huts. These stone dwellings housed a small community of monks from the 6^th century onwards, in use for several hundred years. Here, away from the normal world of men, the monks would quietly strengthen their relationship with God and listen for his voice.

Each hut has a single door, through which a monk could look out at God’s creation – the sea, the sky, the birds, the storms even. But doors are two way places – to the monks they symbolised the contemplation of their own often dark interior.

Skellig Michael was the filming location for parts of a couple of Starwars movies. Appropriately enough, it stood in for the place, in a galaxy far, far away, that Luke Skywalker exiled himself to, to get away from his old life as a Jedi Knight.

In the 7^th century, off the east coast of northern England, a young monk called Cuthbert became prior of Lindisfarne monastery. After ten years, he became worn out by the responsibility, so retreated to a small island nearby.

He did find peace and closeness to God there, but this was spoilt because people still came to find him and seek wisdom and healing. Cuthbert gave up and went back to the monastery for a few more years as abbot, but felt the need for peace and solitude again. He moved back to his island, where he built a small stone house and chapel, and spent the rest of his life there, praying and listening to God. But, tide permitting, people still managed to get to him!

Cuthbert of Lindisfarne and the monks of Skellig Michael went to great lengths to be able to concentrate on listening to God. But these were not the most extreme attempts.

In the late 1300s, in the east of England, Julian of Norwich became an anchorite. An anchorite was someone sealed into a small room, called an ‘anchorhold’, attached to a church – some still survive.

There was not normally a door, but three small windows. The first window let in light. The second window looked out on the outside world – it was used by people seeing to the anchorite’s physical needs, and by visitors seeking spiritual advice and wisdom. A third window, called a squint, had a narrow view of the altar, so the anchorite could see and hear services.

Julian had a severe illness, but after a ‘near-death experience’ she recovered and went on to receive religious visions from God for much of her life. These were compiled into a book called Revelations of Divine Love, which is the earliest surviving English-language book written by a woman.

Many people still appreciate the wisdom in these revelations – God still speaks to them through Julian of Norwich. She experienced two episodes of plague that swept her country, and people have been finding comfort in her words during the time of Covid.

I’m not suggesting that we all need to go to such lengths to find the peace and quiet in which to hear God’s voice. Turning phones off is a good start! Or spending time in the garden, or setting aside a daily quiet time at home, whatever makes you comfortable. These are all good practices, but in a way they are all aimed at putting us in control of when we hear from God. We mustn’t forget that God speaks to us when it suits him. That could be when we are not expecting it, even not wanting it. It may be at time of busyness, or when we are in an uncomfortable situation.

Jonah knew all about that. “One day, the Lord spoke to Jonah son of Amittai. He said, “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it.” Jonah heard directly from God, yet he chose to leg it in the opposite direction. Jonah’s ship was caught in a storm and the sailors threw him overboard because he was running from the Lord. Finally, after being swallowed by a large fish, Jonah prayed to God and changed his tune. Back on shore, in a much more comfortable position, God spoke directly to Jonah again, repeating the first message. This time Jonah obeyed.

Think about the first Christmas, when God spoke several times through angels and dreams. An angel told Mary her first child would be God’s, not Joseph’s, her husband-to-be. She could have run away, but instead said “I am the Lord’s servant, may it happen to me as you have said.” An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream and told him about Mary, but he still married her. An angel told some shepherds, who were at work at the time, that they should leave their sheep and go to find the baby Jesus. Which they did.

Later an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream, warning him of Herod’s murderous intentions and telling him to become a refugee. He did, and saved Jesus’s life. In each situation, God took people from comfort to discomfort, but under his watchful eye, they all came out stronger.

Some years ago, I used to help run the children’s programmes at annual New Wine family camps, at El Rancho in Waikanae. This was far from a comfortable environment for me – working with the children was fine, but the whole thing of close living with hundreds of other people for a week was a huge struggle. I am not a gregarious person, and frankly, I hated that aspect of it. Yet that is where God wanted me.

One particular evening, I went to an adult’s session in the main hall, about the Holy Spirit and prayer. It was a hot summer evening, hundreds of people crammed together indoors – this was discomfort piled on top of discomfort. My unease grew as I listened to the words – something didn’t feel right, though I couldn’t put my finger on what. In the end, I just had to leave.

When I left the building I spotted an ice cream van, on the other side of the car park, which drew me like a magnet!

As I approached, the van seemed empty, but I could hear muttering and swearing coming from inside. I soon learnt that the . . . ice cream dispensing machine wasn’t working. I also learnt that the ice cream man thought he was wasting his time anyway, there were no customers in sight – apart from me, and I was out of luck. “Where is everyone?” he asked. I pointed to the hall across the car park. “What are they in there for?” “Learning about prayer” I said, without thinking. There was a pause. “Well, they could . . . pray for me then” the frustrated ice cream man said.

Now, another thing that makes me uncomfortable is praying out loud for complete strangers, but a quiet voice in my head said “Do it”. And I did.

At that moment, three things happened.

The ice cream machine started up

The doors to the hall opened and several hundred people headed towards us

The ice cream man’s mouth dropped open, without swearing.

Whether God was giving a lesson to the ice cream man or me, I don’t know.

But I did enjoy a free ice cream!

The circumstances of hearing from God are going to be different for everyone, and they are personal. I’ve shared something that happened to me because God can speak to us through the experiences of others. If this encourages you to tell someone you know about your experiences hearing from God, that’s great, but I’m not setting you a challenge.

If you are in a comfortable situation, thank God for that gift. But also expect him to turn your comfort to discomfort, to encourage you to ask him for strength and guidance. Treat discomfort as a learning experience!

I’ve only touched on a few aspects of hearing from God. Perhaps you’d like to reflect on:

Why you want to hear from God.

How do you recognise God’s voice?

Are you open to whatever God has to say?

Are you ready to carry out what God tells you to do?