Late one evening, I went to pray with another believer at church where my friend’s father is a pastor. At the front of the sanctuary, on the wall close to the Communion rail, there was a lighted candle. It was a symbolic representation of the light of God and presence of God. I loved sneaking away when I could to spend time in quiet reflection, as His sweet presence seemed to reside there.
While basking in the light of His presence late that same night, I began to vocalize my desire to hear and know the voice of God better. I proceeded logically:
Based on John 10:27, You have stated, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me.” Now I don’t have any problem with the first part of the verse, “My sheep hear My voice.” I know I have heard Your voice because in Revelation 3:20 it says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.” I have heard Your knock at the door of my heart and I am one of Yours.
I continued with my line-by-line presentation:
So, Father, I accept by faith that I do hear Your voice. The second part of the verse I don’t have any problem with either. I know that You know me, and You know me better than I know myself. I don’t have any problem with that. But it’s the third part of that verse that I have a big problem with, “and they follow Me.” So, God, I need to do more than just hear Your voice—because I also hear my voice, the voice of my flesh, the voice of others, the voice of the world and the voice of the enemy, Satan. Therefore, if I’m going to be able to “follow You,” I must do more than only hear Your voice. I need to be able to discern Your voice from the other voices.
That night, my friend and I knelt in prayer and simply said, “Lord, we ask that You enroll us in Your School of the Spirit. Teach us not only how to hear but also how to discern Your voice from the voice of the stranger and all the other voices that contend for our attention. Please do this so that we can truly follow You.”
(to be continued next post)
