Learning to Know His Voice
Many Christian believers do not believe that they can or do hear
God’s Voice. Many years ago I was reading John 10 and Jesus
said in verse 14, that He is the Good Shepherd and that He knows
His sheep and His sheep know Him. In John 10:27 Jesus said My
sheep hear My Voice and I know them and they follow Me. I’m
one of the Lord Jesus’ sheep and I know that He is not a respecter
of persons so I decided I wanted to hear His Voice like some of
His other sheep do. I wanted to hear His Voice so He could guide
me according to Isaiah 58:11 and instruct me, and teach me in the
way that I should go according to Psalms 32:8. I believe that if you
want to hear God’s Voice, He will honor your prayer and teach
you to hear His Voice. I remember the first time I heard His Voice
and it changed my life.
Hearing God’s Voice Prayer
Heavenly Father, I come to You now in the Name of my Lord and
Savior Christ Jesus. Heavenly Father, It is written in Your Word
according to John:10 that Your sheep know Your Voice. Heavenly
Father, I am one of Your sheep. I ask You Heavenly Father, to
teach me to know Your Voice and to hear You distinctly and
clearly according to John:10. I ask You Lord to teach me to discern
every spirit to know if they are of You, Lord. As it is written in 1st
John 4:1-2 that we should not believe every spirit but test the
spirits to determine whether the spirits are of God. I ask You
Father to draw me closer to You so I will not heed the voice of a
stranger. I ask You to do this in Jesus Name. Amen!
Prayer to Hear Only His Voice
Lord, I come to You in true repentance of my sins and ask for
forgiveness for all of my sins, known and unknown. I praise You
Lord and I thank You Lord for all the blessings that You have
given me and that You continue to give me each and every day. As
I come to You Lord, and humble myself before You, I ask that
You clear my mind of any preconceived thoughts, confusion or
deception. I ask You Lord to block anything that is not of You and
that I hear Your Voice and only Your Voice, Lord Jesus. I thank
You Lord for the Words of Wisdom that I receive from You and I
ask You Lord in complete faith and confidence that You will not
allow any words to be spoken from my mouth that are not Your
will for them to be spoken. In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen
Scriptures to help prepare your heart for entering into the fellowship with Heavenly Father:
For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit, In order to revive the spirit of the lowly, And to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15 NASB
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 NASB
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 NASB
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
John 14:16-17 NASB
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 NKJV
ENTERING THE PRESENCE OF GOD
(THE HOLY OF HOLIES)
Most people think of worship as going to a place or a building to lift hands and
sing to God. True worship is an intimate relationship and exchange
with God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This can only
take place in your innermost being, a place called your heart or
spirit man. The place of true worship is in our hearts.
“Oh but I know how to worship already! I am continually
learning and growing in God. To say that “I know”, is to cut
myself off from continued learning with God. This also restricts or
limits our growth with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. As
Christians we are to be constantly maturing in the Lord. When we
think all is done, we have just put ourselves on the sidelines. Don’t
limit God by this prideful attitude of “I already know this
(whatever it is).”
With God all things are done according to
pattern, His pattern, His way. Entering in with God is not about us, it is all about
Him! Death to self will take place. The more you enter in with
Him, the deeper you will go and there will be more of Him and
less of you. The “flesh” (worldly ways, etc.,) is not allowed to go
in with God and is left out (that is called death to self). In other
words the deeper you go with God the more opportunity you will
have to be changed into His likeness (less flesh). This is where we
are putting off the old man and the old man’s ways (character and
nature) and in turn putting on the new man with Christ’s (the Holy
Spirit) Character and Nature. Exchange takes place. It is there, in
His Presence, and in the secret place with Him that we are
transformed into His likeness (image).
The more you surrender to God the more you desire to be with Him.
You exchange your agenda, life, ways of thinking, acting, and being, and in turn
receive, choose to keep, and walk in His Life, His Character, His
Ways, His Thoughts, His Peace, His Order and His timing, which
is called “being in Him!” or “abiding in Him.”
To sum it up, you will learn to let go of anything that hinders you in this earthly
existence so you can get still before Him and into His Presence. In
this stillness you will get to “know Him”. You will also learn to
allow Him to position you for a deeper “letting go” and true
stillness before Him. Deeper intimacy will occur. Realize however
this is not a “microwave” experience. When you allow Him to
position you, realize that learning is about to take place!
Struggles will Pursue you! Struggles will pursue and try to
entangle you as you go further into God’s Presence. They will try
to keep you or draw you out but there are some easy techniques I
will share with you that He wants you to learn, so you can continue
on in this time, with Him. All the time you are in prayer you will
be developing and growing “in Him”, and should become more
dependent upon Him.
Remember this: God wants you there with Him too! It is a privilege to come into His Presence. In Him abides
His deep enriching peace which passes all understanding.
THE JOURNEY TO THE HOLY OF HOLIES BEGINS
At first, I strongly suggest that you have a prayer closet, this is a
place where you can go so you will not be disturbed. My prayer
closet is downstairs in a secluded place, yet it is still not
impervious to noises. I have found in the past that the days and the
times the Lord calls me into this type of prayer that things are quiet
around the house. The kids are out, and my spouse is not home
from work. I leave the cell phone upstairs where I cannot hear it.
You might set the ringers on the phones to “off.” I usually unplug
the downstairs phone. Sometimes, things will happen, like the dog
will bark, or there will be some incredible “boom”, or noise. Just
realize you must stay on track with the Lord! Be determined! The
flesh of loved ones will rise up and you will be interrupted. The
Devil will stir up problems during this time to disrupt or keep you
out of this intimate time with the Lord. When interruptions occur
you will have to either ask the Holy Spirit to take you back where
you were or start over. Simply know that you love those people
and animals. Do not let it disturb you! Love them and let the
disturbance go! Continue to enter in with God, press in! We will
talk about how to deal with those outer distractions and “self”
during this time of communion with the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus
Christ and our Heavenly Father. Whatever you do, stay on course!
One obvious course of action is to lovingly inform those around
you of what you are doing, that this time is set aside for you to be
with the Lord. Unless the house is burning down, or someone or an
animal is seriously hurt, then they are not to interrupt you until you
emerge from your prayer room! Whatever happens don’t get into
sin, it isn’t worth it! LOVE above all! If someone calls, let it ring
(disconnect it in that room, turn off the cell phone, or let it take
messages) or tell a family member to take a message. Inform all
family members that this is your “prayer” time and you are not to
be disturbed or interrupted unless it is a true emergency. How you
handle it is between you and the Lord, but do it graciously!
If God called you to get with Him, He comes first!
Know this, if someone is hurt or in pain, go to them and help them immediately!
God understands. Do not get upset.
I will say from experience that God directs me when I am to come
to Him in this deeper way. It may not be everyday even though the Lord wants us to make time for Him every day.
For me, this helps this time with Him to continue to be a special privilege and not a
ritual, but a relationship and not a religion, a joy and not tiresome
“I have to do this type thing”
The First Things First (On This Side of the Veil)
(The Earthly Realm)
When you have prayed and are cleansed of sin and all instruments
of unrighteousness prayed out, evil principalities, powers, and
rulers in high places severed from you, you have now been
cleansed by the Blood. You now have put The Armor of God on,
you are protected by the Blood, and then you are ready to begin to
approach the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.
Personally I ask the Lord according to John 14:14 to loose His
angels around me and to keep out all demonic spirits from coming
anywhere near me, the house or the land. This is the last thing I do
before entering in with Him. You may find that you want to do
something different. You are now ready to start a walk with the
Holy Spirit which will lead you into the Holy Place to meet with
our Messiah and then from there to the Holy of Holies to be with
our Heavenly Father.
This is my experience and you may find
your own way as you mature in the Lord.
An Overview of Where you are Headed
There are several areas we will go through from here to the Holy
of Holies.
Preparation for Entering In
By prayer we need to confess our sins, repent, and ask for
forgiveness. Continue to get cleaned up as I mentioned in the
section, “The Earthly Realm.” At this point we have been cleansed
by the cross and washed in the Blood of Jesus. The atmosphere
spiritually clears and we are ready to center our hearts deeper on
the Lord by entering into praise and worship.
(1) We will enter His Gates with Thanksgiving in our heart.
(2) We will enter His Courts with Praise
Here you may enter into intersession, praying for others as Father leads. Stay sensitive to His leading.
There is a transition that occurs, a transferring into the
Holy of Holies. This is the place we meet with our
Heavenly Father. This is the time when you are drawn into
God’s Presence. You don’t just go in of your own accord!
God the Father draws you in past the veils of the flesh,
mind, emotions, distractions, hindrances, things, cares,
riches, and pleasures of this world. You are coming into
the Presence of an awesome and to be feared
(reverenced) God!
Time to Go There
After praying, asking for forgiveness and asking the Lord to loose
angels about you and the house it is time to “enter in.”
I usually start out by speaking to the Holy Spirit.
“Holy Spirit I ask You to help me to pray to my Lord in Heaven, lead me and guide me into
the Holy Place and then into the Holy of Holies.” In the Name of
Jesus, I command my spirit, mind, will, my emotions, ego,
imaginations, subconscious, the mind of the flesh, and all other
areas of my life down to the obedience of Christ within me.
Prayers for Entering In:
“Holy Spirit I ask You to help me to pray to my Lord in Heaven to
remove from me any hindrances, any obstacles, double
mindedness, duplicity, anything in my life or on the throne of my
life that does not belong.”
“Holy Spirit I ask You to help me to pray to my Lord in Heaven, if
there is anything or areas in my life that is not totally submitted to
the mind of Christ, I ask You Holy Spirit to cause these areas
and/or things to come down now to the obedience of the mind of
Christ within me, in Jesus Christ’s Holy Name.
(Speaking in tongues might manifest here or would be appropriate.)
“Holy Spirit I ask You to help me to pray to my Lord in Heaven that the
mind of Christ arise in me, over all areas of my life, and over the
throne of my life. Holy Spirit I ask You to help me to pray to my
Lord in Heaven, to remove anything that would hinder me from
coming into total oneness, and knowing You, and having intimate
exchange with My Heavenly Father, the Son, and You the Holy
Spirit, from where I am now with You, and through the time You
want me to have in the Holy of Holies, amen.
(Speaking in tongues might manifest here or would be appropriate.)
Holy Spirit I ask You to help me to pray to my Lord in Heaven, to lead me now into
the Holy Place and then on into the Holy of Holies. Keep me
focused upon You, Your Voice, the Lord Jesus Christ, His
Voice, and my Heavenly Father, His Voice, while all the time
keep me “in Your Presence” throughout this prayer, amen.
Preparation for Entering in (“after” the Outer Court)
At this point I start to give thanks and praise to the Lord Jesus
Christ.
> We will enter His Gates with Thanksgiving in our heart (thanks).
> We will enter His Courts with Praise (His Wonderful attributes.)
This is where I sing and if you want to dance to Him, it is proper.
“I enter Your Gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I enter Your
Courts with praise, this is the Day that the Lord has made I will
rejoice for You have made me glad. You have made me glad, You
have made me glad, I will rejoice for You have made me glad, my
Lord and Savior. You have made me glad. You have made me
glad, I will rejoice for You have made me glad (I may not have
sung it right but He likes it from the heart!) You may want to sing
something else. This will become your own thing as you mature.
Hallelujah. Thank You Jesus. Praise You Lord. (Speaking in
tongues would be appropriate here.) Continue to praise and
worship Him for His lovingkindness, His character, His goodness
and all that He IS! “Hallelujah”, “Thank You Jesus.” . . .
We will now enter the Holy Place.
Holy Spirit I ask You to help me pray to my Lord in Heaven, and
ask Him to take me now into the Holy Place. His Presence may be
felt by now. If you have the gift of tongues this is also an
appropriate time and place to give utterance as the Spirit of the
Lord leads. You may experience His Presence as a light tingling,
or as a strong anointing throughout your body or in an area of your
body.
Ask the Heavenly Father, to fill the room with His
Presence.” or “Heavenly Father, I ask You to cover me (us) with
Your Presence.”
This is my experience with the Heavenly Father.
You may find that you will experience His Presence in a totally
different way. You will develop your own personal relationship
with the Lord.
This is when you meet with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Holy Spirit I ask You to pray to my Lord in Heaven, cause me to
hear and know my Lord’s Voice. (Tongues)
I speak aloud saying, “Lord Jesus You are the Bread of Life, the
Life and the Light of men.” (Tongues) You may say something
different.
Then be quiet and listen, be still, no talking!
Everyone hears the Lord speak to them differently. He might
speak your name. He will respond to you. He speaks to me
identifying Himself as the “I AM.” I feel like He wants me to
speak this back to Him, so I say that back to Him out loud, “Lord
Jesus You are the I AM.” He may next say, “I Am That I Am”, so
I speak that back to Him, “You are the I Am that I AM.” Thank
You Lord! Thank You Jesus!
During this time I may be led to speak in tongues and giving thanks out loud to Him. Thank You
Jesus!
Again it is important to mentally be still and allow the Holy
Spirit to guide you.
Continue to exalt the Name of Jesus, Thank You Lord, Thank You Jesus.
You have brought me (us) into the
Holy Place, “You are the Life and You are the Light.” Thank You Jesus.
Thank You Lord, You always identify Yourself to me.
Thank You Lord.” (He identifies Himself as the “I Am”, “The I
Am That I Am.” He identifies Himself as the “Life” and “the
Light.” (For me He identifies Himself as the “I Am.”) He may say
after that, “I knew you before the creation of the Earth, before the
foundations were even laid.” He has a plan and purpose for your life, and calls you “son.” (Since I am not a female I must
assume by previous words of knowledge to women that He says to
them, “daughter.”) He may not speak to you this way because the
Lord speaks to each of us differently.
You will know that it is Him because when He speaks His Voice
goes through your entire being. You will “know that you know” in
your inner man, it is Him. His Peace will infill you when He
speaks. He will tell you He loves you. He wants you to know that
He loves you. Sometimes He may say, “I Am the Great I Am, The
Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Creator of all things.”
Then thank Him. Thank You Lord! Yes Lord! The peace of God will flood
your entire being when you are with Him. Thank You Lord You
are the Bread of Life and in You is Light (You are the Light). You
are the Candlesticks of Light, the Illumination, the Light of the
Holy Spirit, bringing us Life and Light (wisdom, insight,
understanding, revelation and realization). I usually end up led of
the Spirit into tongues, and then entering into a deeper worship,
praise, and adoration which is a type of prayer, or incense lifted
up to our Heavenly Father (therefore fulfilling the part of the
prayer concerning the Altar of Incense).
Now is the time where we are transitioning more out of the flesh
and we are being positioned by the Holy Spirit to be taken into the
Holy of Holies. Notice I said “taken” into the Holy of Holies.
We do not enter the Holy of Holies of our own accord or ability. God
initiates, the Holy Spirit moves, and we respond to Him, He moves
into, through, and past the veils into His Most Holy Presence.
Lord I worship You! I praise You ! I exalt Your Holy Name. At
this point I may even be quickened to sing or speak, both or
neither. I usually worship the Father with a song. “I Worship You,
Almighty God! You’re my Joy and Strength! I Worship You,
Almighty God! I Praise Your Name.” I might repeat this song from
my heart, or praise Him, “Father God, Heavenly Father, You’re my
Joy and Strength!” (etc.) Worship may even turn into tongues.
Deeper Adoration and Awe of Our Heavenly Father Begins
“I love You Lord, Daddy God, Heavenly Father.’ “You created the
Heavens and Earth, in You there is no shadow of turning.” “Thank
You Lord, thank You Daddy God.” (Tongues)
Heavenly Father I come to Your Throne of Grace through the Precious Blood of
Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit quicken me and into
the Holy of Holies, quicken me to my Heavenly Father’s Voice.
(Tongues).
Be Still. Be Quiet. Wait! I just listen to his voice without
speaking. He will then speak to me saying something like, “son!”
or whatever He wants to. (“Be still” or “I am doing a work in
you.”) You will learn not only what it means to physically be still
but also mentally and emotionally, let Him fill that place!
Answer Him with the mind of Christ. (You have the mind of
Christ.) If He says to “be still”, then be quiet! That is when it gets
hard for me. I want to “do” something or say something.
Our “do” is to believe and receive from Him in stillness, even
when we don’t think or feel He is doing anything, TRUST and
OBEY! This will stretch you! He will release you when His work
in you is done.
Allow Him to stretch you! Pray silently through
the mind of Christ. “Yes Father.” Usually He responds with, “I
love you” or “I love you son!” My response back to Him by the
mind of Christ is, “Yes Lord, I love You!” or “Father (or Heavenly
Father), I love You!” In the Holy of Holies we are no longer
concerned about our earthly existence, what happens next,
what time it is, or how long we have been with Him, not even
how much time there is left. Let go, Let God!
If your thoughts start drifting then the quality of “being with” the
Father will be diminished. You are allowing yourself to be
distracted, is what it boils down to.
Quick Recovery from This Drifting or Distractions of the Mind
Pray, “Holy Spirit I ask You to pray to my Lord in Heaven to
quicken me back to where I was with my Heavenly Father and His
Voice. (If you sense the leading of the Holy Spirit, speak in
tongues.) You must come to the realization and reality that “the
mind” Your Heavenly Father desires you to have is one of being
with Him, existing in Him as one, and that all else does not
matter! He comes first. All the worries and concerns of the natural
life pales; they are insignificant!
Whatever goes on out there, in the flesh life you must learn to truly trust Him with it all! God tells
us in John 12:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of
wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit” (KJV).
Your life is hid in Christ! We have to learn that God, is in control. Let go, trust Him with all of
your existence, be still, and know that He is God (This is an
intimate knowing, not just a knowing of Him! This is where we are
changed into His Likeness!)
I have found in the past, that when He has called me to get into the
Holy of Holies, that He has orchestrated the entire event, all things
around it, even before entering in, during, and after. He then calls
you to “Come.” Our response is to obey, go to Him immediately!
*** Important *** Now if your child gets hurt, you know you
have to attend to that and so does God! If your child is sick, you
know you have to attend to that! If your child is hungry, you know
you should attend to that! This is why I try to preclude these things
and serve others before getting into this prayer time. In case you
have to leave to attend to an emergency, you might say to the Lord,
“Lord, I am sorry I have to go.” Just realize that He knows what
is going on already! So don’t beat yourself up or be hard on
yourself. He will not hold that against you. Then go! Tell Him you
love Him on the way out the door!
Remember the people or person
you are now going to, needs your attention, love, and understanding!
Later pray and if He lets you, return to your place of prayer, else
do not be upset! I could comment on how the enemy loves to
plague God’s children with distractions during prayer time. I find
that a dog barks or people come in, and they have forgotten I go
downstairs and get in to prayer; distractions may try to disturb me
in this quiet time.
Again, good communication prior to going into
this time of prayer will often stop those problems from occurring.
Mute the phone or place the answering machine on silent mode,
and when all else fails “unplug it as need be.”
God is most important!
When He says “Come”, then it is time to “come”
(Immediately move to the place of prayer). I usually ask Him that
morning or during the day if He wants me to come into the Holy
Place and Holy of Holies when I get home tonight. He will let you
know! He may confirm it through His Presence coming on you or He might simply say “NO.”
Sometimes He answers “no” because
He knows we need our physical and mental rest, as well as
spiritual rest. He knows we need to cultivate relationships of
family, friends, church, and those in the world he is drawing to
Him, through us.
So, here again, God knows what is best for us!
This does not mean we can’t pray and ask Him questions or
intercede for others during these other times.
Trouble Keeping Your Mind On The Lord in The Holy Place
and Holy of Holies:
(1) While listening to either the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit
it is important to focus on His Voice!
(2) Again you can pray using any of the “Be” techniques (as follows):
(a.) Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me to pray to my Lord in Heaven, quicken me,
cause me to hear and know the Lord’s Voice (or My Heavenly
Father’s Voice)
(b.) Say the Name of Jesus: “Jesus”, “Jesus”,
“Jesus” (Speak under your breath because it might distract other
people in the room.)
(c.) Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me to pray
to my Lord in Heaven, to quicken me back to where I was with the
Lord Jesus Christ, cause me to hear His Voice, not a strange voice.
(Tongues)
(d.) In the Name of Jesus Christ, I command my mind,
will, emotions, imaginations, subconscious areas, thoughts, brain,
physical being, all that I am, down to the obedience of Christ
within me, and I ask You Holy Spirit that the Mind of Christ arise
over all areas of my life. Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit I
give You permission and ask You to cause all areas of my life to
be totally subject to You and ask You to bring all those things in
my life down to total obedience to Christ within me. I give You
total permission (I give You 100% of all I am), and ask You to
deal with all things in me as You will. (Tongues) (e.) Holy Spirit
cause me to hear and know Your Voice, my Heavenly Father’s
Voice, and the Lord Jesus Christ’s Voice.
(3) Then be quiet and listen. He will speak.
(4) Usually while I am in either the Holy
Place or the Holy of Holies, the Lord will purify me in His Light.
His Light will wash over me. Changes are being made in us as we
yield and turn ourselves over to Him. We are being made more like
Him. Do not even concern yourself with what is going on or happening during that process, just know it is for the better, His
and ours, Know Him! Just simply trust Him !
“Moving on” in the Holy of Holies As the time with the Lord
draws to an end you realize you have been in a special place where
you were “closed in” with Him. In fact, this actually happened
when He drew you into the Holy of Holies. You may have even
felt engulfed about with a void or nothingness.
What happened is that you were pulled or separated into His Most Holy Presence! All
other things were also being blocked out for you, so you could
have a strong one-on-one intimate relationship and time with Him.
You have to realize how very important you are to Him and how
much He incredibly loves you! It is to be an uninterrupted, intimate
time together, giving full attention to Him, as He does with you!
(Yes, you are extremely important to Him and I am sure He wants
us to value that time with Him to the same degree or measure.) All
our focus is to be devoid of self and all other existence except Him
during this time! This only leaves hearing and knowing Him. He
knows we need that because of the way we are. God knows best
for each of us!
Through more trips into the Holy of Holies, He will take you
into deeper levels of being still before Him, deeper times of
exchange, and a deeper getting to know Him!
Your entire mind, spirit, and body will be affected. You will never, never, never be
the same! It is so incredibly wonderful, that you will desire and
covet that time you spend with Him.
Nothing else will satisfy like being “in” Him! We have to learn
to be patient with ourselves! Wait! Call upon the Name of the
Lord! You are a work in progress and you can’t do this yourself!
We need to see that we need Him. We are His Tabernacle, His
building, being built up in a Holy Way, in Him.
Leaving the Holy of Holies Usually there is silence and the Lord
says, “Go” or “go to be with your spouse, daughter, and/or son.”
I respond with, “Lord did You say go?” I am implying to the Lord I
don’t want to leave His Presence. His response is usually ”Yes” or
“Go” so I will because I must obey! (Matthew 7:21)
He will say to me at that time, “I love you son.” I respond in love with, “I love
You Lord” (Daddy God, or Heavenly Father).
Do not be eager to jump back into the things of the world. Just RELAX! Even reading the Word may not be God’s
will for you at that moment. I truly believe He wants us to enjoy
the “REST” in it! Enjoy the journey. Dwell on things
that are good and pure, and from above.
The teaching is taken from www.ChristianWord.org
@CFL