Praying the Word of God – Part 2
In our series on discipleship skills we are putting tools in our toolbox so that you can access God during this time of pandemic and beyond. Today we are going to look at how to hear the voice of God through scripture. You will be able to access the manuscript for this skill under the “Sermon and Notes” menu.
Posture
Before we can approach the word of God in order to hear from God, we may need to adjust our posture.The question you need to answer is who has the final authority in your relationship with scripture. Do you need to conform to scripture, or does scripture need to conform to your thoughts and opinions? It is unlikely that you will hear from God unless you come under the word of God and are willing to respond to what God says.
Approach
You cannot speed read scripture and expect God to speak to you. I would suggest that it is helpful to approach scripture systematically, one book at a time. If you are a new Christian, or you haven’t been reading the bible much while you have been a Christian, then stay in the New Testament until you are very familiar with it. I would suggest the book of John, or Ephesians or Philippians is a good place to start to get into scripture.
Method for listening to God
Step 1- Pray – then select a small portion of scripture.
Once you have the scripture for Then read it once, so you become familiar with it.
Step 2- Pray – Read it again – looking for a word or phrase to stand out to you.
If you are a Christian, then the Spirit of God is in you. He is going to lead you. You don’t need to learn everything all at once. He is going to take you step by step. When a phrase stands out to you, underline it, or better yet write it down. That is God bring something to your attention.
Step 3. Read the passage of scripture again – asking God what He wants to show you about the phrase that stood out to you.
Is there something that you need to be obedient to? Is there something that you need to give thanks for? Is there something that you need to confess or repent of? Is there something that you need to surrender? Is there something that you need to remember or take note of for a situation in the future?
God is showing you the phrase for a reason. It is a good thing to jot these things down in a journal. Because you will be amazed as you look back what God has taught you.
Step 4. Respond to what you have been shown.
You may need to put something on your calendar or your “to do” list. You may need simply to pray into that revelation for the rest of the day. Respond to whatever God has shown you.
Conclusion
God wants to speak to you. He wants a relationship with you. God speaks through many different ways. As you pray through his word, I believe he is going to speak to you.