Why can't I hear God?

 

Article by Victor S E Moubarak - LINK HERE 

Why can't we hear God speaking clearly to us so we know what He wants?

It's a fair question. But imagine for a moment this happened to you. Imagine that one day whilst you're alone you hear clearly a voice announcing that God, your Creator, is addressing you personally. How would you react? Be honest, would you not be totally frightened out of your mind? Would you not wonder whether it is all real? Whether you just imagined it? Or perhaps that someone had hidden a loudspeaker somewhere and was playing a trick on you? Would you really believe it was God really speaking?  

God is real. He is a living Spirit inhabiting a spiritual world around us. We imagine Him to be human-like because this is what our mind can understand. 

Christ, the Son of God, appeared on earth as a vulnerable human baby so that we can relate to Him. So that we can listen and learn from Him, and witness His love and compassion for us.

God, the omnipotent loving Creator, descended to our level by visiting our world in human form; sharing with us our humanity.   

Had He appeared as a Spirit, as a bright light, or some hazy form like a "ghost"; our relationship with Him would have been totally different. It would have been based on our fear and bewilderment of Him; and not on His love and compassion for us.  

The Old Testament records that God did speak to the prophets and to people like Abraham, Moses and others like Noah and Jonah. We presume that they heard a voice out of nowhere and knew it was God. 

He spoke clearly to Moses many times when He told him to get the Jews out of Egypt, and throughout their 40 years travels in the desert when He gave him the Ten Commandments. 

So why does He not speak to us clearly today? 

Perhaps our answer is found in the Book of Deuteronomy. This book is a series of addresses given by Moses to the people of Israel in the land of Moab, before they entered the promised land of Canaan.

"The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. And when you heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me, and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and survived? Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”

And the LORD heard the words you spoke to me, and He said to me, “I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever. Go and tell them: ‘Return to your tents.’ But you stand here with Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and statutes and ordinances you are to teach them to follow in the land that I am giving them to possess.” (Deuteronomy 5:23 onwards ...)

In summary; the Israelites heard the voice of God clearly and were frightened that they would die, so they asked Moses to go and listen to God and relay His messages to the people. They asked God to stop talking; and God agreed.

Maybe this is why God does not speak to humanity in a loud voice as reported in the Bible. 

However, since then and up to now, God continues to speak to people softly in their souls. It may not be a loud voice as in the times of Moses, but He does speak to us - you and me - if only we are willing to listen.

And before you ask ... when God is speaking to you He makes sure you know it is Him speaking to you.