Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice…”

How much is it worth to hear God’s voice? How many lives could be saved? How many marriages redeemed? How many ministry efforts could be more successful…if we would just learn to hear God’s voice?

When Susan and I were young Christians, we had a friend named Gail. Gail and her husband Danny were mentors to Susan and me in the things of God. At that time, Danny and Gail lived in a farmhouse off of Highway 44 just east of Spring Grove, Minnesota.

One day Gail was driving home from town and was about to turn left into the long driveway leading back to their house. As she was about to turn, she felt constrained to just wait. The way she described is that she “had an unction” to wait a moment before turning. Just then, she saw a car in her rear view mirror flying around the curve in the road at 100 miles an hour or more. The car roared past her and then she turned left making it safely home that day. If she had turned left without waiting, the car would have barreled into her, broadsiding her car on the drivers side.

Thank God for that “unction” of the Holy Spirit. The word “unction” is used in the King James version of the Bible. “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.”  1 John 2:20, KJV. In other places, the same word is translated “anointing.” In other words, it is special knowledge that comes from the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” John 10:27, KJV. Hearing God’s voice is a promise of God. But it is a conditional promise, predicated on the condition that we are “following Him.” If we are stubborn, rebellious, and following our own will and inclination, we will not have the sensitivity of heart to hear God’s voice. If we want to hear what God is saying at any given moment, we must tune our ears and hearts to hear what the Spirit is saying.

Evangelist Terry Law tells the story of how God had supernaturally opened a door for him to minister in the former Soviet Union along with a musical group that he had formed called Living Sound. The government authorities thought that the group was a rock band from the U.S. and had allowed them to perform all across that nation. They would go into various venues and begin to sing and then worship and the Spirit of God would fall. Then Terry would stand up and share a convicting and powerful Gospel message. Many strongholds fell in that nation and many hearts were turned to the Lord during that time.

The group would take long train rides to get to their next ministry appointment. Terry would spend the time on the train meditating God’s Word hour upon hour. He said that it was during this time that the word of knowledge, a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit, began to operate in his life. (See 1 Cor. 12:1-11) In other words, as Terry began to quietly meditate God’s Word hour after hour, his heart became sensitive to the Spirit of God and he began to clearly hear God’s voice.

One time Terry was in a meeting where God began to show him that some of the people had been in a fist fight. When he shared this revelation with the crowd, several Bible School students came forward to repent. It turns out that just that day they had come to blows after a heated argument over the gifts of the Spirit. Some had said the gifts of the Spirit were for today. But others said that these gifts had passed away. The word of knowledge that God gave Terry settled the argument, but it also brought some much-needed correction to some red-faced young men.

You too can hear the voice of God! It will help you in your ministry, in your family, in every area of life. But you will need to quiet your soul from the busyness of this world, renew your mind with the truths of God’s Word, and tap into the mind of the Holy Spirit. It’s well worth the effort! It will open up an intimacy with God that will bring peace and contentment to the deepest recesses of your heart and mind. And it could even save your life…or change a nation.