Tonight someone asked me this question at our First Wednesday service. I’m assuming this is a personal question so I’ll answer it that way.

Years ago I did a study called Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. In that study Blackaby talks about the way we hear God’s voice. I’ve found my own experience to line up with his words. He wrote that God speaks through…

  • The Bible
  • Prayer
  • Circumstances
  • The Church
  • The Holy Spirit

I’ve found all of these to be true in my life. Blackaby stated, and I completely agree, that the Bible is primary and authoritative, and everything else is measured against God’s Word. I have personally found my time in God’s Word early in the mornings to be critical to my walk with Him.

I’ve grown more in prayer in the last two years than ever in my life. Mark Comer’s book, Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, so challenged and changed me. While I don’t agree with everything Comer says (not many people agree with everything I say!), his book transformed my thinking.

Circumstances. Without the Bible and prayer, I’m afraid we will misunderstand our circumstances. I have found that any time I view the Bible in light of my circumstances, I will lose my way. On the other hand, when God’s Word and prayer become the lenses through which I see my circumstances, my thinking conforms to the mind of Christ.

The church helps me tremendously in this. Godly accountability and fellowship with others, including Wendy, is essential to my walk with the Lord. Fellowship with godly brothers is inestimable in helping me be and become the man God wants me to be. I don’t know where I would be without the church.

The Holy Spirit oversees all of this. I think it’s tricky at best and dangerous at worst to seek an experience of God. When I do that, the danger is that the experience can become more important than God himself. I’ve found lately that I easily pursue goals and can get more excited about them than God himself (ashamed to admit, but it’s true). The Spirit convicts me when needed, and encourages me when need.

Let me say a word about creation. I love being at the beach. It’s one of my favorite places. There’s something about sitting on the beach, watch and listening to the waves, and reading a good book (yep, the nerd in me emerges) that brings me close to God. Creation is God’s way of revealing himself and I so enjoy time with Him in his creation.

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