How to Hear God through His Word
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Every time you read the Bible, you can hear God speak to you. But you need to develop certain skills in order to hear God well. First of all, you need to understand that whenever God speaks, He is telling you either a revelation or an application of revelation.
Revelation refers to certain truths which is part of reality as God sees it (which others may not see or acknowledge) and which He wants us to know in order to help us (John 8:32). These truths are not self-evident or obvious; they are hidden. Unless God reveals them to us through His word we may never have the chance to know them or understand them. They are not meant to be hidden forever. This is why He opens our eyes through the Holy Spirit in order for us to know them. They are one-sentence principles, truth statements, or declarations of knowledge that help us understand what reality is all about. In other words, they are God’s gifts to us because He loves us (Deut 29:29).
Application of revelation refers to what God wants us to do or not do in view of His revelations. In other words, they are spiritual disciplines for our soul. By obeying them we become healed from the damages caused by sin. God wants us to apply His truths in our daily lives and in practical ways so that we can be free and experience the life that He wants us to live (John 10:10).
Now it is important to understand that both of these can either be explicit or implicit. Revelation can be stated clearly by an author or it can be implied. You may need to do a little digging to discover it. At the same time, an application of revelation may also be stated clearly or implied. In other words, you may have to think through it to get the application right. Regardless of the way it is presented, whether explicitly or implicitly, this is what the apostle Paul says regarding Scripture.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)
This means ALL Scripture will contain either a revelation, an application of revelation, or both. It may do so explicitly (or obviously) or implicitly (i.e. you may need to dig a little deeper to get it). To hear God well, you will need to discover both. In other words, when studying God’s word, you need to come up with answers to two important questions:
- What is the truth that God is revealing to me in this passage?
- How does God want me to apply this truth in my life?
The answers to these two questions may come easy or it may take you awhile to answer them. You may need to study and meditate. Either way, this is how you hear God speak to you through His word. If you want to learn more about this topic, please rate or like this post and share it with others. That way I would know that people like you are interested to learn more.
