God's Relationship with Us August 8th 2025

I don't know about you, but the term relationship has a foreboding feel to it, like some other religious terms we use to describe how we communicate with God. Sometimes it's downright daunting, "the all powerful, Almighty, Omnipotent, God of the Universe." And then there is little ole me! I don't know how you all came to know God but with me it was like I first ducked, and then decided it must be alright because everyone else seemed happy about it.

From what I know most Christians have trouble "hearing" God. I understand that because listening is required.

So God put me on a listening-only program after being saved which was ok with me. Everything was quiet in the old coal room unless I put on a cassette tape with worship music, then things got loud. But it seemed my functioning verse was:

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Being still without being fidgety was a challenge, you know your mind tends to wander then you wonder what my wife is doing, etc. Getting to know Him was a learning experience, and still is. Every morning first thing I was downstairs, worshiping, reading the Word, listening for God.

Eventually I started getting thoughts in my head and wrote them down like "family unity," or a passage in Baruch, talking about idols, how to do something I was wondering about. Then, days  down the road I thought of a sentence but it was like someone talking to me in my head, that said, "Persevere in Me my son, that the things of God may be manifest to you." Sometimes certain scriptures would come to mind or admonitions  like, "Live in My Presence. Exalt Me above your work."

Once, He told me, "You are a joy to my heart." The Lord taught me to pray and to believe Him through scripture. Keep in mind, I was new to all this! The fact was in those days God was first!

Well, life gets busy, locations change, family grows, years go by and you wonder where it all went. I found myself struggling to keep up with the Lord and things were definitely not as they were at first. Although God was still in the picture, the relationship had changed on my part. Hearing became harder where I had to work at it, you know effort! What was the difference? Time spent on other things. Valid time spent with family, church friends, just out of balance.

What do you do when you discover you are going through the motions, struggling with life, in a place you don't want to be, not making God first like you used to?

Fortunately the Lord has a safety net for us, the church. Each other. But what if that fails? We traveled to Benny Hinn meetings, believers conventions and other meetings where we sought to be energized by God to continue as we were. At those places God certainly honored the effort to get there but what we found was He was looking for hungry hearts to fill. The more hungry for God the better we did afterwards.

There were times when at home we would put on some inspiring worship and the Lord would show up with His mighty presence and we would be praising Him for long periods of time.

No matter what place you find yourself today, my admonition is that it is time to seek the Lord's presence. He will fill you, He will lead you, you will make Him first again and He will revive you! Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God  and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Back to hearing God communicate to us. The Word says, Matthew 4:4, " But He answered and said, “It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God." First came the listening, then came the hearing. So listening is seeking! Remember this that you will be able to communicate back to God.

What if you listen and listen and hear nothing in return?

Let's take a look at the essentials of hearing God.

Before you were saved, you might have "heard God" in various circumstances and not realized it was God speaking . How did He do this without you being born again? Good question, and the answer is through your conscience which you were born with. John 10 says, 'My sheep hear my voice because I am the Good shepherd and they are My sheep.' Jesus stated this as a fact and not as an "after you are born again reality." All people can hear His voice provided they are listening. Many hear and squelch the Lords voice by not agreeing with it, but they still have opportunity to obey. Unfortunately most Christians are not hearing God's voice regularly enough to recognize it. Between the devil tempting and the world lying, the voice of the shepherd can be drowned out. The conscious  listening for God's voice and resultant hearing can be developed through ones conscience even if they are not born again.

I personally can attest to the fact that God's voice coming through me or my wife's vocal chords has saved our lives many times. Our default (without us thinking) reactions saved us and our children because of relationship with our Father who loves us. Accidents and other difficulties were avoided because God was able to reach us in time of need. Isn't God good! He wants us to live above the noise of this world and be protected, healed and helped through his Wisdom given and communicated to our spirits.

If you've ever used power tools that make noise, you understand that ear plugs prevent harmful noise from damaging our sensitive ear drums. Although they protect ones ears from machine noise, the operator still has to listen for peoples voices in case of emergency around them while running machinery. They have to "tune" their ears to voices above the machine noise, which might be telling them to move or get out of harm's way.

Developing an ear that will hear the Lord is essential so I would like to give you some insights to help you go towards that goal.

You need to know there are different methods God has to communicate to us so I need to talk specifically about each.

The basic channel is through our conscience, which is with us when we are born. If our conscience is not resisted or violated, it can instruct us how to grow in God's knowledge and eventually lead us to the born again experience. Remember our conscience is the barometer of right and wrong to us. Of course if knowledge of God is countered by the worlds philosophy, and the person becomes resistant to the Lord, then the worst becomes possible for them.

Next is the Word of God, which we know as truth and as the person of Jesus Christ. Knowledge of the Word is essential for  everything to do with God . Read and feed on His Word at every opportunity, as the scripture says , "hide it in your heart."

Since the Word is the person of Jesus, believing is paramount. Romans 10:17 -"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

We heard Benny Hinn recently talking about a conversation he had with minister Marilyn Hickey about the practice of reading ones Bible through in a years' time. Marilyn said that she has been reading her bible through 3 times per year and it changed her life! From cover to cover and here she is at age 94! That really stretched Benny's thinking, but then he decided to divide the year into thirds and do it. Just like Marilyn said to him that it changed her life, he says now it has changed his life. He says that before he considered himself to retire from the ministry. But after a prophetic word from Kenneth Copeland, Pastors began calling him from Africa wanting him to hold crusades in their areas. Now he is booked solid for a long time and cannot see retirement in the near future! Are you next ? Read your bible and watch what the Word can do for you! The Word of God produces faith in the reader (listener). Have you ever been reading the Word and got a revelation?  Something stood out to you or was revealed, well that was God speaking to you through the Word. It is that simple, but write it down so you don't forget and definitely go over it again until it gets in your heart.

The Word you heard in your spirit is direct from God even though you were reading it at the time.

What comes against this communication are the traditions and doctrines of men. So don't sit and compare the Word of God with somebody's commentary unless you trust the source. Even then, the thought in your heart might contradict what your spirit is knowing. Ask God to show you His understanding.

Studying the bible is different than reading it through. Your goal is hearing by the Word of God. The Word is the general will of God for all men.

Another way  the Lord has of communicating to us is spirit to spirit. 

John 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

1 Cor 6:17  "But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him."

A third way of hearing God's voice is through His moving on us internally by His Spirit into our spirit. Have you ever felt compassion for someone else you didn't know ? Maybe you were moved to tears because God was showing you sorrow they had over an incident in their life. Sometimes words aren't enough to express an emotional problem in others so the Lord uses Spirit to spirit contact where necessary. We may feel what another is experiencing. Ask yourself, 'do I ever feel this desire to help other people out of the blue without God originating the feelings that go with it?' Our nature is to be selfish most times but if we will be open to the Holy Spirit He will lead us into all truth of how to help people. There are also the gifts of the Spirit in which the Lord can speak through us to others.

Hebrews 2:4

"God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?"

1 Cor 12:7-11 "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: ⁸ for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."

God speaking or acting through us is a way we can help others hear God's communication to them. We can be taught to hear from God in each way mentioned and also in other ways . Psalm 29:3    ^"The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thunders: the Lord is upon many waters". Incline your ears to God, determine to listen for Him and then listen to Him.