Does God Still Speak To Us?

As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:15

One of the biggest arguments among entire denominations of Christians is whether God still speaks today. Does He communicate with us personally or does He only communicate with us through his written word?

The God of the Bible most certainly speaks through his written word. No true Christian disagrees with that statement. Where they do disagree is on whether he still speaks in other ways. I believe one of the biggest lies of the enemy today is that God no longer speaks to us. And while, I think it’s an especially wicked lie today, I do not believe this is a new lie.

Satan has been lying to people for years and making them feel like God has abandoned them. He wants them to think they are alone and that God does not speak anymore. But one of the biggest differences between God and idols in the scripture has to do with - seeing, hearing and speaking.

The idols that people worship cannot see you. They do not know you are there. They also cannot hear you. You may cry out to them, but they cannot answer. They also cannot speak. You may wait and listen, but they cannot speak to your heart and encourage you.

The God of the Bible is not like the idols that people worship. He can see you. He knows you deeply and intimately. He knows the number of the hairs on your head. He hears you. When you cry out to Him, He answers. He hasn’t left you and He will not forsake you. He also speaks.

God is always speaking, the problem is most of us a not listening. With the distractions of this world, it’s no wonder we cannot hear Him. Between social media, television, sports, work, drugs and alcohol, it’s no wonder our senses are deadened to his voice. These are things that may not be bad in and of themselves, but they work to “harden” our hearts.

The author of Hebrews, quoting the Old Testament, tells us not to harden our own hearts. The connection here is that if we harden our hearts, we will not hear the voice of God. God is trying to speak to us, but because of our hard hearts, we cannot hear him speak.

In fact, the author is telling us that when He speaks, if we do not listen, that is us hardening our hearts to Him. We have a tendency to hear His voice and ignore Him or to completely disobey Him. Perhaps, you have heard the Lord speak to you in the past and you decided to ignore Him. Maybe He was telling you to stop doing something you ought not to do and you decided you wanted to continue in that sin. Today, your heart may be hardened because of that disobedience.

If that’s you, you may be asking, how can I get my heart soft again? First off, you need to repent before Him and cry out to Him. Ask Him to give you a soft heart again. Ask Him to speak to you again. He is good and gracious and full of mercy. He will speak to you again, but this time when He does, do not turn again to your rebellion. Listen! Listen to Him! Obey His voice. Do not turn away.

If you hear His voice today, your heart will soften. It will be even more open the next time He speaks to you. God’s voice is heard best by those with soft hearts.

Prayer - Father, soften our hearts today. Help us to obey you when you speak. We want to be sensitive to what you say. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and soften our hearts to be obedient to you. Lord, we love you and worship you. Thank you for speaking to us today. Amen.