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"After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."
(Genesis 5:22-24)
To walk with God, it is imperative that we listen to Him when He speaks to us as His children. God speaks to us initially and convicts our dead hearts that are living in sin. When we repent and believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live within us, and we are born again (John 3:7). We become a new creation; praise God (2 Corinthians 5:17). We grow daily in this relationship with God through prayer (talking to God) and through reading the Bible (God talking to us).
Pastor Charles Stanley asks, what is necessary to listen to God? How do we know it is Him speaking?
- We must get in the Word of God. If it contradicts the Bible, then God did not say it. He is not the God of confusion. Reading a smaller portion of the Bible every day is better than reading a lot and not remembering what you read.
- We have to have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. The Spirit inside us will guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
- Pray. We have to talk to God.
- God speaks through circumstances. Learn by reading how He worked in the Bible in the lives of others.
- Through others. Pastor Stanley said every Sunday that he hoped God would speak through him to his people.
I will close this week's devotions on listening to God and walking with God with these requirements for listening to God from Pastor Stanley:
- Meditate on the Word. God speaks when we are ready to hear Him. We get the message when we meditate on the Word of God.
- Listen to Him prayerfully. Talk to God about the Word of God you read that day. Ask God to show you how to apply it to your life.
- Have a submissive spirit and listen with purpose, not passively. Ask the Lord to help you to grasp, understand, and live out what you read.
- Listen expectantly for God to speak. Anticipate Him speaking to you. You do not have to be perfect to hear God.
- Listen patiently. If you do not quite get it, keep reading the Word of God, and finally it will become clear. God will speak to anyone with clarity and direction if they are willing to listen to Him.
When you listen well, your life will change for the better. Listening well to others is an important part of living a blessed life. Listening to God is absolutely vital in having a growing relationship with Him. He will speak if you are willing to listen. This principle can change your life.
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