Rick Warren's Blog, page 631

God’s Voice Will Bring Peace

The past few days I’ve given you several ways you can test an impression to know if it’s from God. There are two final questions you can ask to test your idea.

You need to ask, “Is it convicting or is it condemning?”

A lot of Christians go through life living under condemnation and guilt, thinking it’s the voice of God. But it’s not. That’s the devil!

Prayer: God Guides You To Be More Like Christ

If you want to recognize God’s voice and figure out whether you have an impression from him or not, first you need to ask if the idea agrees with the Bible.

Then, you need to ask, “If I follow through on this impression, will it make me more like Christ?”

Does Your Idea Agree with the Bible?

Jesus said in John 7:17, “Anyone who wants to do [God’s] will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up” (MSG). God doesn’t like it when people put words in his mouth and say, “God told me to do this,” when he really didn’t. So how do you know when it’s God talking to you?

Start Writing Down Your Prayers

Because Habakkuk wrote down what the Lord said to him, we have the book called Habakkuk. Because David wrote down what God spoke to him, we have the book of Psalms. They asked God a question, God gave them an answer, and they wrote it down.

God’s Guidance Will Confirm Your Shape

There are two more ways you can test if an idea or impression is from God.

First, is it consistent with how God has shaped you?

Before you were born, God planned the contribution he wanted you to make in this world, and he gave you the shape you need — the spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, passion, and experience — to be able to complete that contribution. He shaped and designed you for a specific purpose.

When God Gives Direction, Mature Believers Will Confirm

When you think you’ve heard God tell you something, you might ask yourself, “How do I know if this impression is really from God?

If you want to know if your impression is from God, you need to ask, “Does my church family confirm it?”

You need the wisdom and advice of godly people in your life to help you stay on track. God never meant for you to go through life on your own. That’s why he created the church!

Prayer: Ask God Specific Questions

While you’re waiting for God to speak to you, you need to be ready for God to give you a mental picture. Habakkuk 2:1 says, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me” (NIV).

Why does he say “look to see”? Doesn’t it make more sense to say he will “listen to” what God says?

What Do You Do While You Wait on the Lord?

After you withdraw to a quiet place to hear from God, you need to wait and calm your thoughts and emotions. You have to settle down!

Habakkuk 2:2 says, “I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer” (NLT). This means stay put and be still until you hear from God.

Do You Want to Hear from God?

Hearing from God starts with a desire. You have to want to hear from God!

Habakkuk 2:1 says, “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer” (NLT).

Habakkuk begins with these words: “I will.” In other words, he’s saying that he is deciding to listen to God. It’s a choice.

Sometimes God Speaks By Saying Nothing

Sometimes God speaks by saying nothing. This is extremely frustrating to us! But God has his reasons when he’s silent. You have to just wait and trust him. If you run ahead of God saying, “I haven’t heard anything from God, so I’m just going to go ahead and do this” and you don’t trust him, you’re going to have all kinds of problems and be filled with regret.