One of the great truths in the Bible can be found in Romans 10:17, NKJV, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Oftentimes, believers think faith comes through God’s Word. But this scripture reveals that erroneous thinking. Faith doesn’t come by God’s Word. Rather, faith comes through listening. Did you notice that difference? Then, the great apostle, the Apostle Paul, says, the ability to hear comes by God’s Word. But aren’t we born with the ability to hear? How, then, does the ability to hear come from God’s Word? And what does God’s Word help us to hear? I believe the answer to that question is simple: God’s Word helps us to hear God. And hearing God brings faith to believe God into our hearts.
Hearing God is the key to receiving faith from God. Faith comes by hearing God speak to us, whether through His Word or by His Spirit. In fact, hearing God is so important to our spiritual lives that Jesus, in His confrontation with the Devil, quoted Moses, who said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” Matthew 4:4, NKJV. Mankind is called to live by listening to God. That’s how important hearing God is — His Word is meant to be our daily sustenance.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”. John 10:27 KJV. Hearing God’s voice is a sign, one of the single greatest signs, that we are His sheep. Sheep learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd. They become comfortable around their shepherd, for they know his voice. Similarly, we, when we learn how to hear the voice of our shepherd, are drawn near to the Great Shepherd of the sheep. Jesus is that great shepherd. Jesus is Jehovah Roeh — the Lord is my shepherd. And yes, each of us needs a shepherd who helps us make decisions for our lives…daily.
“Hearing God releases His blessing over our lives. And one of those blessings is faith.”—Scott Wallis
That is the spiritual walk — hearing God, trusting God, and following God each and every day. That’s how we live for Him — by hearing His voice, knowing His voice, and following His voice. As such, we must learn to pay attention to His voice and not allow any other voice to lead us astray. And there is another voice in this world — the voice of the Deceiver. God is speaking and Satan is speaking. The temptation comes by listening to the wrong voice. In fact, the spiritual battle we face is over whose voice we will listen to — God’s voice or Satan’s voice. For the believer, they are often both present. And that’s a significant reason why we need to learn to listen.
Hearing means not just the ability to hear, it also means paying attention to what we hear — its effect on our lives. Not every voice has the same effect on our lives. Some voices trouble us. Some voices are there to teach us. Some voices mislead us. Some voices direct us. Some voices correct us. Whose voice we hear determines the quality of our lives. Spending time with those who hear God, and can demonstrate the fruit of hearing God in their lives, are those we should listen to. Unfortunately, many don’t pay attention to what they hear. And that’s a major reason behind the struggles, trials, and temptations of life they face — they listened to the wrong voice, went in the wrong direction, and missed their moment, for they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
No wonder Jesus said, “Pay attention to what you're hearing! You will be evaluated by the same standard with which you do your evaluating, and still more will be given to you”. Mark 4:24, ISV. Jesus made that statement after teaching the parable of the sower. He was talking about learning how to receive the seed of God’s Word. In Luke 8:18, Berean Standard Bible, Jesus explains further, “Pay attention, therefore, to how you listen. Whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him”. Receiving from God is associated with truly hearing what God says. And we must learn to really listen to, really pay attention to, and really look to discern what God is saying.
Discern what God is saying? Yes, we must learn to discern God’s voice. God’s voice is always present; it’s everywhere, all the time. Yet, so often, we don’t pay attention to what He’s saying. We don’t stop to listen. God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, said, “Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.” Isaiah 48:18, NLT. Can you hear how deeply God desires for His people to listen to Him? God yearns for His people to hear Him. In fact, while on the Mount of transfiguration, God audibly spoke to those present, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Luke 9:35, NKJV.
Today, I’d like to ask you a question: Are you paying attention to God’s voice in your life? Are you looking for Him to speak to you? Do you know what happens when you hear His voice? Besides what the prophet Isaiah said about peace being our portion, hearing God paves the way for prosperity. When we hear God, we prosper in every area of our lives. If we aren’t prospering in life, we should question our ability to hear God. Yes, we should expect God to bless us as we hear Him. That’s the truth contained in God’s Word. Hearing God releases His blessing over our lives. And one of those blessings is faith. Faith is the gift of God that comes by listening to, listening for, and paying attention to God’s voice.
Let us pray!
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