Many times you will hear people say that their big breaks happened when they responded to an inner voice. They felt the urge to do something that was not natural or had no empirical data to back. They moved, and somehow their move in retrospect seemed perfect. Take it or leave it, God does speak to man, most times he may not be in the fire or in the wind, he may be in a still small voice. A voice so still, if you are not watchful you may not catch it, a voice so small, it’s easy to hear and ignore. God does speak, and let me tell you very firmly – your success and prosperity is connected to the instruction that he gives. His instructions are the inspirations behind innovations, his revelations are worth searching for and finding out. All that his seen will pass away, but that which takes root from his instruction and word will last them all!
What about people who don’t know God, who don’t like God or claim no allegiance to God, do they still need to hear His instruction to succeed? Does God speak to them? God speaks to all men, even in his creations his words are loud and clear, the basic reality of God is made manifest in a long and thoughtful look at creation. Sometimes when those He calls his own miss the signals long enough, any mere man – popularly referred to as stones will rise to the occasion. God does speak, but most times man cannot hear him. Not because he cannot hear him actually, but because he cannot understand his words. I’m going to show you one way, just one way today on how you can get yourself into God’s channel!
One of the biggest mitigating factors against our hearing God is understanding! His ways are not our ways, and his thoughts not our thoughts. God’s spiritual vocabulary requires learning, else he would speak ever so often above our heads. Let me break this down to you, it’s important that the reader understands this.
My Son is 3 yrs old, there are many things I want to tell him, there is so much I can tell him. If I tell him many things however, I will contend with the reality that he will not understand. I need to compromise my vocabulary to speak with him, as a matter of fact, I need to postpone some of our discussions. If the house he is in is burning I can’t tell him run, I must tell him come, in fact, I must shout “come”. Come is a compromise of vocabulary to reflect what I’m sure he’ll understand. I cannot afford for my intent to be lost in my use of vocabulary. I want him away from the fire, desperately, but if I tell him, “Escape with anxious velocity, a magnanimous conflagration is consuming that magnificent domicile :)”, he’ll probably still be in there when the house falls. I need to shave the vocabulary and preserve my intent. Most times however, we fail to understand the intent in the commanders instructions, sometimes we take the words at face value. We hear Him, but we do not understand, and our lives never change, our stories remain the same. All around us testimonies are happening, revelation is birthing increase, but the words our hears hear, or those our eyes see make no meaning to our limited spiritual or inspirational vocabulary. Here is how to hear and understand – Increase your insight vocabulary.
How do you achieve this?
1. Expand your Territory
The reason why you can’t understand some instructions is because you have never stretched yourself into certain territories. The elders say that anyone who has never seen another persons father’s farm, says that his father’s is the biggest. You may not understand if you have never seen. Don’t be confined to only one perspective, expand your horizons. Stretch into new territories. One of the key things you can do to achieve this is to travel. Leave your town of birth, leave your state of birth, leave your country. Stretch out to see other countries and continents. You cannot stay in your country and say you know what standards mean, what beauty means, or what excellence is. Strive to see how another nation or city sees those words. I was once surprised when in a country of the world I visited with a woman of God, that she suddenly started cursing our political leaders. She couldn’t believe how a country not as rich as us, could be so good and have so many things to their advantage. Expand your territory.
2. Expand your Experience
How do you explain to an employee the trills and turns in an entrepreneurs life? How do you assign someone to a job he or she is not skilled for? How do you tell someone to do something so far from their paradigm? In my experience, sometimes God leads you to do some things, not because that is where the final destination is, but because going that route equips you with some skills and tools you’ll need for your next assignment. Don’t stay where you are, move, try new things, venture. Even when you fail in one, it equips you for many others. Many experiences make life rich, and give you an authoritative view on key issues. It equips you with the insight to know what the instruction you are getting means.
3. Expand your Relationships
Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other Gold. When God wants to change a man’s life, he either encounters new people or new knowledge. How will you get an instruction to meet a person you do not know? If indeed the world has 4 layers of separation for the average man, then expanding your relationships increases your access to what you desire. Take an inventory of the people whose lives you matter, to the people you have impacted, to the people who would do almost anything for you. How extended is this list? Are you living for yourself by yourself, or is life better now that you came? You want to understand the next instructions? Expand you relationships.
4. Expand your Mind!
Read! Again I say read! The greatest thing that can happen to you is for your capacity to increase. Knowledge is one ingredient I know that transforms paupers into princes, rogues into vogue, and laggards into leaders. Knowledge is crucial, it’s critical. The capacity to understand the deep things of God requires quality time unraveling his mysteries. Your mind is a foundation, if it’s deep, you can build tall, if it’s shallow, even if it’s tall, it’s for a while. Even spiritual insight needs to be interpreted to the mind, for you cannot act on what you cannot interpret. Investing in mind expansion is a worthwhile investment. The broader the scope of what you know, the easier to relate with different dimensions of God. Readers are leaders, have you asked why? Because readers get insights that the average person does not have, and hence make them people to follow.
God is speaking frequently, his broadcast channel never stops. Are you tuned in? Do you have the capacity to hear and comprehend? Increase your vocabulary.
19 thoughts on “Why You Can’t Hear God!”
Dee,
Would you believe that i've been ruminating over the past few hours over taking a bicycle and riding it all over Nigeria. I might as well take the step after reading this post. When it'll be is now the issue.
Lord, help me to hear you better. More distinctively and more often in Jesus name !!
This is a major determinant of good Success.
Thanks Pastor D !
expand your territory, experience and relationships. hmm! I won’t agree less. we don’t see anew when we have stayed in a place for too long, our perspective becomes too limited. Going for NYSC in the east expanded my horizon and made me a little more tolerant of the easterners. i use to think the only place you can live in Nigeria to survive is Lagos. reading this article, I have been reminded it isn’t so.
Thank you.
Great piece!
Worth printing and re-reading……
I have missed your write Deolu, thanks again for yet another mind awaking write up,its the Lord that speaks through you and you are always on point blessed is you and your generation and i bless God for putting you in Ours. Oh Oh when God speaks Hallelujah.
What an inspiration to start the week with,please allow me to borrow from this write up.
this has been my desire of late, I pray everyday for God to speak to me, and It seems as if the more I pray, the more He keeps silent, but your 3-year old's analogy did the miracle for me. thanx Deolu
Hearing God's voice and being lead by the Holy Spirit is too important in our lives, it's brings supernatural experiences, nice one Bro.
Good stuffs!!!.
How did you know what’s been in my heart since the start of this month. You are indeed my mentor and one of God’s guide for my life.
I will go and do likewise as you have said.
Thank you
Chairman, I cannot thank you enough. Each time I read your mind written down I get inspired the more. Read! Again I say read! The greatest thing that happen to me this year is the grace to read. Reading increases your capacity for your opportunity. Our success and prosperity is connected to the instruction that God gives and this could come through reading. NEVER DESPISE THE INSTRUCTION FROM THE LORD!
This is really on point… Glad you wrote this. Thanks. Will act accordingly.
That’s why you are a mentor per excellence. You touch every aspect of life- physical, financial, social,mental (intellectual) and spiritual.
Just to collaborate: It was at a function that God answered a particular prayer i’ve been praying for for years. It was as though HE had answered but i took delivery of it when i stepped out as advised above.
Thanks a zillion!
BIG UP CHAIRMAN. This is just what I need and I promise myself to take practical steps along this line. Bless you!
‘TENI
I think the whole of human being and not human doing on this part of this continent need to read this post… Thumb up for You i love this statement: Knowledge is one ingredient I know that transforms paupers into princes, rogues into vogue, and laggards into leaders. Knowledge is crucial, it’s critical.
great!
Deolu,
Through out last week I could not open your site, and I was wondering what was wrong, was the problem here or there? Thank God it opened today. I have been itching to read from you. The illustration with your son is just it, It jsut explains exactly why so many of us dont understand when God is speaking to us. We are not matured enough to comprehend, and you know it’s really scary especially if what God is saying has a great impact on our lives. May God help us all. Thank you for giving out of your God-given wisdom.
This is a powerful insight thanks. You are really a blessing to this generation.
FOOD 4 THOUGHT!.I was reading the book “the rules of life”and i came to a page touching on the same issue.thank u for the reminder
I can explain what impact this post is having on me right now.It’s given some relieve that God is not far away.
Thanks for this insight, chairman.