This Scripture reading shows that sheep hear their shepherd, know his voice, and so they follow Him. There are many voices in our world today, but the voice you predominantly listen to is the one you will follow. So, the key question is this: whose voice are you listening to?
When one doesn’t listen to hear the Voice of the Lord, one actually lives below the privileges available to us in Christ Jesus. This means living without hope, and it translates into a handicap in life. As children of God, created anew in Christ Jesus, our new nature is designed to hear the voice of God and to identify it. The voices of strangers (strange spirits and strange doctrines) do not resonate with us, or sound attractive to us. But the great scheme of the enemy is to prevent believers from hearing the voice of God by introducing distractions.
Hearing God's voice is the most important thing in life. We see in John 5: 30 that the success of Jesus's earthly ministry was founded on hearing the voice of the Father. If Jesus needed the voice of God, how much more do we!
Here are five reasons why hearing the voice of God is important- firstly, hearing from God proves that you are a child of God; strangers can't hear God, because God speaks to our spirits and confirms that we are His children (John 8:47). Hearing God’s voice also protects you from mistakes (Proverbs 3:6 and 1Samuel 30:8). Thirdly, hearing God's voice produces success in life (Psalm 32:8). Hearing the voice of God triggers faith in our spirits and always stirs our faith into action. And finally, the voice of God keeps us from the deception and lies of the enemy.
In order to hear from God, here are five things to note-
You need to be spiritually minded. If you focus on your natural senses and not on the Spirit, you will be ruled by the flesh, and will find it difficult to identify the voice of the Lord. Romans 8:5-6 shows us that we must disconnect from the natural and connect to the Lord.
You need to have an intimate relationship with God. Many people know of God, but don't really know God. John10:3,14. Develop a relationship with God, and fellowship with Him in prayer, in the Word and through worship.
Cultivate an open mind. Let God be God, and don't impose your ideas on the Lord. You can't put God in a box. The right attitude is to say, "let your will be done". If your mind is made up on a particular issue, you may not be willing to hear what the Lord has to say about it.
Make time to listen to God and give Him your attention. Don't live life in a hurry. In Exodus 3 :1- 4, the Lord spoke to Moses only when He saw that Moses had given Him his attention.
Eliminate distractions. Anything that stands in the way of hearing the Lord should be regulated. Sometimes, you may need to turn off the TV and switch off your phone. Mark 1:35 shows that even Jesus spent solitary time with the Lord. Our strength comes from our solitary place with the Lord.