"Listening to the Holy Spirit"

Hearing the Voice of God

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:- John 10:27-28

This is a skill that you need to develop over time with practice. The fundamental truth is God loves you, he longs to reach out and talk to you. Even before you received the Holy Spirit, its likely that God would have tried talking to you. Most of the time people can't differentiate or reject it outright, when God speaks. People often think its their own mind or they encourage thoughts like its impossible for someone as great as the God of the universe to be interested in talking to them.
God thinks you are important enough to talk to you, He loves you enough to care about the tiny details of your life. The problem most of the time is that we are too busy and have no time for God. Many times even when we hear God, we use logic and reason him out saying this is not possible.
At times your sins and your guilt make you feel dirty and unclean, you may feel like you are undeserving of this privilege. Keep in mind, God is willing to forgive you and clean you up. Jesus came to earth and died on the cross for you just so that your sins can be forgiven and you can have a relationship with God.
We make statements similar to "God, I have 5 minutes, you need to talk to me right now and tell me everything I want to know". Many people do what they want to do, even when they know it is wrong and only when they run into trouble do they think of God. They look at God as a troubleshooter and not a guide.
Others ask God for advice but they end up doing what they wanted to anyway. These are some attitudes that God does not appreciate or like to work with.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.- Jeremiah 29:13

God looks at your heart, if you sincerely long for him and want to hear him, he will most certainly answer. Remember for every one step you take towards God, he takes five steps to get closer to you. Throughout the Bible, God has spoken to numerous people in different ways and even today God speaks to millions of people and guides them. God is the same then, now and forever and He is willing to speak to you. Hopefully the point no longer is Is God willing to talk to me? rather Am I willing to listen?
The focus of your spiritual life should be to answer yes to both these questions:
*Am I looking forward to hear God with all my heart?
*Am I willing to obey him when he speaks to me and guides me?

BIBLICAL INSPIRATION

This is the story of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. He lived during the reign of an evil queen, Jezebel who systematically killed off all of God's prophets. The queen promoted large scale idolatry and demon worship throughout the land of Israel. Elijah was one of the last surviving men of God. The queen wanted to finish Elijah off as well, that's when he challenged the King and Queen of Israel to a contest to see whose God is greater. Elijah is known to have called fire down from the sky. He won the contest hands down and had all the priests of the demon executed.
Once when the King wanted to have him arrested he sent two battalions of soldiers to bring him in, these soldiers were destroyed by fire from the sky. This man of God is said to have divided the river Jordan and walked through it. He is known for raising a young boy from the dead and having been fed by ravens in the times of famine.
His life was far from easy, there were times he was so depressed that he prayed to God asking for God to take his life. He spent most of his life in hiding and in the wilderness. Once he went to Mount Sinai and told God that all that was done till date was fruitless, even his own life did not achieve anything. The kingdom was not repenting in spite of all that he had done and shown them.
Elijah had only the written Word of God to guide him for a long time. Once he sought an audience with God and God decides to speak directly to him. First He sent great winds like tornadoes towards Elijah, but Elijah could not find God in it. Next, God sends earthquakes that are strong enough to destroy a mountain, but Elijah still could not find God in it. Then God sent a great fire across the mountain that Elijah was on, but Elijah still could not find God in it. Finally he heard a gentle and small voice, he knew beyond any doubt that this was His God.
God speaks to us even today in that same gentle small voice. We tend to look all around us for miracles, signs and wonders. We search for God everywhere not knowing that He lives inside us and speaks to us from within. This is a divine revelation that God shares with us through Elijah.

REAL LIFE INSPIRATION

There were two friends, one of them a staunch atheist and the other a believer. Although the believer had the Holy Spirit, he had been through a lot of trials and his confidence was low as he had not heard from God in a while. They were drawn together because of their love for music. Lets call the atheist A and the believer B in this story.
The atheist A was called by God and soon became a believer, he was eventually gifted with the Holy Spirit. Around this period the believer B got a message from God for his friend A. B wrote down the message and wanted to give it to his friend. The Holy Spirit however, told B that he should not show this message to A, unless A first on his own told him the contents. B was not very sure but he obeyed the voice of God and sealed the message in an envelope.
Time passed and the envelope was forgotten. God was however speaking to A and slowly giving him the message. It a big leap of faith to follow what the voice was saying. A was not convinced that the voice inside his head was actually God and not his own mind.
One day when the two friends met, the sealed envelope fell down from a shelf. A found it on the floor and he could sense the Voice of God was gently nudging him. He could somehow tell the message in the envelope was for him. A suddenly asked B, "Should I become a preacher?".B was shocked and thrilled at the same time, he asked A to open and read the message and sure enough it was a beautiful message directly from God. The envelope had God's plan for A along with some words of encouragement. After this there was no doubt in A's mind that it was God speaking to him all along.
This incident helped both friends at multiple levels. It restored faith in the life of B who knew that God still spoke to him and used him. It convinced both A and B that the Holy Spirit had divinely inspired them with the same message. Their faith was greatly increased and they understood how the Apostles in the Bible discerned the Voice of God. The scriptures were validated for them and they came to appreciate the perfect wisdom and timing of God.

LIFE APPLICATION
*God speaks personally to all his children, it is up to you to put in efforts to discern His voice.
*Don't look around you into the world for answers, most of the time God speaks to you from within in a still small voice.