Hearing His Voice #80

The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us.”

2 Kings 6:1, NKJV

There are times in Israel’s history, particularly during the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, when the “sons of the prophets” lived in groups under a well-known prophetic master. Elijah had his followers, and so did Elisha. Apparently, these disciples were in a learning mode—living with their teacher in order to grow in the practice of their prophetic gifts. This defies many of our assumptions, namely that in biblical times, someone was either a prophet or he wasn’t. But as with any spiritual gift, there is room for practice, learning, and growth. The path to hearing God’s voice and declaring it isn’t traveled in an instant. It’s a process.

If Old Testament prophets had to go to school to learn how to hear God’s voice, we can too. If we aren’t hearing clearly, we have no reason to assume that it’s because we aren’t equipped. Or that we just aren’t gifted. Or that God doesn’t speak to us today. Or any other disclaimer that causes us to stop trying. We can position ourselves to hear God better, both in our inward attitudes and our outward actions. We can fine-tune our spiritual receptors to recognize His wavelengths and ignore others. We can become sensitive to His inner prompts and His external signals, looking for His will like explorers on a treasure hunt. We can grow in our confidence in what He is saying.

Most Christians get discouraged early in the process, long before learning how to recognize God’s voice. When our prophetic instincts don’t mature immediately, we think they aren’t there at all. But Jesus made it clear that all of His sheep can hear His voice, and He never implied that our hearing is an instant skill. We have a lot to learn. If we press on, we will learn it.

Father, I want to enroll in Your school of prophecy. No matter how long the learning curve lasts, I will persist under Your training. Teach me to hear and to speak.