Good Morning Gorgeous,

It’s a brand new day. A fresh new start. A new day to rise to purpose..

Each day has new purpose, fresh assignment, and new words from God.

God is still speaking to His people, and He has things to tell you. He has encouragement to give you. He has love to pour into you. He may have directions for you today.

Because Jesus sent the Holy Spirit into the earth after His resurrection and ascension to heaven, we are no longer separated from God. Rather, we are equipped and empowered to walk in communion with Him. Sin no longer separates us from God because Jesus gave His life as atonement. This means that when we confess Jesus as Lord over our life and we place our trust in Him, we are given access to the Father and the Father is speaking to His people.

He wants you to know how much you are loved and adored.

He wants you to know that you are here on the earth on purpose. He preplanned and predestined you for this hour.

He wants you to know that He has things to tell you when you get quiet and still before Him and just ask Him to tell you what He wants you to know.

For believers, hearing from God should be a normal part of your walk with Him.

Even though God is talking to His people, there are some other voices that can make hearing Him difficult.

A pastor at my church shared that we have 4 voices speaking to us or pulling us: the voice of God, the voice of the enemy, the voice of the world, and our own voice.

And only God’s voice is total truth. The other three confuse, distort, and mangle the truth of what God says.

When we get a word from God either from scripture or through prayer or even another believer, it is vital to cling to what God says and test every other voice you hear against His truth that He has already spoken over you. There are things He has told me that I have had to cling to for dear life in hard seasons. The tide would come in and the wind blow and the ground shake, but I would cling to a Word from God spoken to me as my lifeline.

When you are given advice by others or when your mind is racing, test everything by seeing if it aligns to what God has said in scripture or to what the Lord has said to you directly.

If it is condemning, mean, hurtful, spiteful, sarcastic, or anything that doesn’t feel like love, it’s not God.

God will correct us when we need it, but it will be in love. He will not use shame or guilt tactics. So if you hear those voices, those are not God speaking to you.

God will correct you and redirect you lovingly. He will convict you through the Holy Spirit, but His correction will make you want to repent quickly and return to Him. If it scares you or makes you want to flee from His Presence, that it not God’s voice.

The enemy is a counterfeit and he will try to make you believe that you’ve blown it this time, you won’t be able to return to God, or that everyone else hears from God but you don’t.

His tactics are to twist and distort the truth and then present his lies to you as suggestions.

So the best way to hear from God is to consult Him about everything. Pray all day. Jesus died and triumphed over sin so that you could be in close connection with the Father. The ability to just speak to God at any time and He would draw near to you is a gift given to us. And the Lord will draw near to you when you talk to Him.

Tell Him about your day. Tell Him what you need, what your fearful about, what you are excited about, and whatever is on your heart. Ask Him to reveal to you what He wants you to know today and then just be still and listen to your thoughts.

Sometimes you will be sure you heard from God. Other times you will have to test it out. If you are unsure, tell Him! Say, “God, I can’t tell if that’s Your voice. Show me that it’s really you.”

And in His subtle, loving ways, He will talk to you, show you things, send you messages and signs.

One of my friends heard Him tell her something encouraging this week, but it was hard for her to believe. A short while later, she recieved a prayer from another friend and the prayer included the SAME message from God. And it was very specific. God still speaks to His people.

After a pastor at my church taught a simple exercise for hearing from God, I taught my daughter as well. I taught my daughter to close her eyes and tell God, “Jesus, I love You. Will you tell me something?” And the first thing she heard was, “This is stupid. You won’t hear anything.” So we tested that voice.

I asked her if it felt good, loving, or encouraging. Nope. Does it line up with what the bible says? Nope.

The bible says God speaks to His people. So we tried again. She closed her eyes and prayed “Jesus, I love you. Will you speak to me.” She sat in silence for a bit and then she became giddy with joy. Her face lit up and she was giggling. “Mommy, He called me lovely and delightful!” Yes! Baby girl! Yes! You heard from Jesus.

And I use lots of beautiful phrases and encouragement to speak to her, but I haven’t called her delightful. So she was really excited to hear that word. It was confirmation to her that it wasn’t her own voice because it was something new!

She was so excited that she ran to her brother’s room and taught him to listen for God’s voice.

You may already talk to God often and keenly hear His voice, but I felt impressed to share today how simply we can come to the Lord and expect to hear Him speak back to us.

It’s a reminder I think I need often.

He loves us dearly and wildly and with great fervor and passion. He delights in us, and He desires to talk with us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

What an amazing Lord You are! You talk with us and walk with us and desire closeness with us. Teach us Lord. Teach us to come to You with everything and to grow in our ability to discern Your voice above all others.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.