Hearing the Voice of the Lord
by Peter Horrobin
When you confide in someone, you are doing two things. Firstly you are trusting them and secondly, you are sharing with them things that you wouldn’t necessarily want anyone else to know about. This remarkable verse expresses an incredible and amazing truth - that the living God, the Creator of the Universe wants to trust us and share with each one of us personally in just this way!
He wants to trust us and then He wants to share with us things that are precious and important to us that are not for anyone else to hear. But if we want to be one of those who is able to hear the Lord speaking in this sort of way - and sharing His heart with us, then there is a condition that we need to fulfil. It’s a very simple one - have we learned to “fear the Lord”?
When someone fears the Lord, they are not afraid of Him because he’s a frightening person. But because they love Him they will always seek to walk in His ways. Their first choice will always be to do those things that please Him. And it is to these that the Lord reveals the blessings that are to be enjoyed through understanding His covenant. Someone who has the ear of the Lord will not need to be alarmed, in case they accidentally transgress the commandments of God - for they will constantly be aware of the Lord’s gentle confiding voice showing them what is right and what is wrong, what is within God’s covenant provisions and what is not.
It is through this profound principle of covenant relationship with God that we are able to enjoy the guidance of the Lord in all of life’s many different circumstances. I can think back to times when I chose not to listen to God’s confiding voice and do my own thing - always those were proven to be bad decisions. I learned the hard way that the only key to guidance that really matters is also the key to being in relationship with the Lord - enjoying life living in holy fear of a holy God. Then the promise of the second part of the verse can be fulfilled - as our eyes are always on Him, the Lord will release us from snares laid on our pathway by the enemy of souls. No wonder Isaiah said that the Sovereign Lord would come to “proclaim freedom for the captives” (Isaiah 61:1)
Prayer: Lord, I would love to hear Your confiding voice, as you share with me Your truths and lead me along the path of righteousness. Help me to desire above all else to walk day by day within the provisions of Your covenant blessings. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Peter Horrobin is the Founding and International Director of Ellel Ministries. The work was originally established in 1986 as a ministry of healing in the north-west of England, but today the work has spread round the world, with Ellel Centres in over thirty nations. Peter has been doing lots of writing recently, including the "Journey to Life" series which can be purchased online at sovereignworld.com.
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