The Fathers Voice

 

"My sheep are hearing My voice, and I know them, and they are following me.  And I am giving them life eonian, and they should by no means be perishing for the eon, and no one shall be snatching them out of my hand." 

Johns Account 10: 27-28, Concordant New Testament 

I found myself in a situation this week where in a few weeks I will have a decision to make regarding my job.  It's not that I'll changing jobs, just job duties and location.  Now, ordinarily this would not be anything of concern, but I am a creature of habit and do well when things are somewhat consistent in my life.  But we all know that things aren't always consistent in life, and that eventually there will be a situation or two where we will be forced to overcome and adapt once again.  That being said, I pondered just where the Father was leading me in this life journey.  Then the thought occurred to me, I can very well ask Him what His intentions are.  In fact, I can talk to the Father about anything and everything.  Of course, this often requires active listening as well.  Who hasn't been annoyed when they were having a conversation with someone who really didn't seem like they were at all concerned with what we were telling them?  I've been there.  Is it this way with God?  Does God somehow become annoyed when we do not listen to Him?  I would doubt that very much.  However, I do believe that the Father delights in hearing from and speaking to His children.  As with any parent, I believe that the Father cherishes the conversations He has with us.  However, I also believe that we have gotten lost along the way in the way that we communicate with Him.  Many times we look at scripture and think that our conversations with the Father are simply lists of things we require His help with.  After all, I only began contemplating my conversations with the Father in the midst of a difficult period in my own life.  I get it.  But, obviously there is something more we need to know about our own conversations with God.  I often think of the term active listening when I am thinking of prayer.  After all, our prayers definitely include a period of active listening for the Fathers voice.  His voice is not one which we are unfamiliar.  For Jesus tells us that His sheep know His voice {Johns Account 10:27-28}.  I believe that the key to knowing and recognizing the voice of Christ Jesus is to also realize the truth of the indwelling Christ in us.  

Lo!  I stand at the door and am knocking.  If ever anyone should be hearing My voice and opening the door, I will also be coming into him and dining with him, and he with Me.

The Unveiling Of Jesus Christ 3: 20, Concordant New Testament 

Jesus makes no qualms about the fact that it is He who offers Himself to us that we will accept Him {Paul To The Romans 10:9, First Epistle of John 1:9, The Unveiling Of Jesus Christ 10:20}.  Despite the truth that we have the spirit of the Father with us from birth, we are still offered the choice to choose Jesus {Genesis 1:27}.  The apostle Paul spoke to the truth of Christ Jesus in us in Galatians {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  It is Christ Jesus in whom we now live.  That being said, we should know His voice in us very well.  When we realize the reality of who it is we are in Christ Jesus, our prayers and conversations with Him (Prayer is, after all, our conversation with the Father) take on a entire new meaning.  Speaking to the Father becomes as common as talking with a friend.  More importantly, listening for His voice becomes something we do instinctively.  Many of us know how to hold a conversation.  We've been doing it for many years.  Knowing that we are one in Christ and the Father, our conversations with Him become more intimate.  We can come to Him with our hopes, our dreams and our concerns.  The Father delights in this.  As we listen, He will also speak to us of where it is He is leading.  The Fathers voice is not one which we should partake of only in times of our trouble and anxieties, but in every aspect of our life.  After all, who would know us better than He who created us in His image?  If we know Him and listen for His voice within us, the Father will speak to what it is He desires us to hear.  

~Scott~