Become a Friend of God

May 26, 2023

Did you know that you are able to hear the voice of God whenever, wherever? Did you know that He wants you to hear His voice everytime He speaks to you? Did you know that God longs for fellowship and conversation? God is not hiding and He is not about the business of making it hard for you to find Him. He loves you, He wants you, He is all about doing life WITH you! We need to make our God more common in our lives. We need to break out of the habit of giving God His little “quiet time first thing in the morning” box and then leaving Him there as we go about our day. Let’s take Him along, let’s learn His voice, and let’s do life WITH God.

At first, this is going to take some intentional thought. We are going to have to teach ourselves to take the Holy Spirit with us to each moment of our day. We need to learn how to make room for Him and be conscious of Him throughout the day. The more we include Him and the more we learn Him, the easier and more second nature hearing and recognizing Him becomes. The thing is whether we are hearing Him or not He is speaking to us. Even if we do not recognize yet that He is right with us no matter where we are or what we are doing, His presence is always there. For this reason we must become keenly aware of the most important voice and the most impactful presence we could ever experience. Let’s begin to allow the Holy Spirit into each moment and train ourselves to hear His voice so we never miss a beat in this life.

We must know His voice. That is our responsibility. He is speaking, but we have to hear Him. The Bible explains the essence of His voice. Let’s read this in 1 Kings 19:12. NLT, “And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.” God’s voice is full of authority and clarity, but the magnificence of His power is not communicated in screaming and boisterous noise to His loved ones. He is gentle, kind, and loving so He speaks that way. God’s voice is the voice of peace. We can see this in Colossians 3:15, AMPC, “And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].” Where the peace is, that’s God. Similar to learning the voices, the inflections and the ways in which those close to us speak, we can do the same with God. We can learn what His voice sounds like to us and when we learn it we can recognize it easier and we can also recognize when it is not Him speaking to us because we are familiar with how His voice sounds. My grandma taught it best this way- a solid way of learning the voice of God is to journal. I learned to hear His voice well this way. I encourage you to do the same. Get a journal that is specifically for your conversations with the Lord. Each day, take some time to talk with Him, but instead of speaking out loud your conversation, write it. Write to Him what you would otherwise pray. Then sit and listen and write what you believe He is saying back. You might not get it all exactly correct, but the more and more you practice the easier and more accurate it will become. The other key in learning the voice of God is reading His already written Word. The Bible is God’s voice written, so read it. You will learn how He speaks and what He speaks. If someone came up to me and told me that my husband said something to them, I would immediately be able to know if what they are saying is something he would really say. This is because I know my husband so I know what types of things he would or wouldn’t say. So reading God’s Word helps us learn this about the Lord.

We have to train ourselves to recognize His ever-present presence. The Word tells us that God is always with us and never leaves us. We see this in Deuteronomy 31:6, NKJV, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” There are multiple places where the Word tells us He is with us and doesn’t leave us. So if this is the truth then we must believe it and start acting like it! God’s presence is peaceful and life giving and lifts burdens. Let’s begin to enjoy His presence in our lives. When we act like God is with us and doing life with us then we start to know Him more and in turn become closer to Him. Another benefit of spending time in someone’s presence is that you start to become like them. Our goal as Chrstians is to become more and more like Jesus. So the more time we consciously spend in His presence the more we become like Him. Here are some practical ways that we can train ourselves to be aware of God’s presence in our lives:

1. Set and alarm 7 times through the day. When that alarm goes off it is a reminder for you to begin to thank God for the blessings in your life. Thank Him for who He is to you. Thank Him for saving you and healing you and delivering you. Recognize Him in those moments and give Him some glory!

2. Clear off your passenger side seat in your car! Give Jesus a place to sit and you run errands or take kids to and fro. Give Him a place to ride with you like you would let your best friend ride shotgun in your car and talk to Him!

3. Give Jesus a seat at the dinner table. Include Him in your family situations. Have a meal with Him. You might not be able to see Him with your natural eyes, but regardless He is there! The open chair is the faith action giving room and honor for Jesus to be there with you just like any other person. This also helps your natural self be aware of Him. May seem silly, but it works!

4. Just talk to Him. It doesn’t always have to be a prayer asking for something or giving thanks and praise. Those are necessary, but Jesus is our friend. Talk to Him. Whatever you’re thinking to yourself or whatever you would say to your spouse, say to Him. If you see something pretty say “Oh Lord that is so pretty do you see that?” Or if something funny happens, laugh with Him and joke with Him. If you are wondering about something say “Lord do you think that _____?” Just talk to Him like you would anyone else.

Grow in your friendship with God. Let His voice and His presence be real and constant to you. Jesus is a person so it should be like we are constantly spending time with someone else. We are never alone, that is the most comforting thing. This week I challenge you to take these practical actions and do them. Start to train yourself in being hyper-aware that God is always with you and always talking to you. He wants conversation and fellowship. So let’s give Him that.

I like to close each teaching with an invitation to salvation for anyone that has not yet welcomed Jesus into their life. Maybe you’ve read this and felt a pull on your heart. Maybe you’re in a place where you just need a solution. If so, this was meant for you and if you’re ready for the “moreness” of God, then believe in your heart and say out loud the following prayer: “Jesus, I repent for my sins, please forgive me for living a life apart from You. I believe that you are the Son of God and that you died on the cross for my sins and were raised to life again. I confess you as Lord over my life. Take my life and do something with it. And I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ Name amen.”

It’s as simple as that. Welcome to the family! That is solely the most important decision you will ever make. If you prayed that prayer, please send us an email and let us know. We would love to help get you connected to a Life-filled church in your area and help you get started on your journey of “moreness” with God. Click the chat button at the bottom of each page and send us a message!