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When is it possible to hear with your eyes?

In the 1970's, while studying how children develop language, psychologists Harry McGurk and John MacDonald discovered a preceptorial illusion that shows that when the sound you are hearing conflicts with what you are seeing, the brain prioritizes and what you see overrides what you hear. As described in their paper Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices, the McGurk Effect proves that when your senses are in conflict, one has to win out to make sense of the world around you. In the case of language, what you see will override what you hear.

For instance, if you watch a video of a man saying the sound "ba ba ba" over and over, that is what you will hear. But if that same sound is played under a video of the man's lips forming an "f" instead of a "b" you will perceive the sound "fa" even though it is the same voice track actually saying "ba."

Your mind sees the voice and hears the lips.

When it comes to hearing from God, you might say we experience a similar phenomenon - in seeing the voice of God, our mind and spirit hear from His lips.

How do we see His voice?

Habakkuk demonstrated this as he settled in his quiet place with a prayer-opened mind and heart.

Habakkuk 2:1I will climb my watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will tell me to say and what answer he will give to my complaint.

Notice that Habakkuk does not sit and merely wait to hear the voice of God. He reports that his seeking God involves seeing what the Lord has to say. A prophet, Habakkuk knew that He could see what God had to say in the Scriptures and believed that in seeing His word, He would hear from the lips of God.

Pastor Tony Evens said succinctly, "The Bible is the voice of God in print." It is the voice we can see, that is living and sharp and brought to life in our own minds and hearts by the Holy Spirit who is helping us.

Hebrews 4:12 NLT
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

CONSIDER:

• How would you restate the truths of this verse in your own words?
• What do you think it means that the Word of God cuts between soul and spirit?
• Why do you think hearing from God involves exposing our own innermost thoughts and desires?

God has told us where He speaks.

We do not always hear Him because we can't be bothered to look in the place where He has provided answers. Consider the insights of renowned theologian F. B. Meyer:

When the Bible itself becomes irksome, inquire whether you have not been spoiling your appetite by sweetmeats and renounce them; and believe that the Word is the wire along which the voice of God will certainly come to you if the heart is hushed and the attention fixed.

• In what ways do you find God's Word, or the process of reading God's Word "irksome?" How has other ways we get information "spoiled" us so that we resist how God speaks?
• Knowing that you can see God speak in His Word, how does that reassure you?

S.P.R.U.C.E.

Hearing God speak means a willingness to READ His voice.

R- READ thoughtfully to hear God's voice.

The person who is sincere about growing a deeper relationship with God and hearing from Him will begin by seeing what He has to say in His Word. Reading the Word of God is a crucial part of hearing His voice.

Because He has given us His Spirit, we can "see what the Lord will tell" that others cannot see. We do not merely read the Word; we are given exclusive access to the mind of God provided by the Spirit of God. If we are seeking to hear from God but refuse to meet Him is the place He has chosen to speak most clearly, our stubbornness will leave us disappointed.

We have been invited to hear God's voice by engaging Him in His Word - thoughtfully, beginning with our eyes but including mind, Spirit, and heart. When we do, we will find the living active voice of God, not God's wisdom in the past tense.

A. W. Tozer explains how God's living voice is heard.

The Bible is the written word of God, and because it is written it is confined and limited by the necessities of ink and paper and leather. The Voice of God, however, is alive and free as the sovereign God is free. 'The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.' The life is in the speaking words. God's word in the Bible can have power only because it corresponds to God's Word in the universe. It is the present Voice which makes the written word powerful. Otherwise it would lie locked in slumber within the covers of a book

HOW TO READ THOUGHTFULLY

First, acknowledge that what you are reading was penned first for an original audience before it was meant for us. It was written to them, but it was also written for us. Reading the Word of God, then, is not as straightforward as reading today's newspaper.

Begin by asking the most basic question: "What do the words say?" Notice the who, what, when, where, and how aspects. Next, ask, "What meaning do the words have about God, life, people, the future, the circumstances when they were written, etc.?"

Only then, can we ask, "What is God saying to me today?"

WHERE TO BEGIN IN SCRIPTURE

Resist cherry-picking a verse randomly or a section out of context. How can you thoughtfully answer the "what does it say" and "what does it mean" questions if you don't know where the words fit into the big story God is telling?

Be strategic. Choose a book of the bible and read it verse by verse, even if you only read a few verses and spend a few minutes thoughtfully considering that bitesize portion. Be that 10 minutes and five verses, or 60 minutes and a whole chapter, work your way through it fully and prayerfully, asking the Spirit to bring understanding bit by bit.

Some Helps: Because God's word is grounded in events of time that we are unfamiliar with, reading a study bible's introduction to a book will help you greatly. Use the study notes at the bottom of your Bible to clear up the meaning of words or practices. You will not be stopping at reading the word, but hearing God's voice begins with reading.

As you settle in a quiet place, seeking the Spirit's help, you will soon discover that in God's Word you will see His voice and hear His lips speaking to you. Before we continue to that end, consider what you have discovered so far.

✏️ How has what you have learned to this point is different than how you have been seeking to hear from God?