The Power of Solitude: Hearing the Voice of Godਨਮੂਨਾ

Day 3- What God is saying and what God has said

What God has said and what God is saying can sometimes be different. Ensure you are hearing God in real time before doing what he instructed. God may have said a thing, then changed his mind. The voice of God is progressive, not static. God said to Abram, "Go sacrifice your only son, Isaac." But it was all a test. A few verses later, he told Abram to stop and not lay hands on the child. Abram could have killed Isaac thinking he was obeying God if he hadn't paid attention to the latter instruction.

What God had said

Genesis 22:2 NIV. "Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

What God is saying

Genesis 22:12 NIV. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him."

God said to Jonah, go tell the people of Nineveh of my impending judgement coming on them. The people repented, and God changed his mind.

What God had said

Jonah 1:1-2 NIV. "The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

What God is saying

Jonah 3:10 NIV. "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened."

Don't just run with what you think you heard without clarifying with God if that's what he's still saying. You have to be attentive and attuned. I love the way the Psalmist puts it, "Once has he spoken; twice have I heard." Psalm 62:11. The Psalmist was very attentive, with deep internalization and a clear understanding of what he heard. What God said to you 5 years ago may not be what God is saying now. Tarry in the place of prayer to be sure you've heard Him right.