Henry T. Blackaby - Hearing Gods Voice

I dedicate this book to my wife Marilynn, who has filled my life and our family with godly wisdom day after day for forty-two years. I honor her for uniquely and faithfully hearing from God and sharing lovingly with us all.

Henry Blackaby

I dedicate this book to my wonderful wife, Lisa. She has often been the first to hear God speaking to our family, and at times she has had to encourage me to be still and to listen so I could hear God speaking too. It has truly been a joy to listen to God together and to respond to God's invitations to do things with him we could never have dreamed God would do through our lives.

Richard Blackaby

G od said, Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? (Isa. 50:2). He could ask that same question today. People everywhere struggle to know clearly what God is saying to them. Christian leaders and ministers candidly admit they have difficulty discerning God's voice. Everywhere we go, we meet Christians who tell us they do not hear God speak to them. Even more alarming are those who conclude they do not hear from God because he does not speak to people.

God is speaking. The problem is people have become disoriented to his voice. When the book Experiencing God was published, the hunger it exposed among God's people was amazing. Christians all over the world longed to know and to experience the Person they claimed was most important in their lives.

No one anticipated that Experiencing God would be so widely received. It was simply a little study designed to reorient people to God. It was based on our experience as we had walked with God through the years and the insights we learned along the way about his character and his ways. Over and over people say, I knew in my head much of what the course taught. I had just never experienced those truths personally. Experiencing God helped me understand how to really know God. No one was more surprised than we were when God, in his grace, used that material to change countless lives and churches. The heart of Experiencing God is the simple truth that God is a Person who relates to people by speaking to them and by guiding them into his will.

Of course, every book has its detractors. Some critics maintain that the premise for Experiencing God is false. They argue that God does not speak to people. While this explains the heavenly silence that is their experience, it contradicts everything the Bible teaches. Experiencing God has been criticized for suggesting that Christians can relate to God in an intimate, personal way.

Some oppose its teachings on the basis that people have no right to claim such a close relationship with God. We would agree. No one has that right. It is a privilegea gift from God. Other critics express knee-jerk reactions to the excesses of people who claim to follow Experiencing God teachings but who actually violate them. In this case both reveal a lack of knowledge of what Experiencing God actually teaches.

The last book we did together, Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's Agenda, saw pastors and denominational leaders as well as Christian CEOs embrace the definition of a spiritual leader as someone who moves people on to God's agenda. However, it became increasingly apparent how few leaders understand what God's agenda is. Most Christians agree that God's will is the key to successful leadership. Furthermore, experienced leaders know their role is to move people from where they are to where they need to be. However, the point of vulnerability for many leaders is this: How do I know what God's agenda is? If I don't know when God is speaking to me, how will I know what God's will is for the people I lead?

Spiritual Leadership highlighted the enormous need for people to learn how to hear from God. Effective spiritual leaders must know when God is speaking to them. In fact, every Christian must know how to recognize God's voice; otherwise, how can we obey him? Apart from God's personal involvement in our lives, our life experience will be no different from that of nonbelievers. We may have some extra rules and a stricter moral code to follow; but unless we communicate regularly with our Lord, we'll miss out on much that God desires for us. Moreover, we'll rob others of gifts God wanted to give them through us.

In light of both the ongoing heart cry for people to know when God is speaking to them and in response to those who question whether God communicates with people at all, we have written this book. We want to address this fundamental yet controversial issue: Does God speak to people today? If so, how does he do so? It is impossible to read the Bible without seeing a clear pattern of God speaking to people. Yet because some have not heard God speak to them personally, they conclude that God chooses not to speak today. They are choosing to view Scripture from the vantage point of their experience. Instead, people must learn to view their experience against the backdrop of the Bible. When we do not experience the truths expressed in Scripture, it is our experience that is in question, not the Bible!

Some argue that God revealed in Scripture all we need to know about his nature, his ways, and his purposes. We fully agree! You will not discover a truth about God that he has not expressed through his written Word. So why does God speak to us? He takes the revelation found in his Word and applies it to our lives. When he does, we not only know about him from his revelation in Scripture, but we also know him by experience. Thus we know from the Scriptures that God is love. But we also experience that love personally, so God loves people becomes God loves me.

God does speak to people today, but we don't want you merely to take our word for it. We want you to hear his voice. We want you to experience his guidance. Throughout this book we refer to numerous Scriptures that address the issue of God speaking. It would benefit you to take time to prayerfully read over each verse. Let the Holy Spirit use the words of Scripture to verify the truth of what we are saying. We also cite the examples of some of the great Christians of history. With remarkable consistency, those God has used in mighty ways have been people who heard from God and obediently responded to what he said. We include examples from our own lives. We have both heard God speak to us many times. That does not qualify us as super saints. We believe it makes us normal Christians. We simply testify that we know God speaks to people because he has spoken to us.

Take time to read this book carefully. It may be that through these pages you will hear God speak to you in ways you never have before. Be careful as you read. Throughout Scripture, when people heard God speak, their lives were never the same again. We pray God will clearly speak to you as you read this material. If you have been living your Christian life at a level below what God desires for you, we pray this book will help you begin to enjoy the richest dimensions of the Christian life.