Priscilla Shirer - He Speaks to Me: Preparing to Hear the Voice of God

P ART 1
A S IMPLE R ELATIONSHIP

P ART 2
A S INGLE -M INDED W ORSHIP

P ART 3
A S ET -A PART H OLINESS

P ART 4
A S TILL A TTENTIVENESS

P ART 5
A S OLD -O UT H UNGER

P ART 6
A S ERVANT SPIRIT

T o my sweet husband, Jerry: I was surprised that God called me into ministry ten years ago, but I am astounded at what God has done since He called us into ministry six years ago. Thank you for being my life partner in both marriage and ministry. Who would have guessed that God had this in mind for us?

To the Moody Publishers family: Thank you for the purity with which you serve the Master in your work. God does great things through you. I am so blessed to be serving with you to teach Gods Word to Gods women.

To my new friend, Judith: I am amazed! Thank you for making my thoughts palatable to readers. Youve made it easy for them to digest the meaty biblical principles found in these pages. I hope we get to do it again soon!

A s I stared at the title to this book, I felt the emotion well in my throat. At the risk of sounding dramatic, I cant think of a spiritual reality that moves and astonishes me more on a daily basis than Gods willingness to speak to us and give us ears to hear. I never get over feeling completely amazed any time something confirms that I really did hear God on a matter. To me, the whole process is miraculous. The first recorded words out of the mouth of God erupted a universe out of absolute nothingness. His words alter anything that truly hears them. You and I want to hear them. Discern them. Respond to them.

Communication is the essence of all relationships. Like most married couples, my husband, Keith, and I have very different personalities and ways of expressing ourselves. Weve had to learn how to read one another and speak one anothers language. I remember days when my daughters would try to tell me something from one end of the house while I was in the other. So much lay between uswalls, radios, a blaring TVthat I could faintly hear their voices but I couldnt understand what they were saying. Come closer so I can hear you better! Without the ability to speak, hear, and respond, we d never have experienced true family. The only thing interacting would have been our dirty clothes in the washer.

Id heard of Priscilla Shirer for a year or two before I finally got to meet her face-to-face. I knew I was going to be impressed with her because Id heard such wonderful things from people whose taste I trusted. Still, I was totally floored. Not only was she beautiful, articulate, and smart, she was warm and extremely likeable. I might have been jealous of Priscillashes so darling, wise, and young, after allbut her way so disarming I couldnt be anything but drawn to her. If you dont know her already, may I have the honor of introducing you to my little sister in Christ and my soul sister in the study of Gods Word? Please meet Priscilla Shirer. Study with her, learn from her, and fall in love with her. This study wont be her last but, for starters, what topic could be more critical than learning to position ourselves to hear the voice of God and respond to it?

I cant wait to see what Gods going to do with Priscilla. Ill be cheering her on all the way while choking on the dust.

Go, girl. Im nuts about you.

W hile I was growing up, my grandmother always gave my older sister a box of clothes and shoes for Christmas. Every year a box arrived with Chrystals name on it, and every year I watched her unpack all the goodies. Inside was the beautiful kind of clothes little girls used to weardresses with big frills at the bottom and patent leather shoes.

I didnt mind that the box was for my sister. In fact, I would get excited watching her unwrap everything because I knew that eventually she would outgrow it, and it would be mine. But something happened to me when I was about nine or ten. Suddenly when I watched Chrystal unwrap the box, I wasnt as happy anymore. I no longer wanted hand-me-downs. I wanted my own giftone that had been picked out especially for me.

As believers, we oftentimes get used to and even become dependent upon hand-me-down revelations about God. We allow others to spoon-feed us the Word of God. But as you mature spiritually, dont you want God to send you a special gift-wrapped message with your name on itfor Him to reveal something very specific about your life? When that time comes, you need to know how to listen for His voice.