Hearing God Speak (3)

Anneta Pinto-Young 2 Minutes
“Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed”” (2 Chronicles 20:20).

The third way that I believe that we hear from God is through the spoken word. This is often from the voice of teachers, pastors, preachers and prophets who act as orators of God. Priests and religious leaders do not hold the same place within the New Testament as they did in the Old Testament. What I mean is that in the Old Testament, only the Priests and Levites could enter into the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifices unto God on behalf of the people (Exodus 20).

After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the veil in the temple was torn open (Matthew 27:51). This symbolised the final atonement for our sins by Jesus’s blood. It also meant that the Holy of Holies (presence of God) was now accessible to anyone who accepted Jesus Christ. As such we can approach God in prayer individually and we can also hear from God individually. Despite these changes during the crucifixion, there is still an active role for the five fold ministries within the New Testament. “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11).

Paul said that the ministries have been appointed to equip and build up the body of Christ, in preparation for Christ’s return. This means that we need Pastors, Prophets and Evangelists to help to guide and support the church. There is also a place for the prophetic voice to confirm God’s word to his people. This can be in the form of sermons, a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge and a word of prophecy. We are responsible for testing the spirits, to see whether they are from God or from the devil and be weary of false prophets.

Very often the Holy Spirit within us will witness to us, whether or not someone has the spirit of God within them (Romans 8:16). How we hear a word and confirm that the word is for us, is when it confirms what we have heard in our spirit. Often you may have a private conversation with God in prayer, where you ask specific questions or you bring a need before him. Sometimes soon after, you may hear a sermon which confirms the exact word that you heard from God earlier in your quiet time. At other times the sermon may answer the specific questions which you were asking. Sometimes a word may come to convict of sin or bring correction from wrong doing.

Have you ever attended church and felt like the preacher was speaking directly to you? There are other times when God may ask someone with a spiritual gift, to speak to you directly to relay the answer to something that you were praying about. You will know for sure that it is God, because only God heard your conversation with him. Very often, God will send many different confirmations over a short period of time to assure you that he has spoken. These are times when we can say with confidence that we have heard from God. The more we listen and take notice of what God is saying, is the more that God will continue to speak to us. This is because he can trust that we will listen. “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them’” (Luke 16:29).

A.P.-Y.

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Published by Anneta Pinto-Young

I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession. Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm. I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing. I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.

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16 thoughts on “Hearing God Speak (3)”

  2. Synchronicity just means, as I understand, unexplainable coincidences. I had a breakdown and I was seeing coincidences all over. So I am Bipolar and doctors explain away my coincidences as delusional and as symptoms of psychosis. Maybe they can be explained away like that but I know one incident that can’t be explained. I was working in a library at the time. I was able to function. But one day I had prickly feelings all over my scalp. I don’t know why. So I did what I did a lot of… went to the reference section of the library and pulled out a one volume encyclopedia and opened it at random. I put my finger on the page and there was a picture of Christ with the crown of thorns. I knew God was with me then although I couldn’t explain it. I was put on heavy duty medication and still had religious feelings but the synchronicities slowly disappeared. I miss them but God gave me a wonderful husband once I was stabilized. No one can explain the crown of thorns to me though. As a preacher, what do you think?

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    1. Thanks for sharing that experience with me and explaining a bit more. I think science is always at odds with religion and faith and both often stand in direct opposition to each other. I think there are many things that people of faith experience, including healing and miracles that scientists will try to explain away as coincidence or rationalise in other ways. This is why faith requires childlike simplicity and the ability to believe that God is who he says he is. Many people hear God and without an understanding of faith can assume that these are delusions. I am a trained Social Worker so I understand mental health and the behavioural sciences. I also understand the things of faith and know that God speaks to his children both audibly and through signs. That picture was most probably God’s way of saying that he sees you, he loves you, cares for you and died to have a relationship with you. That’s what I believe. ❤️🙏🏾🩷

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      1. Your interpretation sounds right to me. It was a very hard time so it makes sense… what you say. Thank you for listening and giving your thoughts. I will continue to treasure that and other synchronicities. That was the one that I knew was not delusional. It’s been 50 years and I remember it like yesterday. Anyhow thank you. I am going to reread all you said. 🙏🏽❤️

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  3. The ministries available to us are specifically that we may grow into mature believers, steadfast and able to condemn the contradictions that would have us wavering like the leaf in the wind.

    I do see a shift in the old testament to the new, where once there was a priesthood, scribes and pharisees, while since the coming of the Holy Spirit, now it is us who believe, which are now handling the Word, being those helps to the ministries that have been placced there for us, that we may be those ministries to help ground and settle believers in their walk with God.

    Bless you Anneta

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  4. Thank you so much, Anneta. Have been rethinking it all. Your replies to me today meant a lot to me. A lot to think about. Your post stirred the pot. Really got things cooking. Now to digest.

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      3. I wrote a post about “synchronicity” and mentioned my experience and your comment. I didn’t use your name because I thought you might not want it on my blog, but if you’d like I will. The post is the first after the introduction on: StockdaleWolfe.com but don’t feel obligated to look.❣️🙏🏽

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