When Paul at the Areopagus addresses the crowd in Acts 17 and says “Look to this unknown god” he points to an idol that cannot speak back to the audience. Even today we still have our idols be it money, celebrity, reputation, or our work. These idols fill the place of God, and they can’t speak back to us.

The good news is, we have a God who speaks. Throughout Scripture he speaks to the nation of Israel through mediators and prophets, then he speaks through the person of Jesus to us, the Word made flesh. Jesus then says that it is better that he would leave so that the helper would come and dwell in each of our hearts. He sent his Spirit that we might hear him speaking directly to us and he has also given us the amazing gift of the Bible that we might hear him speak to us through it.

In John 10, Jesus says that he is the good shepherd, and his sheep know his voice when he calls. My father is a farmer and when he calls his cattle, they know his call and they come running to him. If someone else were to call in a different way they wouldn’t come near them. If we want to know the voice of God, we need to learn what he says through Scripture so that when we feel led or guided to do something that is aligned to Scripture, we can know that it is God speaking to us.

When my wife phones me on a different phone number and I pick up and hear “Hello” I don’t need to ask who it is. I know from her voice that it is her because I know her voice so well. I wonder do we know God’s voice like that. I know my wife’s voice because I have spent so much time listening to it, and her rhythms and patterns of speech. How often do we spend time just listening to God’s voice through the gentle whisper of the Spirit?

How do we get to know his voice? By spending time with him, in silence, in worship, in prayer, and in his Word. Today take some time to speak to the Lord and thank him that he speaks in return.