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SPIRITUAL HEARING

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

—MATTHEW 11:15 ESV

Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

—REVELATION 2:29 NLT

Hearing in the natural is powerful in itself because we are able to hear sound waves even though we can’t see them. Hearing in the spirit or having spiritual hearing is also profound because we are able to hear the sound waves of Heaven. The voice of the Lord can be heard spiritually with our natural ears. Spiritual hearing, I believe, is another remarkable prophetic way God gives revelation. Like spiritual sight, God will give us revelation through what we hear, as clear as someone calling your name audibly.

In the same way that God can open our sight, He is able to speak to us through our ear gates. God has given us one mouth and two ears on purpose. We must be able to hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to us—the church. We have the ability by the Holy Spirit to hear the audible voice of God, angelic voices, heavenly instruments and music, and even the voice of the Holy Spirit quickening us.

I remember a time when God opened my eyes in the realm of the spirit to hear His small still voice. I was in prayer and worship and weeping before the Lord concerning the decision to resign from my job. I didn’t hear the Lord in prayer, but when I got to work ready to do my daily assignment, I heard the Lord say to me aloud in my right ear, “Hakeem, today is your last day.” I was first taken by surprise because I was saying to myself, “Why, Father, did You wait for me to get all the way to work to say that to me?” But the Lord was testing my faith and knew that if He told me in prayer or in the car on the way to work, I wouldn’t obey Him. He waited for me to clock in to work to ultimately clock out once and for all.

When I heard the Lord tell me it was my last day, I immediately went to human resources and resigned without a two weeks’ notice. Ever since that day on September 16, 2016, I never looked back and the Lord catapulted me into full-time ministry. God has given us ears to hear and with that we must listen to understand what He is saying to us daily. God wants to cause our ears to incline to His prophetic voice daily. I love what Isaiah 50:4 declares: “The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.”

God doesn’t just want us to hear His voice daily but heed His instructions. We can train our ears to hear the voice of the Lord. Look at a few Scriptures below:

Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say (Exodus 4:12 NASB).

In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch (Psalm 5:3 NASB).

But I, O Lord, have cried out to You for help, and in the morning my prayer comes before You (Psalm 88:13 NASB).

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words (Psalm 119:147 NASB).

God will give us prophetic instructions daily as we listen attentively with an open heart and mind. To know the voice of God is to know His ways, will, word, and heart. Spending time with the Lord daily will increase our ability to know the voice of God and how He communicates to each of us in a unique way.

When someone calls me and I don’t recognize the voice on the other end of the phone, I will respond, “Who is this?” or, “May I ask who’s calling?” But if I regularly speak to someone, I instantly know the person’s voice and wouldn’t have to ask, “Who’s speaking?” Many of us have to speak to the Lord and allow Him to speak back to us daily in order to know Him more and more. Communing with God sharpens the communication between our Father and His children—speaking of you.