September 4th, 2026
Have you ever clearly heard the voice of God? I don’t mean an audible voice, but the sound of His Spirit speaking a word of encouragement, conviction, or direction to your heart. The Lord will often speak to us through His Word, through a sermon, or through another person, but it will sometimes be His voice in our hearts. There is nothing more important than knowing we can hear Him. Every word He speaks will align with His Word, which is why it’s so important that we test everything by the authority of Scripture. If we have given our lives to the Lord, we can discern the voice of God, because we were created to know the sound of His voice! John 10:27 says,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
This week, I’ve been thinking about the importance of positioning ourselves to hear Him. It’s not enough to know we can hear His voice if we aren’t actively listening. He wants to speak to us in every detail of our lives. Jesus told a parable that speaks to this truth. Most will know the famous story of a farmer who sowed seed on four different types of soil. Only the seed sown in good soil thrived and bore fruit. Jesus explained the meaning of the parable in Luke 8:9-15, which says,
‘Then His disciples asked Him what this parable meant. He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.” Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. The seeds along the path are those who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away. The seeds that fall among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature. But the seeds on good soil are those with a good and honest heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.”’
Every type of soil represents someone who heard the word. The seed didn’t change; however, each type of soil had a “but.” They heard the word, but it was stolen by the enemy. They heard the word, but they fell away in testing. They heard the word, but it was choked out by worries, riches, and pleasures. As Jesus said, some who heard the word did not understand and bore no fruit. There are those who will hear the word and completely miss the life and power it contains. However, there were those who heard the Word and never lost it. The first qualification was the quality of the soil. It says those who were fruitful had a good and honest heart. A pure heart is the first requirement to clearly hear God’s voice. We can’t hear His Word with any agenda or selfish motive. We must be humble and receptive to every word that God speaks and allow Him to shape us according to His plans. However, that wasn’t the only qualification. Jesus said those who had seed sown on the good soil clung to it and persevered. We must choose to take hold of God’s Word and never let it go! We must choose to love and tend every word that He speaks to us above all else. It’s not enough to live our lives knowing that God speaks and assuming He’ll talk to us if He wants to. We have to prepare our hearts, position ourselves to hear His voice, and cling to every word that He speaks. His Word is our life!
Jesus said just a few verses later in Luke 8:18,
“Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
He said in Matthew 11:15,
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Proverbs 2:2 says,
“…make your ear attentive to wisdom and incline your heart to understanding…”
It’s not enough to know we can hear Him. We have to choose to hear Him!
If we choose to continually listen to the sound of the enemy, the sound of testing, and the sound of the world and our own desires, the seed of God’s Word—the sound of His voice—will be unfruitful in our lives.
It’s possible for our hearts to become calloused to the voice of God.
Hebrews 3:7-8 says,
‘Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness…”’
Hebrews 3:12-13 says,
“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
The word for “harden” in both Hebrews 3:8 and 3:13 means to “become tough.” One scholar said:
‘[It] speaks of a moral and spiritual “hardening,” a progressive resistance that renders the heart insensitive to God’s voice. While a physical callous forms through repeated friction, this hardening develops through repeated unbelief, sin, or the judicial act of God.’
We must ask God to give us soft, receptive hearts to hear His voice. He can remove callouses if we spend time in His presence and allow Him to change, restore, and renew us. He can give us hearts to hear His voice. We can stand in the presence of the Lord and hear things that will change our lives and the lives of those around us. Where are we standing?
Jeremiah 23:16-18 says,
‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, “It shall be well with you”; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, “No disaster shall come upon you.” For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened?’
Just a few verses later, Jeremiah 23:22 says,
“If they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.”
We don’t have to struggle or strive to hear His voice, but simply choose to continually stand in His council. We were created to hear Him, and we can choose to come with humble and open hearts, positioned to hear His voice.
Psalm 1:1-2 says,
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on His law, he meditates day and night.”
This week, let’s position ourselves to hear the voice of the One who loves us more than we will ever know. His voice is peace, strength, hope, and joy. It is healing, clarity, and life. He waits to speak to His people if we will but listen! Let’s take heed how we hear, for the Creator of heaven and earth is speaking. Will we listen to Him? Will we cling to every word He speaks? Will we obey and persevere? If we choose to hear Him, we will see a harvest of blessing in our lives that we could never have imagined. God has given us a choice. We can stand in our own counsel, the counsel of the world, or the counsel of heaven. He won’t force us to listen and obey, but if we will position ourselves to hear Him, He will speak to us the mysteries of heaven. We can stand in the council of the Lord and live in the abundant blessing He has for us!
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
This week, I’ve been thinking about the importance of positioning ourselves to hear Him. It’s not enough to know we can hear His voice if we aren’t actively listening. He wants to speak to us in every detail of our lives. Jesus told a parable that speaks to this truth. Most will know the famous story of a farmer who sowed seed on four different types of soil. Only the seed sown in good soil thrived and bore fruit. Jesus explained the meaning of the parable in Luke 8:9-15, which says,
‘Then His disciples asked Him what this parable meant. He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.” Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. The seeds along the path are those who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away. The seeds that fall among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature. But the seeds on good soil are those with a good and honest heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.”’
Every type of soil represents someone who heard the word. The seed didn’t change; however, each type of soil had a “but.” They heard the word, but it was stolen by the enemy. They heard the word, but they fell away in testing. They heard the word, but it was choked out by worries, riches, and pleasures. As Jesus said, some who heard the word did not understand and bore no fruit. There are those who will hear the word and completely miss the life and power it contains. However, there were those who heard the Word and never lost it. The first qualification was the quality of the soil. It says those who were fruitful had a good and honest heart. A pure heart is the first requirement to clearly hear God’s voice. We can’t hear His Word with any agenda or selfish motive. We must be humble and receptive to every word that God speaks and allow Him to shape us according to His plans. However, that wasn’t the only qualification. Jesus said those who had seed sown on the good soil clung to it and persevered. We must choose to take hold of God’s Word and never let it go! We must choose to love and tend every word that He speaks to us above all else. It’s not enough to live our lives knowing that God speaks and assuming He’ll talk to us if He wants to. We have to prepare our hearts, position ourselves to hear His voice, and cling to every word that He speaks. His Word is our life!
Jesus said just a few verses later in Luke 8:18,
“Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
He said in Matthew 11:15,
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Proverbs 2:2 says,
“…make your ear attentive to wisdom and incline your heart to understanding…”
It’s not enough to know we can hear Him. We have to choose to hear Him!
If we choose to continually listen to the sound of the enemy, the sound of testing, and the sound of the world and our own desires, the seed of God’s Word—the sound of His voice—will be unfruitful in our lives.
It’s possible for our hearts to become calloused to the voice of God.
Hebrews 3:7-8 says,
‘Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness…”’
Hebrews 3:12-13 says,
“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
The word for “harden” in both Hebrews 3:8 and 3:13 means to “become tough.” One scholar said:
‘[It] speaks of a moral and spiritual “hardening,” a progressive resistance that renders the heart insensitive to God’s voice. While a physical callous forms through repeated friction, this hardening develops through repeated unbelief, sin, or the judicial act of God.’
We must ask God to give us soft, receptive hearts to hear His voice. He can remove callouses if we spend time in His presence and allow Him to change, restore, and renew us. He can give us hearts to hear His voice. We can stand in the presence of the Lord and hear things that will change our lives and the lives of those around us. Where are we standing?
Jeremiah 23:16-18 says,
‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, “It shall be well with you”; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, “No disaster shall come upon you.” For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened?’
Just a few verses later, Jeremiah 23:22 says,
“If they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.”
We don’t have to struggle or strive to hear His voice, but simply choose to continually stand in His council. We were created to hear Him, and we can choose to come with humble and open hearts, positioned to hear His voice.
Psalm 1:1-2 says,
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on His law, he meditates day and night.”
This week, let’s position ourselves to hear the voice of the One who loves us more than we will ever know. His voice is peace, strength, hope, and joy. It is healing, clarity, and life. He waits to speak to His people if we will but listen! Let’s take heed how we hear, for the Creator of heaven and earth is speaking. Will we listen to Him? Will we cling to every word He speaks? Will we obey and persevere? If we choose to hear Him, we will see a harvest of blessing in our lives that we could never have imagined. God has given us a choice. We can stand in our own counsel, the counsel of the world, or the counsel of heaven. He won’t force us to listen and obey, but if we will position ourselves to hear Him, He will speak to us the mysteries of heaven. We can stand in the council of the Lord and live in the abundant blessing He has for us!
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