Joyce Meyer: How to Hear from God, Change Your Words Change Your Life, Living Courageously

Joyce Meyer

• Publisher: Hodder Faith
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781473682023
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

HOW TO HEAR FROM GOD - Joyce Meyer shows readers that God reaches out to people every day, seeking a partnership with them to offer guidance and love. She reveals the ways in which God delivers His word and the benefits of asking God for the sensitivity to hear His voice. LIVING COURAGEOUSLY - In this book, Joyce Meyer shows that even though fear will surely challenge you, the Holy Spirit can still help you walk in faith.CHANGE YOUR WORDS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE - Words can poison or heal, start wars or make peace. In CHANGE YOUR WORDS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE, Joyce Meyer sets out a guide to 'smart talk' that will change your life.

www.hodderfaith.com

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the

Holy Bible, New International Version.

Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Quotations marked (KJV) are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Published in association with FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, Inc.

First published in Great Britain in 2016 by

Hodder & Stoughton

An Hachette UK company

Copyright © Joyce Meyer, 2003

The right of Joyce Meyer to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

eBook ISBN 9781444715774

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London EC4Y 0DZ

www.hodderfaith.com

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE: Learning to Listen

1. God Talks to People Every Day

2. Create an Atmosphere to Hear from God

3. God Speaks through Supernatural Revelation

4. God Speaks through Natural Things

5. God Speaks through Internal Peace

6. God Speaks through Conviction

7. Develop a “Reining Ear”

PART TWO: Learning to Obey

8. Obedience Keeps Our Conscience Tender

9. We Can Know Only in Part

10. God Opens and Shuts Doors of Opportunity

11. Hindrances to Hearing God

12. Keep Your Receiver Deceiver Free

13. Sanctify Your Ears unto the Lord

14. Enjoy the Spirit-Led Life

NOTES

INTRODUCTION

Learning to hear from God and be led by the Holy Spirit is very exciting. God wants to speak to us about the plan He has for our lives. His plan is a good plan, but we are in danger of missing it if we don’t learn how to listen to and obey God’s voice.

We talk to our children all the time—why wouldn’t our heavenly Father talk to His children? We would not expect our children to know what we wanted them to do if we did not talk to them, so why would God feel any different?

God wants to speak to us about the good plan He has for our lives. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in us and be our Counselor and Helper in life as well as other things. John 14:26 says that He will teach us all things and will bring to our remembrance things God has taught us. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth; therefore, He will lead us into truth, not error.

God speaks to us in many ways; they include but are not limited to: His Word, nature, people, circumstances, peace, wisdom, supernatural intervention, dreams, visions, and what we call the inner witness. The inner witness is best described as a “knowing” deep inside. He also speaks in what the Bible calls a still, small voice, which I believe refers to this inner witness.

God also speaks through our conscience, our desires, and an audible voice. Hearing the audible voice of God is rare for most people and nonexistent for many. I have heard the audible voice of God three or four times in my life. Two of those times were at night when I was awakened by His voice simply calling my name. All I heard was, “Joyce,” but I knew it was God calling me. He did not say what He wanted, but I knew instinctively it had something to do with a ministry call on my life, although clarity did not come in that area for several more years.

I heard the audible voice of God the day I was filled with the Holy Spirit in February 1976. That morning I cried out to God about how awful my life was, telling Him something was missing in my relationship with Him. I felt I was at the end of my rope, so to speak.

His voice seemed to fill my entire car, and He simply said, “Joyce, I have been teaching you patience.” Since that was my first time to hear anything of that magnitude, it both thrilled and shocked me. I instinctively knew what He meant. Several months prior to that time I had asked God to teach me patience, not realizing the lesson would include a lengthy period of feeling my life was on hold. The frustration of that feeling peaked that morning in February when I cried out to God in desperation, asking Him to do something and give me whatever it was I was missing.

When I heard God’s voice, I was suddenly filled with faith that He was going to do something wonderful in my life. Although I did not know what it would be, I spent the day in expectation and thanksgiving. That evening in my car, while returning home from my job, God’s Spirit touched me in a special way and filled me with His presence. That event was the beginning of a new level in my relationship with God. I think it is safe to say that every new level in God is preceded by His speaking to us in some way.

Ask God to open your ears and sanctify them so you can be sensitive to His voice. He wants to talk to you, to develop a closer relationship with you. It is your privilege and right as a born-again believer in Jesus Christ to fellowship daily with God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

We should ask God to circumcise our ears so that we are not distracted by fleshly desires that keep us from hearing His still, small voice. We must learn to listen, for it is impossible to hear without listening. We should learn to love solitude and be sure we enjoy it regularly. We don’t hear God very well when our lives are noisy and overly busy. This book will help you learn to create an atmosphere in your life that is conducive to hearing from God.

The Bible tells us that our steps are ordered by the Lord (see Psalm 37:23), and we can trust Him not to let us lose our way. In this book I will share with you how to overcome some of the hindrances to hearing God speak and how to develop a tender conscience that is tuned to the sound of God’s voice.

This book will help you enjoy the pleasure of living a Spirit-led life. It will show you how to hear from God and not let Satan, the deceiver, lead you astray.

PART ONE

Learning to Listen

Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has [spiritual knowledge] will more be given; and from him who does not have [spiritual knowledge], even what he thinks and guesses and supposes that he has will be taken away.

——JESUS IN LUKE 8:18

1

God Talks to People Every Day

The world makes it easy for us to fill our ears with all kinds of things that drown out the voice of God and push Him far, far into the background of our lives. However, the day comes for every person when only God remains. Everything else in life eventually passes away; when it does, God will still be there.

The Word of God teaches that what is known about God is evident to all because He has made Himself known in the inner consciousness of mankind (see Romans 1:19-21). Each person will someday stand before Him and give an account of his or her life (see Romans 14:12). When people don’t want to serve God with their lives, when they want to go their own way, they find ways to hide from and ignore this instinctive inner knowledge of their Creator who wants to talk to them and guide them in the way they should go.

Nothing can satisfy our longing for God, except communion and fellowship with Him. Isaiah expressed well our own hunger for God when he wrote, “My soul yearns for You [O Lord] in the night, yes, my spirit within me seeks You earnestly” (Isaiah 26:9). The apostle John wrote, “And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever” (1 John 2:17).

Hearing from God is vital to enjoying God’s eternal plan for our lives. Listening to God is our decision; no one else can make it for us. God won’t force us to choose His will, but He will do everything He can to encourage us to say yes to His ways.

God wants to be involved in even the smallest details of our lives. His Word tells us to acknowledge Him in all our ways, and He will direct our paths (see Proverbs 3:6). To acknowledge God is to care what He thinks and to ask for His opinion. Verse 7 of Proverbs 3 says, “Be not wise in your own eyes.” In other words, don’t even think that you can run your life and do a good job without God’s help and direction. It takes most of us far too long to learn this important lesson.

Even though I sincerely loved Jesus, I went to church for years without knowing that God talks to people. I observed all the religious rules and holidays and went to church every Sunday. I was really doing all that I knew to do at that time, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy my longing for God.

I could have spent every moment in church or in Bible study, but it wouldn’t have quenched the thirst I had for a deeper fellowship with the Lord. I needed to talk to Him about my past and hear Him talk to me about my future. But nobody taught me that God wanted to talk directly to me. No one offered a solution for the dissatisfied feelings I endured.

Through reading the Word, I learned that God does want to talk to us and that He has a plan for our lives that will lead us to a place of peace and contentment. It is God’s will for us to attain knowledge of His plan through His divine guidance. It sounds like a pretty foundational point, but I believe there are many people who still question whether God really talks to people. And if He does, they wonder:

• Is God really involved on a day-to-day basis in running our lives?
• Does He really want to be involved in all the little tiny details of our lives?
• Should we only bother God and expect to hear from Him concerning major issues that we can’t handle ourselves?

The Bible teaches that God has a good plan for all those who will put their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. His plan is complete in great detail, and it will lead all who follow Him to an abundant life.

But I am convinced that only a few ever enjoy the fulfillment of God’s perfect plan for their lives because most people don’t know how to listen to God’s leading and follow Him. Instead, they choose (either willfully or ignorantly) to go their own way. More people could walk in the perfect will of God if they would learn how to hear from Him and follow His instructions.

Never hesitate to take what you think are small things to God; after all, everything is small to God. Sometimes we act as if we think we will tax God’s ability if we ask Him for too much help. I remember a woman who came to me for prayer. She wanted to know if it would be all right if she asked God for two things; if not, she assured me that she would only ask for one.

It is vital to know what God’s Word says about His role in your life, because it confirms His divine plan to be intimately involved with all that concerns you. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV).

Jesus told His disciples, “I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth)” (John 16:12-13). He also said that the Holy Spirit would continue to teach us all things and bring to our remembrance all that God has said through His Word (see John 14:26).

When Jesus spoke these words, He was talking to men with whom He had spent the previous three years. They had been with Him day and night, yet He indicated that He had more to teach them. We would think that if Jesus was with us personally for three years, day and night, we would have learned all there is to know. I think that if I had one uninterrupted month with people, I could tell them everything I know. But Jesus said to expect more because He will always have something to say to us about new situations we are facing.

Jesus always knew what was the right thing to do because He only did what He saw His Father do. As our Lord, we can trust Him to lead us to the right path every day. He is the only begotten Son of God, but we are also adopted sons and daughters of God, and we are to imitate Him in all we do. He became flesh and experienced all of the things we experience, so He understands our needs. He was baptized in the Holy Ghost, just as we are to be baptized in the Holy Ghost (see John 1:32-33). And He was led by the Spirit, just as we can be led by the Spirit, because He ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.

In John 16:13 Jesus continued to explain the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, saying, “For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• About the Author
• Copyright
• Contents
• How to Hear From God: Learn to Know His Voice and Make Right Decisions
• Change Your Words, Change Your Life
• Living Courageously
• Other Books by Joyce Meyer