Tags
confession, David, forgiveness, God's voice, God's word, hearing God, instruct, instruction, Jesus, Petrie Island, teach
Reading: Psalm 32
(Verses 8-11)
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart! (NIV)
Reflection
In Psalm 32 God speaks back. David begins this psalm and we clearly can hear his voice addressing us, as he tells how wonderful it is to be forgiven. He then goes on to speak of his own struggle with unconfessed sin. Finally, he tells us of the great relief he experienced as he is pardoned and restored to a place of close fellowship with the LORD. But then abruptly in verse eight, we hear a different voice. God is speaking. The LORD responds to what David has said. Through this psalm David is modelling true prayer. This psalm is two-way communication.
Petrie Island sunset — photo by David Kitz
We have heard David’s words; let’s hear God’s words now. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
Clearly this is not the voice of David. David is not going to counsel and watch over us. This is the work of the LORD. The LORD will teach and guide us. It is His role to shepherd the flock of His pasture.
These words, from verse eight to the end of this psalm are coming from the LORD. David has heard God speak, and now he is passing on this message from the LORD directly to us. In this respect David is fulfilling the role of a prophet. He is acting as God’s spokesperson. In fact in Acts 2:30, Peter asserts that David was a prophet. And what is a prophet? In the simplest terms, it is someone who hears God, and then passes on God’s message to others.
Do you hear God? This is no idle, rhetorical question. It is essential to our Christian faith that we as believers hear the voice of God. I would go so far as to say, that you cannot experience salvation unless you first hear God. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” John 10:27-28a (NIV).
In short, we must be able to hear Jesus in order to follow Him, and it is in following Him that we receive eternal life. Hearing God’s voice is of paramount importance.
Response: LORD God, give me ears to hear what you have to say to me. Please instruct me and teach me in the way I should go. Then give me grace to obey. I put my trust in you, O LORD. Amen.
Your Turn: Do you hear God’s voice? How does He speak to you? Have you heard the Lord’s voice recently? How do you distinguish God’s voice from all the other voices that you hear?
I love the Psalms 
Beautiful reflections. Thank you.
Thanks, Peter. Keep listening for the Lord’s voice.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
This is a glorious confirmation for me.
While it doesn’t speak specifically about the literal voice of God,
I, in fact heard Him audibly speak specifically to me on three occasions that I’d asked of Him. (correction, once He just put a word in my ear).
They were life affirming and life changing. (well, that statement was redundant!).
The first two proceeded to close my mouth in stark awareness of His message that affirmed the fact that He and I were engaged, connected. The third one was to tell me to stop trying to control, what I thought was mine.
All of the messages came into my right ear. Not a thought generated from my own processes. That’s how I knew it was Him. It wasn’t derived from what actions, or analysis of what I was doing at the time.
I Praise Him for sticking His power in my business. (in my life).
Those are powerful moments. I had two occasions when I heard the audible voice of God. One of those times I was awakened by the voice of God with a specific instruction. Of course, God can also speak to us through his word and through others, but nothing hinders God from speaking to us audibly. The big question is are my ears open hear and listen for His voice?
Those experiences firmly, concretely, affirmed my relationship with Him. Now, when I wake up and take that first breath, it’s another day of knowing I’m still here on this fallen world, but I have another assurance of Him with me and me with Him.
Yes, He does speak!!
He certainly does. Charlene, may we both hear His voice.
Thanks for sharing! I just asked the Lord a specific question less than an hour ago! I will note how He will speak on this occasion for it is very critical! May I hear you right Lord, as you speak! Thanks for this pointer!
Amen! God grant us both listening ears.
God give us all ears to hear your voice.
This is beautiful!
Thanks, Lydia. Glad to know you were blessed.
It looks like you are mixing two Biblical characters, on one hand the eternal omniscient Spirit no man can see, and on the other hand the Nazarene master teacher from the tribe of David who is called the son of man and son of God. Jesus is the way to God but not to himself. He is the sent one from God and the son of God, to whom we should listen as well and in whose footsteps we also should step, worshipping the same God as him and not making him into our god.
Marcus, I see you do not believe in the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We could debate this at great length, but I would rather not do it through this blog post.
That’s fine. All respect and hoping one day you shall come to find the Biblical truth.
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