For audio only PPN
Recorded 8/24/2019
Truth of the Spirit episode ‘Recognizing God’s Voice’ hosted by Patti Brunner provides several spiritual exercises for listening to the Lord. Please know that the Lord wants you to hear his voice. Mostly it is the ability to discern God’s voice that the people need help—He speaks to you all the time. If you do not spend time getting to know the Lord in prayer and sacred scripture you cannot recognize his voice. You know the voice of family members because you hear them often when you know it’s them. It’s the same thing with the Lord. We can become most familiar with God’s voice by reading scripture. Also refers to episodes: TOS029 “Praying the Scriptures” with Ken Hunter and TOS053: Basics of Faith I – Basics of Using the Catechism.
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Let us pray: Lord, You are the Shepherd and we are your sheep. The sheep recognize the voice of the Shepherd and follow him. (John 10:4) Help us today to recognize your voice. Help us to block out every distraction and to take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Corinthian 10:5) Help us to be still and know that You are God. (Psalm 46:10) We ask for patience and determination to persevere until You let us find You.
During my last podcast “Listening to the Voice of the Lord” I shared my story of listening. Today on Truth of the Spirit we will discuss Recognizing God’s Voice. I’m your host, Patti Brunner. The best way to discern the voice of the Lord is to become familiar with his voice. Even without caller I.D. you know the voice of family members when they call you on the phone or from another room because you hear them often when you know it’s them. It’s the same thing with the Lord. We can become most familiar with God’s voice by reading scripture. You may notice that various writers of the bible access different attributes of God. This is partially due to the unique personality and experiences of the writer. Like water poured through coffee. The main ingredient is water, the Living Water. As the Father pours through us his Spirit, we, as the salt of the earth, can give a pleasing flavor. If, however, we put too much of ourselves into what comes out it is too “salty” or bitter and is spat out. It is good for nothing but to be poured on the ground. As we discern the voice of the Lord, also known as prophecy, we must expect some of the prophet in the prophecy. When Paul gives his flavor to his letters in the New Testament, we can identify with Paul for our own lives.
When you read some of the journals of the great saints such as St. Faustina and St. Catherine of Siena you can recognize the Lord without a doubt. One time a visiting priest introduced me to a book written by a lady from Texas that at first look seemed devout. But as I read on, it seemed a bit “off”. Purported to be messages from an “angel of light” it seemed to be about attaining superior knowledge about the material things of the world and gave credit to “the Master”, never mentioning the Lord. It didn’t sound like how the Lord sounded when He spoke to me. I spoke to my spiritual mentor and she immediately called the priest who had shared it and he decided to remove it from his book table and stopped recommending it. I now realize it was not the Lord but an angel of darkness who fed the ‘need to know and control’ of Adam. This experience was a strong caution to use the teachings of the Church and the Christian community for discernment.
One of the exercises the Church gives in hearing the voice of the Lord is ‘Lectio Divina’. This is a process of reading and re-reading scriptures. In the Truth of the Spirit episode TOS029 “Praying the Scriptures” Ken Hunter gave one example. I will share another Lectio Divina method that is good for listening to the Word of God that was shared with me.
After you have chosen a passage in the bible, perhaps just a few verses, read it to become acquainted with the Word by gathering the facts presented then spend a couple of minutes “listening”. Secondly, meditate on this passage allowing a friendliness or familiarity to take root. Do this by reading the scripture again and then let Jesus speak to you. Reflect on the message and ask the Lord “What do you want me to learn from this passage today?” Then spend 3 or 4 minutes of quiet time listening. Third is prayer. Prayer is a friendship with the Lord. Read the scripture a third time and this time let your heart speak to God. Trust God enough to become emotionally involved. Let your heart silently speak spontaneous prayer. Allow 4 to 7 minutes of quiet time for this. The final step 4 of this Lectio Divina is contemplation and the union of life. Read the scripture a final time and sit quietly and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart in and through the silence. Allow five minutes more.
Several people in my parish are using the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius for hearing the voice of the Lord in scripture. His suggestions include using your imagination to be present in the scene of the scripture and being aware of sounds, smells, and even colors. Often by using your imagination in this way you open your spiritual awareness.
Please know that the Lord wants you to hear his voice. Usually when something is important in scripture it is repeated. When the Lord brought the tribes of Israel out of Egypt with Moses, God wanted to speak to them. He had Moses instruct them how to hear him and this is repeated at least 5 times in the bible. Twice in Exodus, twice in Deuteronomy, and even repeated in the New Testament in Hebrews chapter 12. Since the people rejected listening because of fear, the Lord commissioned the tribe of Levi to be the priests who would come into his presence. Later on, the Lord gave the people prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah who could hear his voice and then shared the word of the Lord with them. These words were written and were discerned as truth and became part of the Old Testament.
Are there false prophets? Yes, but if you know the Lord and are familiar with His ways you shall not be deceived. So, who is allowed to speak for the Church? As shared in the episode TOS053: Basics of Faith I – Basics of Using the Catechism, included are the councils who discerned the canon of the scripture and the Church Doctors who heard God’s voice interiorly and then shared with all. St. Catherine of Siena, who I mentioned a moment ago, is one of the 36 Doctors of the Church. By declaring certain men and women as ‘doctors’ it means that you can trust their theological or doctrinal teachings. By the power of the Holy Spirit’s gifts, especially wisdom, they discerned truth by listening to the Holy Spirit, prayer and experience. Spend some time not only in scripture but also in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and you will begin to recognize the voice of the Lord!
Let me share with you something from my book Advent Pearls. This is originally from my 2003 journal dated December 11. The Lord said to me: “My child, important moments in your life are usually turning points: births, deaths, marriages, conversions, commitments – look at the Eucharist – it is all these things. What you do afterwards, the choices you make daily, moment to moment, these too are important but all stem from the moment of most importance for those who have accepted Christ into their hearts.”
And here is one from December 2, 2002:
“My Child, whenever you seek my face you shall find Me. I am within you. I am about you. I am among you in the hearts of others. The secret place of the bridal Chamber is reserved for you. Come to Me when you are weary and I will give you comfort and rest.”
So, You may be thinking, well, “Who does she think she is?” saying that she hears from the Lord. Well, I thought that myself . Who am I that my Lord would speak to me? And what he has helped me to realize, in this day, in this day, of our day, He wants to speak to everyone. He wants to speak to everyone.
My husband, who is still seeking for the Lord to speak to him, used to want to give me a list of questions for the Lord. What I finally got him to realize is that when you are in the presence of the Lord, nothing really matters but the Lord. All concerns and anxieties truly melt away. In his peace, a lot of issues just aren’t issues any more. I do seek his specific help when I am preparing to teach and then spend hours verifying things in the scripture, in the catechism and the doctrines of the church. It’s not that I didn’t trust the word of the Lord; it’s me that I didn’t trust. You know, was I really hearing what I thought I was hearing? You know, I wanted to make sure it was the Lord’s word and not someone trying to trick me. Or was it something I had heard somewhere else before and I was just thinking of that. So I always, and I still do, I always verify anything before I teach it with the Church, because God’s word to others, God’s word to authority will always line up because God doesn’t change.
And a sometimes it is real exciting, because there would be things totally new to me, that would really stretch me and then to find it in the documents of the Church. It is just a real joy to do that.
As I include God’s word within my talks, it’s not just God speaking to me; it’s God speaking to you! When the Lord gave it to me, you know, five years ago, six years ago, 20 years ago he had you in mind. And He knew I would be sharing those things with you!
Let me share another spiritual exercise for listening to the Lord that uses the bible. Recall some of the scriptures where God spoke to people in familiar bible stories such as the Garden of Eden; Noah; Abraham ; Moses and the Bush; Moses and the Tent; Moses on the mountain; Samuel with priest Eli; or Paul during his conversion. As you imagine one, put yourself in the location, notice the sounds, smells and then consider God speaking and then write what God said to others in that setting without reading it from the book. Then let God call you by name and write down what you hear next.
Here is another spiritual exercise. Start with a Prayer, a Christian song or a statement of belief like the creed; each of these are a good beginning. Quiet your heart to close the mouth of the world. Set aside those worries – place them in the Lord’s hands. There is nothing that cannot be surrendered. Pray that you might be open. Recall these scriptures: Seek and you shall find, from Isaiah 55:6-9 and Matthew 7:7; knock and it shall be opened unto you. from Matthew 7; Seek with all your heart from Jeremiah 29: 11-14 and I will teach you from 1 John 2, and the Whisper to Elijah from 1 Kings 19:11-13.
Then pause and listen. If nothing is heard, ask the Lord to take you deeper into his presence. If the world is heard: surrender more. If you are not sure, write it down to discern later.
As I prepared to share this topic with you, I heard the Lord say:
Mostly it is the ability to discern my voice that the people need help—I speak to them all the time. If they do not spend time getting to know Me in prayer and sacred scripture they cannot recognize my voice. Open the possibility for them. I do not show favoritism. What I have done for you I will do for others—if they but listen—if they but take the time to listen with their whole heart, their whole mind and their whole soul.
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit and some of the things the Lord has shared with me. I’m Patti Brunner and I invite you to subscribe, it’s free, and to check out some of our previous podcasts and the playlists of the various series. And then come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there is always more!
