Truth of the Spirit episode ‘Did God Say That?” helps you to recognize God’s voice. Patti Brunner provides several spiritual exercises for listening to the Lord to encourage you to know that the Lord wants you to hear his voice. To watch or listen to this episode or to read the transcript blog please continue reading.
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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.”
During my last podcast “The Whispers of God” I shared my story of listening and promised to share some spiritual exercises to help you to identify and hear God’s voice. Today on Truth of the Spirit we will discuss Recognizing God’s Voice with “Did God Say That?” 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. It’s the same thing with the Lord. We can become most familiar with God’s voice by reading scripture. 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. Later in this episode, I will help you with one Lectio Divina method that is good for listening to the Word of God.
St. Peter tells the early Church about when He heard the heavenly voice of God as he encourages them to listen to the Lord’s voice by the gift of prophecy in 2 Peter Chapter 1. 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.
Discernment of prophecy is important. Prophetic proclamations can be of the Lord, they can be the thoughts and words of the prophet, or a combination of the Lord and the prophet, or they can be false. The Lord said to me, “Are there false prophets? Yes, but if you know Me and are familiar with my ways you shall not be deceived. The Lord said to me, “Explain, a little who is allowed to speak for the Church: The councils who discerned the Canon; the Doctors who heard God’s voice interiorly and then shared with all.” The Church councils were made up of the bishops and the pope. When certain men and women are declared by the Church 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, by prayer and experience. If you spend time not only in scripture but also in the Catechism of the Catholic Church you will begin to recognize the voice of the Lord! When you read some of the journals of the great saints such as St. Faustina and St. Catherine of Siena, who is one of the 36 Doctors of the Church, you can recognize the Lord’s voice without a doubt.
One time I came across what I discerned to be false prophecy. 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 me to be about attaining superior knowledge about the material things of the world and gave credit to “the Master”, never mentioning the Lord Jesus, never giving God praise. It just didn’t sound like how the Lord sounded when He spoke to me at all. 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 recognized words in the book was not of 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 because the enemy tries to imitate. Church leaders are very cautious in approving spiritual phenomena for this reason.
Let me share with you something from my book Advent Pearls, 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.” Do you recognize the familiar points of scripture in this word? You may be thinking, “Who am I that my Lord would speak to me?” What He has helped me to realize, in this day, in our day, He wants to speak to everyone. He wants to speak to everyone!
My husband 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 presence, a lot of issues just aren’t issues any more. Very often, over the last 25 years, 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 that He gave me; it’s me that I didn’t trust. You know, was I really hearing what I thought I was hearing? 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 before I teach a word of the Lord I always verify it with the Church. God’s word to others, God’s word to authority will always line up because God doesn’t change. Our own understanding is what changes. Sometimes it is real exciting, because there would be things totally new to me, that would really stretch me and then it was exciting 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, He had you in mind.
Let me share another spiritual exercise for listening to the Lord that uses the bible that the Lord suggested to me. Recall some of the scriptures where people were instructed to listen to God’s voice and to those who hear God’s voice and are commissioned to speak it. These are 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 the priest Eli; or Paul during his conversion. You can use 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. Often by using your imagination in this way you open your spiritual awareness. As you imagine one, such as God speaking to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, 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 is a good beginning. Quiet your heart to close the mouth of the world. Set aside those worries – put 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; “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 noise of the world is heard, surrender more. If you are not sure, write it down to discern later.
Someone I know very well was trying to hear without success. I gave him the Lord’s teaching. I pointed out scriptures, I led him in exercises that allows him to imagine the Lord speaking like He did to Adam and Noah and Moses. This was the Lord’s advice for him: “My child, entering my presence requires an attitude of heart. Your next exercise requires him to list My attributes. Although he believes I can do all things in his ‘head’, his ‘heart’ does not think that includes speaking to him. List my signs and wonders; let him discover who I healed from the Gospel according to Matthew. Tomorrow he should look at one of the episodes from Paul’s experiences told in Acts and by Paul himself. Paul was ‘not worthy’ by his own admission yet I chose to speak to him. To get Paul to listen I had to blind him to remove him from watching the world. Ask him to fast from the world—in “watching or reading” for 3 days. During that time read scripture, listen to holy music, empty out the distractions that move ‘thoughts and focus’ away from my love. Although this man still longs to hear the Lord during prayer, the Lord speaks to him through dreams now, especially to pray for certain people. The Lord spoke to St. Joseph through dreams, too.
Lectio Divina suggests to first choose a scripture, read it, gather the facts, then listen. Second, meditate on the passage allowing a friendliness or familiarity to take root by reading it again then pause after asking the Lord, “What do you want me to learn from this passage today?” Third is prayer. Read it again and trust God enough to become emotionally involved. Let your heart pray spontaneously. 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.
Pray with me: 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. (Jeremiah 29:13-14) Amen.
Let’s practice Lectio Divina with 2 Peter Chapter 1: 17-19 from the New American Bible. “17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
Let’s gather the facts. Jesus heard the Father’s voice and Peter and the other disciples with him, James and John, heard the voice, too. This took place on the mountain during the Transfiguration. The voice of the Lord had majestic glory. Peter uses the example of a lamp during darkness to describe prophetic words. Consider that for a moment.
This scripture is probably not very familiar to you so let’s read it again and let Jesus speak to you. 2 Peter Chapter 1: 17-19. “17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
Reflect on the message and ask the Lord, “What do you want me to learn from this passage today?” As I meditated I understood that Jesus is instructing us to pay attention to the prophetic words, especially in scripture until the day dawns—until the fullness of the Holy Spirit is like a morning star that rises in your heart! I began to consider that the “Majestic glory” was either the Holy Spirit or the realms of angels.
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. 2 Peter Chapter 1: 17-19. “17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
[Spontaneous prayer:] Lord, as you called Peter, James and John to be with you to hear the Father’s voice, call me, too. May your word be in my heart and mind that I might be one with you in your presence now and forever. Make your prophetic words “more sure” in me. (Amen.)
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. 2 Peter 1: 17-19 “17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
(pause)
I hear the Lord saying, “You are my beloved daughter.”
Sometimes whenever I am in this portion of Lectio Divina or just in prayer into that silent mode in the presence of the Lord, people will come and go in the adoration chapel, for example, and I hear nothing, I see nothing; I am just one with the Lord. And time goes very quickly sometimes, and sometimes time seems to stand still. It’s just a time with complete union with the Lord. Try it.
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit and Did God Say That? I’m your host 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 available on our YouTube channel or our website PatriarchMinistries.com. And then, come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there is always more! Amen.
