“For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.'” ~Hebrews 3:14-15

I don’t know about you but I have a hard time hearing God’s voice, or at least knowing if I am being led by God or by my own vices. Sometimes it is obvious; sometimes not so much. I can lose sleep over John 10:27: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

I marvel at the Israelites who said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:19). Someone said that this was when God stopped speaking to people directly and started using prophets. Today, we don’t even have many prophets we can trust to accurately relay God’s words to us.

I feel like the biggest problem in today’s society is all the distractions. People are afraid to be quiet so they fill their time with activities, and when they don’t have anything on the calendar, there is always television. As we go into another year, I want to challenge you to change your priorities. If you do not have at least one hour a day that you can spend alone with the Lord, evaluate what you can cut out in order to fit Him into your schedule. It’s true that you can pray on the run, but what kind of a relationship is that? God may go with you and help you to accomplish a lot but you still need time to talk to Him, to share what’s on your heart and listen to what is on His. The more time you spend with Him, the more you will learn to discern His voice from everyone else’s. You can then sing with new conviction:

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share
As we tarry there
None other has ever known