Many people struggle to hear God when they turn away from their Father and into sin, only hearing what they want to hear.
But excuses won’t help change God’s mind; He will still call them out on their ways and demand they change them.
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Reason 1: He was tired of hearing arguments
God has often been seen as an infinite personal Being who created the universe, to whom religious people pray and who intervenes when asked. Jewish, Christian and Muslim philosophers have proposed various theories regarding such a deity; some claim the Bible contains divine messages within its pages that reveal Him directly.
However, these theories have been challenged by scholars. Early Christians believed that God spoke directly to them through scripture – indeed some writers of the New Testament employed direct speech from God – yet this idea has since been disproved by scholars like Wolterstorff and Williamson who point out how symbolic the biblical language of revelation really is.
While it is true that God can speak audibly to people on rare occasions in Scripture after Jesus Christ’s time, these events were rarer still during human history’s earlier periods and not repeated explicitly after Christ died. Furthermore, conversations occurred over many millennia of human development without always being direct and clear – sometimes internal voices could just as well come through or impressions left in your mind.
If we want to hear God speak clearly, we need to spend time in His Word and listen for His voice there. Additionally, it’s important that we are open and accepting of what He says otherwise all that will come through is what we want to hear instead of truly hearing what He’s telling us.
At this juncture, it is vitally important to remember that God does not contradict his own Word and warns in Revelation 22:18 against anyone adding anything extra. Anyone adding to God’s word will come under His curses.
Reason 2: He was tired of people challenging Him
As Scripture shows, God often speaks through dreams, visions, angelic visitations, impressions and Scripture reflection. Unfortunately, His message often escapes our notice when our world and hearts become noisy – thus leading us to misinterpret His message when not listening carefully enough.
Genesis 6:9 may imply that God was sorrowful or disappointed that He created humanity, yet open theists interpret this passage to mean that He does experience genuine emotions when responding to different situations and can occasionally change his mind; they contend this does not indicate He regretted creating humanity or second-guessed Himself.
Does God get angry with humans’ constant rebellion? No; He didn’t foresee this consequence of humans’ extreme sinful behavior that He didn’t predict; thus forcing Him to change his plans accordingly.
As we consider hearing God in an audible voice, it is crucial that whatever we hear must always align with what He has already stated. We should compare His words against what is already written in the Bible to ensure they make sense. Furthermore, reading and studying His perfect Word is the only sure way we can hear his voice and ensure what He tells us will not contradict Himself – so start reading today if you are new to Christianity!
Reason 3: He was tired of people not listening
The Bible records God speaking audibly to people a few times (Moses at the burning bush, Samuel in the temple, and others). However, these instances are the exception rather than the rule. We can’t expect to hear from God as frequently as those examples, especially since they happened over a period of thousands of years!
Regardless of how God speaks to us, the key is to make sure that what we hear is in accordance with His Word. This means comparing it with Scripture before accepting it as the voice of God. We also need to spend time in His Word to develop spiritual ears to hear Him.
If you have a hard time hearing God, it could be that you are listening for what you want to hear. If this is the case, you will doubt everything that He says even when He is speaking to you! This is a common problem for Christians who feel like they have gone through a Dark Night. Well-meaning people may try to help you by telling you to pray more, read the Psalms, or volunteer at a soup kitchen, but these things will only work if your heart is still.
If you are not willing to listen for what He is saying, you will never hear from Him. Instead, you will need to ask Him for grace to open your ears and accept His voice. He will speak to you in a variety of ways, including dreams, prophecies, and sermons. He will always be speaking, but you must remain open to Him and willing to hear what He has to say! Remember that he opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6), and that He is near those who are brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). So, don’t give up!
Reason 4: He was tired of people adding to His word
The Bible records God speaking through dreams, visions, angelic visitations, impressions, reflection on Scripture and other forms of revelation. However, hearing an audible voice from Him in Scripture is extremely rare; instances when this occurred were Jesus baptism, Transfiguration and shortly before His Crucifixion.
God speaks to us through anthropomorphisms, or non-literal descriptions that use human terms such as “his hand reached out” or “he looked down”. While He doesn’t actually possess hands and eyes, the authors of the Bible use these terms to help make Him more understandable for humans. Unfortunately, however, when these anthropomorphisms are taken too literally they can cause people to think they’re hearing His voice when in reality they aren’t.
God spoke through angels often in the Old Testament as a means of communicating His law to mankind before the written Bible was in existence. Unfortunately, this often meant speaking on His behalf with men who weren’t deserving to hear what He had to offer due to their sinfulness and were therefore incapable of receiving His grace and acceptance of Him as their Saviour.
One reason that God may appear distant is due to your sin and non-followership of Christ. But once your soul has been cleansed through Jesus’ blood, the voice of God should become audible in dreams, prophecies or sermons – if only you spent enough time reading his word so as to recognize when it speaks back!
Reason 5: He was tired of people adding to His curses
As a loving father, God didn’t want people to add their own curses onto His. To stop this from happening, He used an angel to kill Balaam and turn his curse into a blessing (Numbers 22).
But some individuals were determined to push God away, adding their own words into His conversations with them. They argued that He was unfair in His condemnations of their sins, refused to comply with His instructions, and even misused the Temple of Holy Spirit. Finally, He decided that enough was enough and stopped communicating with them altogether.
God was often present among his people during the Old Testament through dreams, visions, angelic visitations, impressions and reflections on Scripture – even audibly on three occasions: at Jesus baptism, before His Transfiguration and before His Crucifixion. However, following Malachi, God seems to have become less vocal.
Some may feel as though God is silent because they’re not spending enough time with His Word, particularly studying His word and reading His Bible. Spending more time reading will make hearing God easier; but, it’s also important to keep in mind that personal sin may get in the way.
One such cursed story involves Cain killing his brother Abel and being punished with restlessness as punishment, or when Noah cursed Canaan because of Ham’s lewdness. Additionally, Psalms contain numerous references to curses being spoken against enemies by judges or kings during that era.
