Simply the Bible Blog

“Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.” (Revelation 1:12a, NKJV)

While exiled on the island of Patmos, John the apostle was in the Spirit when he heard a voice behind him that sounded like a trumpet. He turned to see who it was who was speaking to him. God speaks to us in many ways. He speaks to us through His written word; He speaks to us through a still, small voice; He speaks to us through circumstances; He speaks to us through others; He even speaks to us through the universe (Psa 19.1-4). God is always speaking. Our problem is that we’re not always listening. Even when we do listen, we must choose to turn and face Him.

One of the pleasures of writing this blog is receiving feedback from readers. Via Facebook, I have gotten in touch with people who I haven’t seen or heard from for years. The first time I met Michael Gregory I was serving at Warehouse Christian Ministries as an assistant pastor and sound tech. He was (and is) a phenomenal electric guitar player. Now he lives in Nashville, and he often comments on my blog. Yesterday, as I wrote about hearing the Voice, he replied:

“Because our brother John was “in spirit”, he could “turn and see the voice which spoke with me” – he had the proper position and angle to hear and see. Many times in a day I am not “in spirit”, but in myself – in my as-yet-unrenewed mind; my old man. In that place, I cannot hear the Voice. But, “whenever the heart shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16). When the heart turns, we are inclined toward Him and He has a channel through which to speak.”

Michael is absolutely right. In order to really hear the Voice our hearts need to be in the right place–like a radio tuned to the proper frequency. God does not want to shout at us; He wants us to be so close to Him that He can whisper in our ear. Many times we are so self-absorbed that we cannot hear. When we come to the end of ourselves, and are ready to hear what the Spirit is saying, then we can really hear the Voice. At that point it is up to us to turn from what we are doing and face God. When we turn then the veil that has blinded us is taken away. Then we can see the Lord for who He truly is and ourselves for who we are.

God is speaking, but are we listening? Revival begins when we personally respond to the Spirit and turn and face the Lord.