When we are studying Scripture to hear God’s voice – we are actively seeking Him.
We open the Bible, or a devotional that has Scripture in it, and we ask God to open our eyes, and to open our ears to what He is speaking. “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening.”
The Word of God is God’s voice to mankind. So, every time we read Scripture, He is speaking to us. Honestly, He may not address the subject we want Him to address – for instance, if we approach God and say, “Lord, I need the 3 easy steps to becoming a millionaire.” God knows our heart, and He may respond with Philippians 4:11, “Learn how to be content with whatever you have.” Some may call that a season of silence, simply because they did not get the answer they desired or believed they needed.
Or, seeing as God knows your heart, and you approach Him and ask Him how you can make more money to provide for your family and yourself – by the power of the Holy Spirit, He seriously speaks exactly what you need, and says something like, “toss the net on the other side.” “Do this.” You will have a burden on your heart as to what you should do in regards to your finances.
The beauty of a relationship with God is that it is a relationship. One of continual conversation. He commands us to pray without ceasing for a reason – 1 Thessalonians 5:17. He wants to speak to us.
God’s voice is perfect. He will not cater to pride. He calls all those who are prideful and demanding to humble themselves and recognize that He is God – 1 Peter 5:5-6. The humble will hear God’s voice and be glad.
Mountaintop Mornings Devotional – Studying Scripture to Hear God’s Voice
January 10, 2022
What worry do you need to leave with the Lord?
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. * Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. * “Lord, save me!” * “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” * The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe. * He who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. * Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. * Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry. * And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:34 NKJV * Philippians 4:6 NKJV * Matthew 14:30b NKJV * Matthew 8:26 NKJV * Proverbs 29:25 NKJV * Psalm 32:10 NKJV * Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV * Psalm 39:12a NKJV * Matthew 6:13 NKJV
Mountaintop Mornings – A Devotional to Help You Hear God’s Voice
The devotional, Mountaintop Mornings, was designed for multiple purposes – you can study the Scriptures provided, pray the Scripture verses, and write your prayers and insights for 3 years. It is not the Bible, it is a devotional that is purely Scripture pieced together, with every devotion ending in an Amen. The Scripture verses for each devotion run along a similar theme.
Seriously, the Word of God is so amazing and vast. If you look closely, you will see how verses define verses. They truly add a depth of detail that if you gloss over Scripture, you’d miss it. (This is what teachers of the Bible do – they look beneath the surface, and expound upon Scripture so that we have understanding and grow in faith.)
For example, today’s devotion speaks of how to handle our worry. We are humans. Jesus would not say, “Do not worry about tomorrow,” if His creation wouldn’t struggle with worry in regards to their future, worry in regards to what they do not understand, worry in regards to anything that seeks to unsettle them, and/or worry in regards to uncertainty.
Jesus is being directive here, in Matthew 6:34 NKJV, stating, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Point:
- You’ve got enough on your plate, today. Your body was not created to carry the weight of uncertainty of every one of your days in one day. Each day, God gives you the strength for that day. Focus on today. Focus on Jesus. Do not focus on the uncertainty.
Studying Scripture to Hear God’s Voice is Eye-Opening
The next verse is Philippians 4:6 NKJV, and it states, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.“
“Be anxious for nothing” is another phrase for “Don’t worry.” So, technically God is speaking to us here, “Don’t worry, pray, and give thanks to Me for what I have done, and present your requests to Me.” Or, another way of rephrasing it is – “Don’t worry about it, talk to Me and tell me what you need, while remembering and thanking Me for what I have already done.”
So, to see how these two verses add depth to each other, we see God correcting our actions by giving us direction as to what to do when we worry – focus on today and pray.
- You’re worrying about your future. Stop. Focus on today. God is in today. Matthew 6:34
- Don’t worry about that, talk to God about it; and in talking to God about it, thank Him for what He has already done, as you tell Him what you need. Philippians 4:6
God, in these verses, is reminding our humanity of His Sovereignty. He is righting our human impulse behaviors.
Overall, Jesus is righting our reaction or response to uncertainty. We are to talk to Him about it and remember His past deliverances. What I love about Jesus, we can go to Him in regards to anything and He won’t sugarcoat His response to us. He will speak exactly what we need. Jesus loves perfectly, exhorts perfectly, encourages perfectly, and comforts perfectly. He is the example to follow.
Studying Scripture to Hear God’s Voice is Addicting
Following Philippians 4:6 is Matthew 14:30b, where Peter cried out, “Lord save me!”
Peter was walking on the water toward Jesus, but then he began looking around at the waves surrounding him and when he realized how strong the wind was, he grew terrified and began to sink beneath the surface, crying out to the Lord.
Peter was overwhelmed with uncertainty.
After Matthew 14:30b is shared, Matthew 8:26 NKJV follows, where Jesus said, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith.”
Now these verses do not speak of the same story; indicating that more than once to His disciples, who were not new believers, Jesus addressed their worry and fear with – “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith.”
In Matthew 8:26, Jesus was asleep with them in the boat. They had Him right there with them, but he wasn’t awake and they were uncertain of how things would turn out.
These were men who spent every day with Jesus. They heard every one of His teachings. And more than once Jesus said to them, “O you of little faith.”
It’s a simple word for us Christians, we all have room to grow in our faith. This side of heaven, no one has arrived. Honestly, when our worries and fears eclipse our trust in the Lord, where is our faith?
Scripture presents humanity, not fantasy. We all will face situations, where Jesus very well may say to us, “O you of little faith, why are you fearful” or “Why did you doubt Me?” And that simply tells us, well here is a weak spot in our walk of faith and this is where we need to grow. Trusting Jesus Christ with the overwhelming uncertainty that rattles our hearts and minds.
Studying Scripture to Hear God’s Voice is Comforting
The next few verses shared in this devotion are:
The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe. * He who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. * Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.
What do many people worry about? What others think about them, or what others will do to them. They live by social comparison, instead of Christ comparison. Many walk in the fear of man, worrying about what someone will say or do, instead of trusting the Lord who is in control over all His creation.
We are exhorted throughout Scripture to trust in the Lord, for a reason. It is:
- The antidote to the fear of man.
- A guarantee for LORD’s surrounding compassion and understanding.
- The right behavior of a Christian who is reliant upon the Lord, and not on their own self-efficacy.
There are so many verses in the Bible on trusting the Lord and we see how they all present a needed detail in regards to our relationship with Jesus, where God is correcting our human behavior or opening our eyes to what happens when we obey Him.
Studying Scripture to Hear God’s Voice is Delivering
The next two verses shared in this devotion are:
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry. * And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
In Psalm 39:12a, David is crying out to the LORD, asking Him to hear His prayer.
Do we cry out to the Lord asking Him to hear our prayer? We should. It is the best way to overcome worry. Worry will hit – how are we going to handle it? That is what matters. Whatever we are worrying about, we need to leave in the very capable hands of God.
The last verse is from the Lord’s prayer, where Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray. This verse concludes the Lord’s prayer, saying, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Jesus wants us to pray for deliverance from the evil one. He would not have included it in His prayer, teaching how to pray, if it wasn’t needed in this life here on earth. The evil one hits us with worry. The evil one is Satan. Satan wants us to not trust God. His goal is for us to be overwhelmed with intensifying worry, which leads to fear, anxiety, and illogical actions.
Nevertheless, Jesus delivers us from Satan’s attempts by way of His instructions in His Word. God’s Word rights our human behavior, and lead us to right thinking in any given situation.
Will you pray with me?
Abba, we ask that You keep us from yielding to the temptations surrounding us, delivering us from the evil one who wants to defeat us in our Christian walk. We praise You and thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Jesus and His perfect example. You have given us everything we need in in the Bible, and in Yourself – the Trinity, to be victorious here on earth. Please speak to every one of us in how we can best honor You with our gifts and talents. Today, we leave our worries in Your hands, knowing we are Your personal concern – 1 Peter 5:7. We trust You, Lord! In Jesus’ name, Amen.