At Mount Sinai God spoke to the
Israelites directly from the mountain. There He gave them the ten
commandments. He spoke to them directly from the mountain. And
instead of a feeling of awe and wonder, the Israelites trembled
with fear.
"When the people heard the thunder
and the loud blast of the horn, and when they saw the lightning and
the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance,
trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, "You tell us what God
says, and we will listen. But don't let God speak directly to us.
If He does, we will die!" Exodus 20:18, 19
The people were scared to bits and
basically begged Moses not to let the Lord speak to them again.
They were supposed to be a kingdom of priests, communicating with
their God, but they didn't want to, they preferred that someone
else hear His message on behalf of them.
As I have discussed before, we are
a kingdom of priests too. We are priests who are able to hear God's
Voice and to hear His direction for our lives. We can hear it
ourselves. But I think a lot of us pass the buck and rather ask
other people to hear on our behalf. I know lovely Christians who
drive from one Christian counselor to another, to hear what God
wants to tell them about their lives and about their present
situations, rather than hearing from God themselves.
I was like that too. I wanted to
know what God wanted me to do and when I heard of someone that
people say gave them a prophecy or Word from God, I was there! I
desperately wanted messages from God! It was only when one of the
counselors told me that I need to hear from God myself, that I
realized that it was true. We all have the capability to hear God's
Voice. How? Through His Word, through spending time alone with Him,
by keeping a journal, through dreams or even by receiving a
word/prophecy from someone else.
Yes, you can receive a word or a
prophecy from someone else too, but don't let them be your first
'stop'. Let God speak to you first and only then ask for
confirmation from other people. There is nothing wrong with asking
other people, but don't give up your authority as a priest. Go to
God first and the more you do, the clearer His voice will become.
Otherwise you might just end up like the Israelites, with God only
speaking to Moses and not speaking to them.
Father God, please help us to hear
Your voice loud and clear. Forgive us if we prefer to hear more
clearly from friends and counselors instead of from You. We want to
hear from You. Thank you Lord that You have given us the ability to
do just that. Amen