Four Keys to Hearing God’s Voice By Dr. Mark Virkler and my paraphrase to shorten the Lesson

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We live in an Era (age ) where we use analyical thought and if things don't make sense to us we doubt it could be possible!  If one should make a statement, "I Hear God" Many just roll their eyes and walk on by hoping to get away from the crazy person speaking!  If you've read the bible or heard stories even in Sunday School you might realize that is is written that many heard God's voice.  So your thought process might have changed somewhat but then there is this bad teaching that only "Special People"  can hear God!  

Even in Old Testament days, the people of God sent Moses up the mountain to get the Ten Commandments for them because they feared God and thought they would die if they came into his presence!   So I understand how people don't get the real gist of what hearing from God really means!  Have I ever heard the audible voice of God?  Only one time and he was calling my name, but honestly other's were present and they did not hear a thing!

Even Dr. Mark Virkler struggled to hear from God because he thought if I do this or that I will hear an audible voice but he didn't and he thought (my paraphrase) I don't hear anything but silence!  But the good news is that he learned over time that fasting, praying, studying the Bible and listening for that audible voice was not in the cards for him!  But he did finally figure it out and learned  4 important Keys to hear God's Voice! 

God taught Him four keys that opened the door to two-way prayer and he says, ."I have discovered that not only do they work for me, but they have worked for many thousands of believers who have been taught to use them, bringing tremendous intimacy to their Christian experience and transforming their very way of living. This will happen to you also as you seek God, utilizing the following four keys. They are all found in Habakkuk 2:1,2. I encourage you to read this passage before going on. 

Key # 1 = God's voice Mark relates is like a flow of spontaneious thoughts.    How do you tune in to those thoughts?  You must get quiet and perhaps relax and I have found that if I listen to instrumental Christian music it helps me to tune in and I like to listen to Julie True and her music is peaceful, anointed and quiet and helps to quieten down the noises in the background!  

We can tune in to a voice that Is called the still, small voice...

1 Kings 19:11-13 KJV

11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah

Notice the scripture says, the voice came into him!  It is not an outside audible voice!  

It can bring a thought like a vision for some, a feeling or impression or have you ever thought about someone you know and felt like you needed to pray for them or they began to be constantly on your mind and you didn't know what to do?  Paying attention to our feelings, thoughts can be vital to someone you are thinking about like when God alerted me that my nephew was in a serious car accident and I ended a phone conversation with a friend from church and my daughter looked at me and said, "What's wrong mom and I said, I don't know but I've got to pray and I hit the floor praying in tongues!  A few minutes after my time on the floor of praying in tongues my brother-in-law phoned and I could hear my sister crying in the background as He told me that my nephew had been in a serious accident and was not expected to live through the night!  Long story short,  later at the hospital I prayed and interceded for Dustin (my nephew as God would speak encouragement in my spontaneous thoughts for me and his parents and others as I spoke the spontaneous thought out!   One of the last spontaneous thoughts I had and spoke out was in the presence of the doctor in the ICU who said, "Dustin will never play ball again!" then the spontaneous thought came and I spoke it out, which was, "Dustin will be sitting up in his bed with all his family and his friends around him in 3 days!"  Did it come to pass?  Yes!  Dustin lived and it is true he never wanted to play ball again!  But is was not because he could not do it!  He is now married to a beautiful girl and they have 2 adorable boys who play ball!    The boys are older now and are starting to play ball like there Daddy did!  

Key # 2 - Learn to keep your thoughts and emotions in balance don't jump the gun but wait on God and you will get the Holy Ghost flow going, much better!

Psalm 46:10

Be Still and know that I am God!  

So practice by listening to quiet instrumental music like I suggested or what you prefer as long as it is God promoted!  Ask God a Question and then listen to the music or even turn the music off if it distracts you and then wait on God in the stillness it works for me either way!  When it doesn't I know that I must Be still and know that God will give me spontaneous thoughts like one time someone wanted a prophecy for choosing the right job (profession and I listened)  it took me several hours because I had to go do errands but I had asked what kind of job this young man needed to take?

First I saw a vision, just a glimpse in what I call my mind's eye, but I saw people working in white uniforms like professional in a hospital or an office of some kind.  Although it was not exatley what I expected because I didn't think the young man was qualified or wished to be that pofessional so I just kept seeking God but after then the phone rang and it said, Techno Industries and I felt for sure that God was telling me he did need to work a job that he could do that was tecknical to him but that he could probably do with his eyes closed and his family needed the security of that!  He was a carpenter by trade and that was technicle enough and his wife wrote a thank you note back, thanking me for not sending him on a wild goose chase!  That is where balance comes into place!  Keep seeking and keep knocking and God will not lead you to be  on the wrong path!   God showed me that Technicle might not be what you think because practical is probably the best course for a man with a wife and a family or perhap 3 or more children to support!

 I must learn to still my own thoughts and emotions, so that I can sense God’s flow of thoughts and emotions within me. Habakkuk said, "I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart..." (Hab. 2:1)  r. Habakkuk said, "I will keep watch to see," and God said, "Record the vision" (Hab. 2:1,2). It is very interesting that Habakkuk was going to actually start looking for vision as he prayed. He was going to open the eyes of his heart, and look into the spirit world to see what God wanted to show him. This is an intriguing idea. I had never thought of opening the eyes of my heart and looking for vision.  If I had not continued to look with the eyes of my heart I would have sent that young man out on a wild tangent!  Not good for a family man to pursue!

Key #3

What else did Habakkuk say?  "I will keep watch to see." and God told him to "Record the vision? (Hab. 2: 1, 2)  he did it through prayer remember if I had run with telling the young man to go on a wild tangent he would have followed that lead because he was weary from same old, same old but a new tangent for him would have probably ended his marriage and he and his family would have suffered for it!  Like  Dr. Mark Virkler said, you must get eyes of the heart!  The eyes see what they want to see if it's more exciting and thus the saying goes, "What glitter is not always, Gold!  Being led by the Spirit means spiritual eyes to see like God sees, the end from the beginning which would have been doom and gloom for that man and his family!  So, don't be hasty and don't believe what your first saw because it is called disernment of spirits nd unfortunately sometimes the glitter keeps us from seeing what is really there.  One time a prophet came where I visisted and he said, If it's not practicle then consider it might not be God, too!  

Remember Daniel?  He saw a vision in his mind and said, "I was looking...I kept looking...I kept looking (Daniel 7:1, 9 13)  If I had not kept looking for the man with a wife and children and not considered the practical aspect of his choices that were dependent on what I the prophet said I could have wrecked his life!  That is how important it is to be accurate or what some call "spot on"    Look for Jesus in what you feel you need to speak out in prophecy if it is that important and it is!  What is Jesus to us?  Emmanuel which means God with us!   What does Jesus bring, so much healing, miracles, grace but most of all peace that passes understanding and when I realized what the young man needed most was peace to deal with life issue like finances!  When I came to the decision to speak God's heart for that young man and his family which was take the techinical thing you do the best I was telling him to stick with what he did best, his chosen profession that he knew worked for him and his family!

Key #4

Journaling :   pray about what you need to know and trust as you turn on quiet instrumental Christian music and settle into it to really listen and write down your spontaneous thoughts it will be from God's heart to you or to those you minister to!  Habbakuk said write the vision and inscribe it on tablets...Hab 2: 2)  Mark Virkler discovered it pehaps accidentally or not?  He put so much effort into trying to hear that audible voice and it didn't work it was like a breath of fresh air when he realized that the words he was writing down from his own thoughts were like Gold.  If your thoughts don't line up with scripture then better go back to the drawing board so in the beginning just write it out after you've prayed about it and test it with scripture (A careful examination) of the spontaneous thought that you have written or typed out. 

Let me warn you it might sound so simple that you doubt it could be the answer so don't throw it out let it marinate for a time...waiting on the Lord does what?

Psalms 27:13-14 TPT

Yet I believe with all my heart that I will see again your goodness, Yahweh, in the land of life eternal! Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!

Your answer will come and sometimes, or many times from my experience it might be from the first paragraph you write down!   Trust God in this process but wait before you stumble and fall down by being  too hasty!  Haste does make for a wasted effort!  

I like what Mark Virkler says, It is when we cease our labors and enter His rest that God is free to flow (Heb. 4:10). Therefore, put a smile on your face, sit back comfortably, get out your pen and paper, and turn your attention toward God in praise and worship!

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With Much Love,

Apostle Julia Garrett, Founder

Apostolic Restoration

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 Key #4 - Journaling, the writing out of our prayers and God’s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God’s voice. God told Habakkuk to record the vision and inscribe it on tablets...(Hab. 2:2). It had never crossed my mind to write out my prayers and God’s answers as Habakkuk did at God’s command. If you begin to search Scripture for this idea, you will find hundreds of chapters demonstrating it (Psalms, many of the prophets, Revelation). Why then hadn’t I ever thought of it? I called the process "journaling," and I began experimenting with it. I discovered it to be a fabulous facilitator to clearly discerning God’s inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journaled I was able to write in faith for long periods of time, simply believing it was God. I did not have to test it as I was receiving it, (which jams one’s receiver), because I knew that when the flow was over I could go back and test and examine it carefully, making sure that it lined up with Scripture. You will be amazed when you attempt journaling. Doubt may hinder you at first, but throw it off, reminding yourself that it is a biblical concept, and that God is present, speaking to His children. Don’t take yourself too seriously. When you do, you become tense and get in the way of the Holy Spirit’s movement. It is when we cease our labors and enter His rest that God is free to flow (Heb. 4:10). Therefore, put a smile on your face, sit back comfortably, get out your pen and paper, and turn your attention toward God in praise and worship, seeking His face. As you write out your question to God and become still, fixing your gaze on Jesus, who is present with you, you will suddenly have a very good thought in response to your question. Don’t doubt it, simply write it down. Later, as you read your journaling, you, too, will be amazed to discover that you are indeed dialoguing with God. Some final notes. No one should attempt this without having first read through at least the New Testament (preferably, the entire Bible), nor should one attempt this unless he is submitted to solid, spiritual leadership. All major directional moves that come through journaling should be submitted before being acted upon.