A Slick Barrier to Hearing God

A Lesson From a Cup of Coffee

Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not. — Adonai

I had been praying for a deeper, more profound conversational relationship with God. This is a familiar longing that arises after I finish reading books about exceptional Christians who lived remarkable lives.

Recently, I completed reading a book titled Power Evangelism by John Wimber and Kevin Springer. The book's premise is that evangelism shouldn't rely solely on human agency; instead, it should combine human and divine agency, to bring about the supernatural result that is faith in Christ.

John Wimber was famous for operating in this way. Through him and his ministry God wrought the kinds of miracles that we see in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. I believe God can still work such miracles, but the way he chooses to do so is through his faithful children. This also accords with scripture. To save humanity, he became a human. To establish a Jesus community, he gave his Spirit to humans, and through them worked powerfully in the world.

Naturally, I found inspiration in this book. As I read it, I recognized certain aspects of my life that I must surrender to also become the kind of person God can use powerfully in the world.

One of these areas is listening to God. I excel in speaking, but I tend to neglect the listening part. Power Evangelism emphasizes faith and obedience to God, with hearing as a prerequisite to exercising faith that leads to obedience.

Throughout my 15+ years in pastoral ministry, I've encountered various instances of hearing God. I've come to recognize how God "speaks" to me. While the experience may differ for each individual, I personally receive a distinct impression when God communicates with me. There's a certain authority attached to it—a resolute determination. A suitable comparison might be how the Queen of England might sound when making a request—no pleading, shouting, or bargaining, just a commanding expectation that her words will be carried out.

That’s the impression I often get when God speaks to me. Mind you, I don’t always hear a voice, but I feel or sense the weightiness of the command… sometimes.

One morning, a few weeks after finishing the book. I was headed out early for work. Ashanti was just waking up, and I didn’t want to make a lot of noise as I left. So I whispered a goodbye and headed out of the bedroom. As I grabbed my keys from the counter in the kitchen I sensed that I should prepare a cup of coffee for her.

My subsequent thought was that since she wasn't working that day, she might remain in bed for a while, and the coffee could grow cold. With that in mind, I grabbed my keys and left quietly.

I recently wrote about prioritizing my devotional time with God before diving into work (link here). That day I was eager to arrive at work and spend time with God before others arrived. I especially anticipated the added silence for listening during my devotional time.

While praying for direction on important matters and seeking guidance, a question about the coffee flooded my mind, followed by a scripture: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10).

It's easy, particularly for me, to be drawn into the allure of performing great deeds for God. Often, these desires to achieve remarkable things for Him may secretly be desires to achieve remarkable things for ourselves.

On that day, I was reminded of a significant barrier to hearing God, as discussed in a book by Dallas Willard that shares the same name. He stated:

"Our failure to hear His voice when we want to is due to the fact that we do not in general want to hear it, that we want it only when we think we need it." — Dallas Willard

In other words, obeying God when he asks to make a cup of coffee is as important as obeying God when he asks you to stretch forth your hand to heal. It’s not about what is being asked, it’s about who is asking.

Pride often distorts that willingness to identify the voice of God here and obey it. It runs hearing and obeying through the filter of our own desires, and dilutes the impact of the impression until we think “That couldn’t be God.” Then we end up thinking that the only time God speaks is when he wants something BIG!

The truth is that seemingly trivial commands like “tell the cashier she’s doing a great job,” or “go and play with your kids,” or “check in on your cubicle mate,” or “brew a quick cup of coffee before you leave,” need not have monumental consequences tied to them for our obedience. The purpose might simply be to train us to hear God and respond faithfully.

“He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10).

What God wants the most from us is not what we do, but who we become. He values the relationship more than the resume. Therefore, ensuring that we have ears that hear and recognize his voice, is vitally important.

"Sami'na Wa Ata'na." This phrase is Arabic for "to hear is to obey." We must learn to to connect these two concepts, not solely based on what we hear, but on the identity of the one we are hearing. As we develop this connection, our ears will become finely tuned to the impressions made by God's voice on our lives. We will enjoy a relationship characterized by both speaking and being spoken to. And, yes, we will be better prepared to serve as conduits for Him in both significant and minor matters.

Since then, when I sense God impressing me to do something, I err on the side of obedience. Sometimes it’s awkward, but perhaps that’s the part of me that needs to change.

May God bless you as you prioritize discerning the voice of the Good Shepherd, and may he grant you the grace to obey, regardless of the command.