I refuse to accept the lie Satan has thrust upon so many of God's people today: that the Lord has stopped speaking to his people. The enemy wants us to think God has allowed Satan to grow in power and influence, but that he hasn't equipped his own people with greater authority. No, never!<o:p></o:p>
Scripture says, ³When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him"<o:p></o:p>
(Isaiah 59:19). It doesn't matter what the devil brings against us. God's power in his people will always be greater than Satan's assaults.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
This verse from Isaiah actually refers to the flag-bearer who rode ahead of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s army. The Lord always led his people into battle behind his own mighty standard. Likewise today, God has a glorious army of heavenly hosts who ride forth under his banner, ready to execute his battle plans on our behalf.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
You may ask, ³So, how does God bring us help in our troubles?" His help comes in the gift of his Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and works the Father's will in our lives.<o:p></o:p>
Paul tells us again and again that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. We are the Lord's dwelling place on earth.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Of course, we repeat this truth often, in our worship and testimonies. Yet, many of us still don't take it seriously.<o:p></o:p>
We simply don't understand the power that resides in this truth. If we did grasp it and trust in it, we would never again be afraid or dismayed.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
I certainly haven't laid hold of this lesson fully. Even after all my years as a minister, I'm still tempted to think I have to work up some emotion in order to hear from God.<o:p></o:p>
No, the Lord is saying: ³You don't have to spend hours waiting for me. I abide in you. I am present for you, night and day."<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Listen to David's testimony: ³I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved" (Psalm 16:7-8). David is declaring, ³God is always present before me. And I'm determined to keep him present in my thoughts.<o:p></o:p>
He faithfully guides me day and night. I don't ever have to be confused."<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
I hear some Christians say, ³The Lord never speaks to me. I don't ever hear his voice." Yet I question this. How can we state that God's Spirit lives and works in us, yet he doesn't speak to us? If we say we live and walk in the Spirit �?if he's ever present in our heart, always at our right hand, ready to direct our lives �?then he wants to converse with us. He desires a dialog, hearing from us and speaking into our lives.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Some believers fear listening to ³inner voices." They think they'll end up being deceived by their flesh, or worse, by the enemy. They've done so before and ended up in a mess. I agree that this is a valid concern for every servant of Jesus. After all, the devil spoke to Christ himself. And he speaks to even the holiest among God's people today.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
But all too often, such caution becomes a paralyzing fear.<o:p></o:p>
And this fear prevents many Christians from launching out in faith, trusting God's Spirit to faithfully guide their steps. The truth is, those who spend time in God's presence learn to distinguish his voice from all others. Jesus said of himself, ³The sheep follow (the shepherd): for they know his voice.... My sheep hear my voice...and they follow me" (John 10:4, 27).<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Here is our safeguard. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will never let Satan deceive any saint who trusts fully in his abiding presence. He promises to speak clearly to all who commune daily with him. By contrast, if we don't step out in faith �?if we refuse to trust in the Lord's guiding presence �?we're sure to fall into deception. Why? If we don't trust his Spirit to speak to us, the only voice we'll rely on is that of our flesh.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
All through the New Testament,<o:p></o:p>
we read these words: ³And the<o:p></o:p>
Spirit said..."<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Whenever the Holy Ghost spoke, those who heard knew unmistakably it was his voice. And the Spirit spoke with clear, precise, detailed instructions.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Consider the Spirit's instructions to the Gentile Cornelius:<o:p></o:p>
³Send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is<o:p></o:p>
Peter: he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do"<o:p></o:p>
(Acts 10:5-6). Talk about detailed instructions.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Meanwhile, God gave equally detailed instructions to Peter, saying Cornelius' men were on the way: ³The Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them" (10:19-20).<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
The Spirit worked this way also in Paul's life. In Acts 9, when he was still called Saul, he was without sight for three days in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Damascus</st1:place></st1:City>. God instructed a man named Ananias to go to Paul and pray for him. Here were his detailed<o:p></o:p>
instructions: ³Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias as coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight" (9:11-12).<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
We find the Holy Spirit giving more specific instructions in Acts 27. Paul was on a ship that had been tossed about in a storm for days. Just when the sailors were about to give up, Paul was stirred to encourage them with this detailed<o:p></o:p>
message:<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
³Be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar:<o:p></o:p>
and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee"<o:p></o:p>
(27:22-24). Indeed, it all happened just as Paul said.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Tell me, where does Scripture say the Holy Ghost stopped giving detailed instructions to God's people? When did the Spirit stop being present in our lives? When did his presence leave our right hand? The devil speaks to his own children. Why would the Lord neglect his own people?<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Yet, we have to understand: the kind of sensitive walk that allows us to hear God's voice doesn't come overnight. The Spirit has to teach us to seek him in our daily lives. Only then will he be able to direct our steps. The Psalmist speaks of this learning process: ³What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose" (Psalm 25:12).<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
If we acknowledge God in all our ways, he will be faithful to speak. His Word promises, ³In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6).<o:p></o:p>
Throughout my fifty-plus years of ministry, I have quoted this verse frequently. Yet, at times, I still don't mix it with faith.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Many times the Lord has spoken to me, saying, ³Do this, David... Don't do that..." On a few occasions, I've hushed his voice in my mind and gone my own way. And in every instance, God let me get into a confused mess that cost me. He says, ³I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea"<o:p></o:p>
(Isaiah 48:17-18).<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
My loving Father keeps delivering me from my failures. And I'm still learning. I want his supernatural peace to flow like a river in my soul.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
3. There is only one thing hindering us from an intimate walk in the Spirit: the ever-present problem of unbelief.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> never did learn to trust God's ever-present help. The Lord led them through the wilderness with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. These supernatural works were visible reminders to God's people of his constant presence with them. He was at their right hand every hour of the day.And he led them like a gentle, caring shepherd. When they obeyed him, they were safe and at peace, no matter what obstacles they faced.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Yet, in spite of God's loving guidance, ³They believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation: though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven.... Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble" (Psalm 78:22-23, 33). Do you see what the Psalmist is saying here? He's connecting the supernatural cloud and fire with God's salvation. Trusting in those signs literally would have saved the Israelites'<o:p></o:p>
lives. But because they didn't trust in God's work on their behalf, they ended up lost, wandering in confusion the rest of their days.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Now I want to return to where we started, with Psalm 46. I believe this Psalm is a picture of the New Testament ³promised land." Indeed, Psalm 46 represents the divine rest referred to in Hebrews: ³There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). Psalm 46 describes this rest to God's people. It speaks of his ever-present strength, his help in time of trouble, his peace in the midst of chaos. God's presence is with us at all times, and his help always arrives on time.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Yet <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> rejected this rest: ³They despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word" (Psalm 106:24). Sadly, the church today is much like <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. In spite of God's great promises to us �?his assurances of peace, help and full supply �?we don't trust him fully. Instead, we complain, ³Where is God in my trial? Is he with me or not? Where is any evidence of his presence? Why does he keep letting these hardships pile up on me?"<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
How does he react to our unbelief? He said of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s murmuring, ³I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.... With whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:10, 17-19).<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Likewise, we are warned: ³Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.... Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief" (4:1, 11).<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Today, I hear the Lord asking his church, ³Do you believe I still speak to my people? Do you believe I desire to give you my help and guidance? Do you truly believe I want to speak to you daily, hourly, moment by moment?" Our response has to be like David's. That godly man shook all of hell when he made this statement about the Lord: ³He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast" (Psalm 33:9).<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Here is God's covenant promise to every generation who would believe his Word that he desires to speak to us: ³The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations" (33:11). The Creator of the universe wants to share his very thoughts with us!<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Scripture makes it clear: our God spoke to his people in the past, he's speaking to his people now, and he'll continue to speak to us till the very end of time. More to the point, God wants to speak to you about your problem today. He may do it through his Word, through a godly friend, or through the Spirit's still, small voice, whispering, ³This is the way, walk in it."<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Yet, no matter what means he uses, you will recognize his voice. The sheep know the voice of their Shepherd. And he is faithful to ³(preserve) the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked" (Psalm 97:10).<o:p></o:p>