In the Old Testament there was a great fear of God, and I sometimes think this is an attitude that we need today. Moses served as God's mouthpiece to the people during his time, but for the people to go to God directly was a thought that terrified them.
Exodus 20 :19
Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
Deuteronomy 4:33
Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you (Moses) have heard, and live?
The Bible has progressively revealed God's nature to us and by the time we get to the New Testament we see that God, although still to be feared, is approachable.
John 5:25
Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
Matthew 4:4
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Just as in the Old Testament and in the New Testament there is a certain way we are to communicate with God. We must remember who we are talking to, and we must know how to listen for Him. We go to God on His terms and not our own. In the Old Testament God made the Tabernacle and later the Temple His dwelling place. The Priest and the Prophet was the go to people if you wished to hear from God, but in the New Testament and in these last days God has chosen to make us His temple.
The bible shows us that God has drawn closer than ever before to us. First by dwelling among us as His Son Jesus walked the earth, and now the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit within every believer.
1st Corinthians 6 19
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
In other words, God is closer to us than He has ever been. So close in fact, that He lives within you - that is, if you have invited Him by being a believer.
Being He is this close you are responsible for hearing Him. While many Christians today are still running after prophets, they fail to realize that they are "the prophet" for their own life. This means YOU are responsible for hearing God for your own life more than anyone else, so are you listening for Him?
Maybe you're saying, "I've tried to listen for God, but can't hear Him" or maybe you simply think that He isn't speaking to you. Are you sure? Maybe you don't know how to listen.
Be sure to continue in this series with Part 2
