Bible – Bible Society of Zimbabwe

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Hearing the voice of God is a central theme throughout Scripture. From the gentle whisper to the thunderous proclamation, God’s voice guides, comforts, and instructs His people. Understanding how to hear His voice is crucial for anyone seeking to follow His will. Here are seven Bible verses that highlight the importance of hearing and recognizing God’s voice.

1. John 10:27 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Jesus uses the metaphor of sheep and a shepherd to describe the relationship between Himself and His followers. Just as sheep recognize and respond to the voice of their shepherd, believers are called to recognize and follow the voice of Jesus. Hearing God’s voice is not just about recognition, but also about obedience. When we truly hear Him, we follow where He leads.

2. 1 Kings 19:11-12 – “And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.”

God’s voice is not always found in the loud and dramatic. Instead, He often speaks in a “low whisper” or “still small voice.” Be still and quiet your hearts, creating space to hear the subtle yet profound voice of God. It teaches us that God often communicates in ways that require us to listen carefully and attentively.

3. Isaiah 30:21 – “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”

God provides guidance, even in the midst of uncertainty. As we navigate life’s decisions, God’s voice directs us, showing us the right path. This promise of divine guidance encourages us to trust that God will speak to us when we need direction, leading us on the path He has set before us.

4. Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

In the busyness and noise of life, it can be challenging to discern God’s voice. However, by intentionally being still and acknowledging His sovereignty, we create an environment where we are more likely to hear Him speak. Stillness allows us to focus on God and tune in to His voice.

5. Hebrews 3:7-8 – “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness.’”

Hearing God’s voice requires not only listening but also being willing to act on what we hear. A hardened heart can prevent us from fully receiving God’s message and guidance. This verse calls us to be open and responsive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.

6. Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

We are encouraged to seek God actively, knowing that He desires to reveal deep and profound truths to us. It emphasizes the relational aspect of hearing God’s voice, where we engage in dialogue with Him, confident that He will respond.

7. Revelation 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Jesus stands at the door of our hearts, knocking and speaking. The invitation is clear: if we hear His voice and open the door, He will come in and fellowship with us. This verse highlights the personal and relational aspect of God’s communication, emphasizing that hearing His voice leads to deeper communion with Him.

Conclusion

Hearing the voice of God is a profound and essential part of the Christian life. These verses remind us that God speaks in various ways—sometimes in a whisper, sometimes in guidance, and always with a heart of love. To hear His voice, we must cultivate stillness, maintain a receptive heart, and be willing to respond in faith. As we do, we draw closer to God, following His lead and growing in our relationship with Him.

The Lord Speaks to Jeremiah about the Nations

1 The Lord often told me what to say about the different nations of the world.

What the Lord Says about Egypt

2 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia defeated King Neco of Egypt in a battle at the city of Carchemish near the Euphrates River. And here is what the Lord told me to say about the Egyptian army:

3 It's time to go into battle!

So grab your shields,

4 saddle your horses,

and polish your spears.

Put on your helmets and armor,

then take your positions.

5 I can see the battle now—

you are defeated

and running away,

never once looking back.

Terror is all around.

6 You are strong and run fast,

but you can't escape.

You fall in battle

near the Euphrates River.

7 What nation is this,

that rises like the Nile River

overflowing its banks?

8 It is Egypt, rising with a roar

like a raging river

and saying,

“I'll flood the earth,

destroying cities, and killing

everyone in them.”

9 Go ahead, Egypt.

Tell your chariots and cavalry

to attack and fight hard.

Order your troops to march out,

with Ethiopians and Libyans

carrying shields,

and the Lydians armed with bows

and arrows.

10 But the Lord All-Powerful

will win this battle

and take revenge

on his enemies.

His sword will eat them

and drink their blood

until it is full.

They will be killed in the north

near the Euphrates River,

as a sacrifice to the Lord.

11 Egypt, no medicine can heal you,

not even the soothing lotion

from Gilead.

12 All nations have heard you weep;

you are disgraced,

and they know it.

Your troops fall to the ground,

stumbling over each other.

A Warning for Egypt

13-14 When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia was on his way to attack Egypt, the Lord sent me with a warning for every Egyptian town, but especially for Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. He said to tell them:

Prepare to defend yourselves!

Everywhere in your nation,

people are dying in war.

15 I have struck down

your mighty god Apis

and chased him away.

16 Your soldiers stumble

over each other

and say, “Get up!

The enemy will kill us,

unless we can escape

to our own land.”

17 Give the king of Egypt

this new name,

“Talks-Big-Does-Nothing.”

18 Egypt, I am the true king,

the Lord All-Powerful,

and as surely as I live,

those enemies who attack

will tower over you

like Mount Tabor among the hills

or Mount Carmel by the sea.

19 You will be led away captive,

so pack a few things

to bring with you.

Your capital, Memphis,

will lie empty and in ruins.

20 An enemy from the north

will attack you, beautiful Egypt,

like a fly biting a cow.

21 The foreign soldiers you hired

will turn and run.

But they are doomed,

like well-fed calves

being led to the butcher.

* 22 The enemy army will go forward

like a swarm of locusts.

Your troops will feel helpless,

like a snake in a forest

23 when men with axes

start chopping down trees.

It can only hiss

and try to escape.

24 Your people will be disgraced

and captured by the enemy

from the north.

25 I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. Soon I will punish the god Amon of Thebes and the other Egyptian gods, the Egyptian kings, the people of Egypt, and everyone who trusts in the Egyptian power. 26 I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar and his army. But I also promise that Egypt will someday have people living here again, just as it had before. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Lord Will Bring Israel Home

The Lord said:

27 Israel, don't be afraid.

Someday I will bring you home

from foreign lands.

You and your descendants

will live in peace and safety,

with nothing to fear.

28 So don't be afraid,

even though now

you deserve to be punished

and have been scattered

among other nations.

But when I destroy them,

I will protect you.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

1 The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; 2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah. 3 Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle. 4 Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines. 5 Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the LORD. 6 Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates. 7 Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? 8 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. 9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. 10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. 11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.

12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.

13 ¶ The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt. 14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee. 15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them. 16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. 17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed. 18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. 19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant. 20 Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north. 21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation. 22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood. 23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable. 24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north. 25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him: 26 And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.

27 ¶ But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. 28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

Jeremiah 46