Hearing the Speaking Voice of God

7Jun10 Hearing the Speaking Voice of God

This is another installment in a series that has been adapted from my 11-part CD teaching series on A. W. Tozer’s spiritual classic, The Pursuit of God.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

Dallas Willard, in The Spirit of the Disciplines, suggests a fresh perspective concerning the role that the wilderness played in Jesus’ temptation by the devil (Matthew 4). It is clear that the Spirit of God led the Lord into the wilderness in order to be tempted. Most of us, including Satan, assume that it was there that Jesus was at his weakest: starving and alone. But as it turns out, the wilderness offered a “home field” advantage for Christ. The place of solitude and deprivation was, in fact, a place of strength and communion for him. For over a month he had been feasting on the Word and drinking deeply from his Father’s perfect love. Then, and only then, was Satan allowed to approach him with his gaudy attempts at temptation. But by the point that the devil showed up, Jesus was at the height of his strength. The desert was his fortress. The battle was quick. And the victory was lopsided.

We come now to the sixth chapter of A. W. Tozer’s profound book, The Pursuit of God, which he titles “The Speaking Voice.” Each chapter contains a central question: Chapter 1 – Will I follow hard after God? Chapter 2 – Am I open to the blessedness of possessing nothing? Chapter 3 – What is my part in removing the veil between me and God? Chapter 4 – How close am I to apprehending God? Chapter 5: How well am I able to perceive the universal presence of God? And now Chapter 6: “What must I do to hear the speaking voice of God?

In the previous chapter, Tozer beckoned us to open our eyes to the One who is all around us. Everything we see around us points to the reality of his unseen presence. And even those things that we can’t see he has incarnated first in his Son, and now in his children. Now, in this chapter, he redirects our pursuit to his voice, his speaking voice. And just as before, we are challenged to listen, not with our ears, but with our spirit. For those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.