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Monday, May 19, 2014

04. Walking and Talking with God, Part 3: Trust

Note: This is one of a series of posts devoted to the study of D&C 93:1, and the fourth examining the phrase "obeyeth my voice".

D&C 93:1 promises us that:
"Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;"
Note that "the Lord" beckons us to "obeyeth my voice".  Who's voice?  His.

To do that, you must first hear His voice.

In my previous two posts, we discussed doing just that: walking and talking with God.  It's been done by both man and woman alike since the beginning of recorded time.  And (as we are promised over and over again throughout the various dispensations), God is no respecter of persons; all the blessings and opportunities for spiritual experiences had by anyone, at any time, are offered to you, too.

Some have found it somewhat natural to carry on a dialogue with Jesus.  Among these people, some are truly hearing His voice, while others, regrettably, are hearing a counterfeit voice.

Yet it's been my experience that the vast majority of those who truly want to converse with Him find it difficult to do so, for a variety of reasons.  Some encounter futility.  After having tried to engage in a dialogue with Him for weeks, months or even years, yet finding no success, they sometimes throw up their hands in defeat.

I believe that Christ wants to converse with you -- in fact, He is perhaps more anxious to converse with you than you are with Him.

Why?

Why is it that some can hear His voice, and others can't or don't?  Why is it that two people can claim to hear His voice, yet one seeks to build up others while another seeks to assume even a molecular amount of power, authority or fame?

"I will call upon Your name"


I believe that in order to obey Christ's voice, you must first hear it -- clearly, unambiguously and unmistakably.

And before that happens, you must first put your trust in Him.

I invite you to listen to this song and to read it's lyrics.  Ponder the feelings that stir within you, and how the lyrics resonate within you.

Ponder how you can better trust in Him...even if it's with a mustard seed of faith.

If you are ready -- really ready -- to let His sovereign hand be your guide, without hesitation or reservation, then you're likely ready to take your first steps to hearing His voice.

Keep your eyes above the waves...

and your soul will rest in His embrace.


"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"
By Hillsong United

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

[6x]
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

6 comments:

  1. LDS Perfect Day,

    Thank you for your ongoing posts. What is your understanding when hearing the Savior's voice of how to discern true from counterfeit? Moroni 7 and D&C 129 are possible guides, but one needs the gift of the Holy Ghost to power even those words and actions. What, then, if one does not yet know how to access or receive that gift? Are we to be deceived even with the best of intentions?

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  2. Thank you for your post. I've been a member of the church for over 20 years and still struggle to feel like I'm hearing the Lord speak to me. Even before I attempt to "hear" His voice in my prayers, I'm already feeling fearful I'm not going to be able to "discern" an answer. I seem to have a hard time focusing my mind and having confidence that I will receive an answer.
    I'm not always sure what it is I'm supposed to be "hearing". I have feelings of peace and comfort come to me but aren't I supposed to also be hearing "words"? It's very difficult as we are admonished to not trust in the arm of flesh but ask of God.. Yet if we feel like we're not hearing His voice it just gets to be quite discouraging. Is there a level of progression to go from just "feeling" something to actually "hearing" the communication? How do I know if what I'm hearing or feeling is coming from the Holy Ghost or the Lord Himself?
    Anyway, thank you for discussing this topic. It's definetely something I hope to become better at.

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  3. Dani and Anonymous,

    Please click on "Posts by Topic" and select "Voices". Those -- especially "Discerning the voices that influence us" -- will help.

    Thanks,

    LDS Perfect Day

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  4. when learning to hear an answer or actual words....or another way of putting it seeking the gift of revelation. you must first understand that comes with both God's gift of revelation and Satan's gift of revelation. so it is with all gifts of The Spirit.

    the human experience is all about learning to discern between evil and good and choosing whichever one you will. to do this you must be willing to take the chance with whatever answer you get and follow through with it even knowing you might have gotten the wrong answer and been deceived as by being deceived you will gain experience learn better how not to be deceived next time.

    you see God likes to test you and uses Satan as his tester. God wants to see just how much you really want this. are you willing to make a blind fool out of yourself if you sincerely think it is God's will? the idea here is will you do whatever God asks no matter what it is? if you can sincerely answer yes to this question....you are good and I suspect your eternal life ticket is in the mail. but God knows us and knows there is at least one thing He can test you with that will shatter your world and really make you question that willingness to follow no matter what. we each have it....Abraham and his son, Noah and the ark, Joseph Smith and starting a new church, Jesus and being willing to die on the cross, etc. everyone has their own cross to bear that might make us echo The Lord's words of "Why have you foresaken me Father?" or whatever the exact words were. or as Christ puts it in D and C " 8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?"

    see I think most people don't get revelation because they are far too fearful of getting revelation from the wrong source....but truth be told if you want revelation from God you will get revelation from Satan in the process and it those that are willing to learn to figure out which is which and keep trying anyway are those that will make it out at the end of day shouting "GOD SPEAKS TO ME"

    so what I am trying to say here is....you must be willing to risk it all, receive even false revelation, descend below it all, stare into the pits of hell. you must be willing to do all of this to obtain revelation and the cold hard truth is most folks are too scared and chicken. Men lack their balls and the nature of women is that they reflect men and if men are ball-less the women likely aren't going to be much better.

    pray and demand answers....it is your God Given right....but do not fear those answers or go in thinking God can only reveal to you what you know or in some other way pre-limit prayer answers. a prime example is LDS tend to think you cannot receive revelation for or about other people.....that is a lie. I have received endless dreams about other people and in some cases specifically directing other people....don't put pre-defined limits on God or His answered.

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  5. That was a wonderful song---thank you! It's nice to find uplifting music, I appreciate it so much.

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  6. Hi , I have been blessed by what you teach in the things you write. I hope you will write again soon, I very much look forward to it.

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