Priscilla Shirer | Learn to Hear from God Through His Word

The enemy wants you to believe that in order to have a deep, ongoing relationship with God, you need a seminary degree. He wants you to think that only certain people can open the Word of God and trust that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the scriptures, offering guidance, direction, insight, clarity, encouragement, and comfort. But that’s a lie. God desires you to experience a vibrant, personal connection with Him, where you can hear His voice and receive His word directly, without depending on someone else to feed it to you.

When you are convinced that you can hear from God yourself, your faith becomes empowered. If you’re not, you’ll always wait for others to share God’s word, instead of trusting in your relationship with Him. Lord, I praise you and thank you for your living Word. It’s active and sharper than any two-edged sword. Today, may it speak to your people. Father, I ask that you challenge us to dive deeper into your Word and cultivate an ongoing, vibrant friendship with You through scripture. Help us hear your voice not just today, but even when we’re alone in personal devotion and quiet time. More than ever, we need to hear from You. I pray that today, everyone who hears this will know beyond doubt they have encountered God’s presence. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A quick story about my dad: he’s not exactly tech-savvy. Even today, in 2020, he doesn’t fully understand all the advancements in technology. I can relate to him, as I’m not too caught up in all the latest tech either. My dad, a pastor who’s been preaching and leading in this community for over 40 years, has always been this way. For instance, he still writes his sermon notes by hand on yellow legal pads—no typing, no digital notes. Those pads are scattered around the house.

Around 15 years ago, when iPads weren’t as common, my dad decided he wanted to get online. The reason? My youngest brother, Jonathan, was playing football for Baylor University, and my dad wanted to follow his games online. Even though he wasn’t familiar with technology, football was something my dad couldn’t resist. So, my sister, Crystal, took him to the back room where an old computer sat on a desk. She had to show him how to turn the computer on, start from scratch. After powering it up, my dad asked her how to get to the Baylor football website. Crystal showed him how to enter the URL and get to the homepage. Just when they reached the page, the phone rang, and Crystal had to leave the room. As she rushed out, my dad yelled, “How do I navigate this page?”