Hearing God and Obeying His Voice

Jesus says “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Recognizing God’s voice and obeying Him is critical for a good relationship with God. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

(Genesis 22:18) “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

(Exodus 19:4-6) ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. {5} ‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. {6} ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

(Exodus 20:18-21) Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. {19} Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” {20} And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” {21} So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

(Deuteronomy 30:10-14) “if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. {11} “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. {12} “It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ {13} “Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ {14} “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

(1 Samuel 15:22-23) Then Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. {23} For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”

(Nehemiah 9:20) You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.

(Psalms 25:8-10) Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. {9} The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. {10} All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

(Psalms 32:8-10) I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. {9} Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. {10} Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.

(Psalms 33:10-11) The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. {11} The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.

(Psalms 73:24-26) You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. {25} Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. {26} My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

(Psalms 81:11-13) “But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. {12} So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels. {13} “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

(Psalms 85:8-9) I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. {9} Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.

(Psalms 119:105) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

(Proverbs 1:23) Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

(Proverbs 1:32-33) For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; {33} But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

(Proverbs 4:20-23) My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. {21} Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; {22} For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. {23} Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

(Proverbs 8:33-34) Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain it. {34} Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.

(Proverbs 19:20-21) Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days. {21} There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel; that will stand.

(Ecclesiastes 5:1-2) Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. {2} Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.

(Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 11:2-4) The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. {3} His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; {4} But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

(Isaiah 48:17-18) Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. {18} Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

(Isaiah 55:8-12) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. {9} “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. {10} “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, {11} So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. {12} “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

(Isaiah 58:10-11) If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. {11} The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

(Jeremiah 7:23-24) “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ {24} “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.

(Jeremiah 17:23) “But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

(Jeremiah 31:3) The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

(Hosea 11:3-4) “I taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by their arms; But they did not know that I healed them. {4} I drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love, And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.

(Matthew 7:21-25) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. {22} “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ {23} “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ {24} “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: {25} “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

(Matthew 22:37-40) Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ {38} “This is the first and great commandment. {39} “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ {40} “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

(Luke 8:15) “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

(Luke 9:23-24) Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. {24} “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

(Luke 12:11-12) “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. {12} “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

(John 5:24-25) “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. {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.

(John 5:30) “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

(John 6:44-45) “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. {45} “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

(John 6:63) “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

(John 8:28-29) Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. {29} “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

(John 8:47) “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

(John 10:4-5) “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. {5} “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

(John 10:27-28) “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. {28} “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

(John 14:15-17) “If you love Me, keep My commandments. {16} “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever; {17} “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

(John 14:21) “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

(John 15:10-15) “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. {11} “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. {12} “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. {13} “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. {14} “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. {15} “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

(John 15:26) “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

(John 16:12-14) “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. {13} “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. {14} “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

(John 18:37) Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

(Romans 8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

(Romans 10:17) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

(1 Corinthians 2:12-16) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. {13} These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. {14} But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. {15} But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. {16} For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

(2 Corinthians 13:14) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

(Galatians 5:18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

(Hebrews 10:15-16) But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, {16} “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

(1 John 1:3) that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

(1 John 2:5-6) But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. {6} He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

(1 John 2:20) But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.

(1 John 2:27) But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

(Revelation 3:20-22) “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. {21} “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. {22} “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”‘ ”

(Revelation 5:9-10) And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, {10} And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”