God speaks to His people. The only problem is that many do not listen to Him. Psalm 95:6-8 says that if you want to hear His voice, you must not harden your heart. If God has spoken to you, and you have been disobedient, He will be silent, and you will not hear Him anymore.

You need to hear God so that He can guide you. The primary way to hear God and be guided by Him is through the study of His Word, the Bible. However, what do you do when the situation for which you need advice is not specifically addressed in the Bible? Whenever you have to make decisions on such matters, you must hear God directly.

There are times when you can clearly see what God wants you to do in the Scriptures. However, you still need to hear Him on how to do what He wants you to do. For example, when Paul wanted to go to Asia in Acts 16:6-7, the Spirit of God prevented him. You might ask, “How can the Spirit of God prevent Paul from preaching since it is written in Matthew 28:19 that we must go into all the world and preach to all nations?”

A few years ago, I wanted to hold a crusade in Benin, the capital of a state in southern Nigeria. We had everything prepared for the crusade, but to my surprise, when I inquired of God on the matter, He said we should go to Ede, a city in southwest Nigeria instead. I told Him that we had just finished a crusade in Ilesha, another city in the same state as Ede, and the people of Ede were likely present. However, since God is my commander in chief, I obeyed Him.

During the crusade in Ede, the king was present, and when he took the stage to speak, he announced that he would donate the size of land we desired to the church. We had initially decided to ask for 50 hectares of land, but when I bowed to hear from God, He told me to ask for 500 hectares, and I obeyed. Today, that land is the location housing Redeemers University and the School of Mission of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. If I had hardened my heart, I would not have gone to Ede and would not have received that blessing.

Beloved, when you deal with God, do not harden your heart. Listen to Him with an open mind, commit to obeying Him, and He will speak to you.

This text is an excerpt from the book “The Open Heavens 2024: A Daily Guide to Intimate Communion with God 2024” written by Enoch A. Adeboye.

We invite you to read the following article “DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEART 2.”