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Harvest House Publishers, Inc. - Sharon Jaynes

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Women are busy. Whether their energy is expended at home or at the office, women find themselves overwhelmed with the to-do lists in their life, and they long for time away from it all so they can really hear God's still small voice. "But when I pored over the pages of Scripture," says author Sharon Jaynes, "I discovered that some of God's most memorable messages were not delivered while men and women were away on a spiritual retreat, but right in the middle of everyday life. He spoke to Gideon while he was threshing wheat and to shepherds while they were watching their flocks by night."Using biblical wisdom and practical insights from her own life, Sharon invites readers to explore answers to the heart cry, "How can I hear the voice of God?"Includes helpful study guide.

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Date de parution	01 février 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736947626
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0150€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota
BECOMING A WOMAN WHO LISTENS TO GOD
Copyright 2004 by Sharon Jaynes
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-4761-9 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-4762-6 (eBook)
The Library of Congress has cataloged the edition as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jaynes, Sharon.
Becoming a woman who listens to God / Sharon Jaynes.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-7369-1350-8 (pbk.)
1. Christian women-Religious life. 2. Listening-Religous aspects-Christianity. I. Title. BV4527.J384 2004
248.8 43-dc22
2004001423
All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 / LB-CF / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to the two special men in my life.
One captured my heart the first time our eyes met at a college Bible study, and the other the moment our eyes locked in the delivery room. I thank God every day for the gift of you,
my husband, Steve, and son, Steven.
Acknowledgments
A special thanks to
My friends who are mentioned in this book. My life has been enriched by knowing each of you. Thank you for allowing me to share your lives with others.
Carolyn McCready, LaRae Weikert, and Terry Glaspey of Harvest House Publishers. Your passion for sharing the hope of Jesus Christ through print is evident in all you do.
My editor, Kim Moore; managing editor, Betty Fletcher; publicist, Teresa Evenson; and cover coordinator, Barb Sherrill. Your enthusiasm is contagious and attention to detail superb. Thank you for all the hard work and many hours invested in helping others become women who listen to God.
The staff of Proverbs 31 Ministries: Lysa TerKeurst, Bonnie Schulte, Marie Ogram, Glynnis Whitwer, Shelly Chen, Barb Spenser, Sherri Killion, Laurie Webster, Van Walton, Jill Tracey, Renee Swope, and Mary Southerland. Each one of you is a woman who has her ear pressed to the heart of God. What a joy it is to serve Him with you.
My husband, Steve, and son, Steven, for enduring piles of paper and hearing stories read time and time again.
Most of all, I thank the Lord for opening my eyes to sense His presence and quickening my heart to hear His voice in ordinary life situations.
Contents
Acknowledgments
PART I
HOW GOD SPEAKS
God Still Speaks Today
1. God Speaks Through His Word
2. God Speaks Through the Holy Spirit
3. God Speaks Through Prayer
4. God Speaks Through Circumstances
5. God Speaks Through People
6. God Speaks Through Creation
PART II
COUNTERFEITS AND IMPOSTERS
Whose Voice Is It?
7. The World s Voice
8. Our Own Voice
9. The Deceiver s Voice
PART III
BARRIERS TO HEARING GOD S VOICE
Can You Hear Me Now?
10. Low Dips of Emotion
11. Tall Walls of Sin
12. Spiritual Depletion
13. Retracted Antennas
14. Unbelief
PART IV
BRIDGES TO HEARING GOD S VOICE
Clearing Our Plates
15. Preparing to Listen to God
16. Blessings of Listening to God
Standing at the Crossroads
Study Questions: A Tune-Up for Listening to God
Prayer
Notes
About the Author
Other Books by Sharon Jaynes
Other Good Harvest House Reading
PART I
How God Speaks
G OD S TILL S PEAKS T ODAY

B ecoming a woman who listens to God-I don t know of any greater passion or purpose that has ever taken hold of my heart. It encapsulates my deepest longing. And as I read the pages of my well-worn Bible, I see God speaking to Adam and Eve, calling them as they walked together in the cool of the evening; to Cain, warning him that sin was crouching at the door; to Noah, instructing him on how to build the ark to save his family from destruction; to Abram, promising him he would be the father of a great nation; to Rebekah, foretelling the future of the twin boys that struggled in her womb; to Moses, calling him to lead the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land; to the prophet Samuel, leading him to anoint a mere shepherd boy the next king of the Jews. I see Jesus calling out to Saul from a blinding light saying, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?
Tell me, haven t you longed for God to speak to you in the same way?
Admittedly, it is hard to hear anyone s voice surrounded as we are by the cacophony of noises in our busy world, where the TV is blaring, the radio is booming, the washing machine is spinning, the vacuum cleaner is roaring, the kids are yelling, the dog is barking, the baby is crying, the telephone is ringing, and the doorbell is buzzing-all at the same time. I ve often thought, if I could just get away from the clamor and calamity of everyday life, perhaps I could hear that still, small voice . But when I pored over the pages of Scripture, I discovered that some of God s most memorable messages were not delivered while men and women were away at a spiritual retreat, but right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. He spoke to Moses while he was tending sheep, to Gideon while he was threshing wheat, to Zechariah while he was performing his duties at the temple, to shepherds while they were watching their flocks by night, to Peter and Andrew while they were fishing on the sea, to the woman at the well while she was drawing water for her household chores, to Matthew while he was busy in his tax office, and to Martha while she was baking in the kitchen.
Does that mean that God could speak to you and to me in the midst of our ordinary days? I don t believe it is a question of whether or not He will speak, but whether or not we will listen. Henry Blackaby, in his book Experiencing God , said, Right now God is working all around you and in your life. One of the greatest tragedies among God s people is that, while they have a deep longing to experience God, they are experiencing God day after day, but do not know how to recognize Him. 1 I see that longing to experience God in the sea of faces when I am speaking from the podium at a conference or women s retreat. I sense that longing in the e-mails that travel to my computer screen. I read that longing in the tearstained letters that come to my mailbox. I hear that longing in the voices of women I talk to every day. I feel that longing in my own heart each morning when I step out of bed to meet a new day. Lord, I want to hear You today .
There are some who say that God does not speak today, that the Bible is God s complete revelation to believers. Yes, it is true that the Bible tells us everything we need to know about God s character and His ways, and He will never tell us anything that contradicts His Word. But He will speak to us in a personal way to help us apply Scripture to our lives and move the truths from our heads to our hearts.
All through the New Testament Jesus taught the multitudes by telling them stories or parables to illustrate spiritual principles. He explained the unknown by using the known. Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed The kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field The kingdom of God is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish Likewise, Jesus continues to illustrate spiritual principles through modern day parables. He shows up in our lives every day, but we must turn aside and pay attention.
When Moses saw a burning bush in the desert that was not being consumed, he turned aside , stopped what he was doing, and went to investigate this amazing sight. When the L ORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here I am (Exodus 3:4 NASB , emphasis added).
Ah, there s the key. Moses turned aside . God had his full attention. Could it be that we become so wrapped up in our daily activities and to-do lists that we don t take the time to turn aside when God speaks? I wonder how many burning bushes I ve missed in my own backyard. I fear we have grown unaccustomed to listening, uninterested in what He has to say, or unbelieving that He will speak to us.
God created us to be in a relationship with Him. He tells us time and time again that we will be blessed when we listen to what He says and obey His commands. Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear (Matthew 13:16).
Does God still speak to us today? I m absolutely sure He does. But don t take my word for it-take Jesus word. He said, I am the good shepherd My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me (John 10:14,27). Since God continues to speak today, why do we have such difficulty recognizing His voice? Why don t we hear Him more often? Hearing God s voice should be part of the normal everyday experience for a child of God. It is God s silence that should give us reason for concern, for in times past, God s silence was a form of punishment for disobedience. Also, hea