James Goll: A Desire for Discernment

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James Goll: A Desire for Discernment

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James Goll shares:
(Hearing God’s Voice Today)

A Desire for Discernment

In the middle of my junior year at Central Missouri State University, this drive to know God led me to cry out for discernment. Late one night, I went to pray with another Jesus freak in an Episcopal church where a friend’s father, an evangelical, Spirit-filled Episcopal priest, was the rector. I loved sneaking away when I could to spend time there in quiet reflection, as His sweet presence seemed to reside there. At the front of the sanctuary, on the wall close to the Communion rail, was a lighted candle. It was a symbolic representation of the light of God and presence of God.

While basking in the light of God’s presence late that night, I began to vocalize my desire to hear and know the voice of God better. I proceeded logically, telling God: Based on John 10:27, You have stated, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Now, I don’t have any problem with the first part of the verse, “My sheep hear My voice.” I know I have heard Your voice, because in Revelation 3:20, it says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” I have heard Your knock at the door of my heart, and I am one of Yours.

I continued with my line-by-line presentation:

So, Father, I accept by faith that I do hear Your voice. The second part of the verse, I don’t have any problem with either. I know that You know me, and You know me better than I know myself. I don’t have any problem with that. But it’s the third part of that verse that I have a big problem with: “And they follow Me.” So, God, I need to do more than just hear Your voice—because I also hear my voice, the voice of my flesh, the voices of others, the voice of the world and the voice of the enemy, Satan. Therefore, if I’m going to be able to follow You, I must do more than only hear Your voice. I need to be able to discern Your voice from the other voices.

That night, my friend and I knelt in prayer and simply said, “Lord, we ask that You enroll us in Your School of the Spirit. Teach us not only how to hear but also how to discern Your voice from the voice of the stranger and all the other voices that contend for our attention. Please do this so that we can truly follow You.”

Perhaps there is a book in heaven called the Book of Godly Desires in which God keeps records. All I know is that night, in November 1972, it seemed to me the Lord wrote down my name in His book. I enrolled in His School of the Spirit. Forty-plus years later, I am still taking various classes in that school. I don’t think I have graduated from it yet. I want to be among those who are continually learning how to hear and discern His wonderful voice and how to follow Him.

How about you?
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