“But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as
the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When
he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the
sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” John
10:2–4
Do you recognize the voice of the Shepherd? Does He lead you each
and every day, guiding you into His holy will? How attentive are
you to what He speaks each day? These are some of the most
important questions to ponder.
Recognizing God’s voice is something that many people struggle
with. There are often many competing “voices” that speak to us each
and every day. From the latest news in the headlines, to the
opinions of friends and family, to the temptations all around us
within the secular world, to our own self-drawn opinions, these
“voices” or “ideas” that fill our minds can be hard to sort
through. What is from God? And what is from other sources?
Recognizing the voice of God is indeed possible. First of all,
there are many general truths that God has already spoken to us.
For example, everything contained in the Holy Scriptures is the
voice of God. His Word is alive. And when we read the Scriptures,
we become more and more familiar with God’s voice.
God also speaks to us through gentle inspirations that result in
His peace. For example, when considering a certain decision you may
need to make, if you present that decision to our Lord prayerfully
and then remain open to whatever He wants of you, oftentimes His
answer comes in the form of a deep and certain peace of
heart.
Learning to recognize the voice of God in your daily life is
accomplished by building an interior habit of listening,
recognizing, responding, listening some more, recognizing and
responding, etc. The more you hear the voice of God, the more you
will recognize His voice in the most subtle of ways, and the more
you come to hear the subtleties of His voice, the more you will be
able to follow. In the end, this is only accomplished by an ongoing
habit of deep and sustaining prayer. Without that, it will be very
difficult to recognize the voice of the Shepherd when you need Him
the most.
Reflect, today, upon how attentive you are to God in prayer. What
does your daily prayer look like? Do you spend time each day
listening to the gentle and beautiful voice of our Lord? Do you
seek to form a habit by which His voice becomes clearer and
clearer? If not, if you do struggle in recognizing His voice, then
make the decision to establish a deeper habit of daily prayer so
that it is the voice of our loving Lord Who leads you every
day.
Jesus, my Good Shepherd, You speak to me each and every day. You
are constantly revealing to me Your most holy will for my life.
Help me to always recognize Your gentle voice so that I can be led
by You through the challenges of life. May my life of prayer become
so deep and sustaining that Your voice always echoes within my
heart and soul. Jesus, I trust in You.
Source of content:
catholic-daily-reflections.com
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Featured images above: Jesus, the Good Shepherd window at St.
Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Charleston, South Carolina, via
Wikimedia Commons
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