Priscilla and Jerry Shirer join Matt and Laurie Crouch to discuss hearing the voice of God and how we can recognize that still-small voice. Listen in as Priscilla and Jerry Shirer explain what we can do to better hear the voice of God in our own lives. This video was brought to you by TBN Networks®. SUBSCRIBE here and never miss an upload! https://www.youtube.com/c/PraiseTBN/?… WATCH full Praise episodes for free on the TBN app: https://watch.tbn.org/praise

NEED PRAYER? TBN’s Prayer Partners would love to pray with you and are available 24/7: 714-731-1000 (U.S. and Canada) and +1-714-731-1000 (International). On the air since 1973, TBN’s flagship ministry and talk show Praise is one of the most recognizable — and most watched — Christian programs in the world. Taped before a live audience and hosted by TBN’s own Matt and Laurie Crouch along with other popular personalities, Praise features the best in contemporary Christian music and worship, fresh and impacting ministry voices, engaging interviews from a wide variety of guests, and a fast-moving hour of relevant talk you won’t want to miss! #priscillashirer #tbn #hearinggod 0:00 Intro 2:24 What does the voice of God sound like? 13:17 How do I know it is the voice of God speaking? 27:45 Discerning the Voice of God takes time 37:36 Anyone can hear the voice of God 41:50 Listening to God in prayer 45:55 To hear God make Him a priority

the more you know God the more clearly

you can hear God

there was really nothing for me to write

down because it boiled down to Priscilla

it’s simple he said The more you know

him the more clearly you can hear him so

the reason why we go to the scriptures

the reason why we have quiet time the

reason why we fellowship with other

believers who are going to help us

remain encouraged in our faith is

because we’re just trying to get to know

God our guests are Jerry and Priscilla

Shire why is this subject matter

something that is

really important it is important because

this facet of our faith is what

separates our faith from every other

so-called faith on the face of the Earth

okay that our God Lives he’s alive and

he speaks to us we have an actual

relationship with him and that that’s so

casually thrown around this whole

relationship thing but what good is any

relationship if nobody’s talking to each

other if there’s no communication if

there’s not um a connectedness that is

ongoing and continual so this issue of

Discerning the voice of God first of all

believing that he does speak but second

of all trusting in the fact that as his

kids we have the privilege to actually

discern and just have a distinction of

his voice between all the other voices

that also want to get a word in edgewise

that’s something that really can change

and transform the trajectory of your

entire Christian experience okay let’s

let’s lay a little bit of the ground

rule in your in your world we’re you’re

our guest today you and Jerry uh Jerry

jump in anytime you want to you’re much

bigger than I am you can do that anytime

you want and you know you’re a miracle

worker that you got him on the

let me ask you a question in the

Priscilla Jerry world

yeah uh does God Speak audibly

does he only speak through his word does

he speak how how what are the different

ways that you certainly know of that God

speaks to you

um I’ve never heard the audible voice of

God babe have you gonna miss something I

have not no no not yet but I think there

is something internal yeah in you that

you that you feel the presence of God

and it lines up with scripture which

confirms okay this is what I’m hearing

that’s right so the holy spirit of God

illumines Scripture the book is alive

and he causes the the old presets of

scripture to have a now-ness and a

newness that applies and intersects with

our personal experience so as Jerry

mentioned the holy spirit in US confirms

and corroborates and connects with the

the word of God and causes it to

intersect with our experience so that

that verse that has something to do with

David and Goliath all of a sudden it’s

not about David and Goliath it actually

applies to what you’re facing right then

in your life and you understand it as a

directive straight straight from God and

then there’s the conviction you know the

conviction of the holy spirit that that

green light of ease and peace that says

go that that yellow light of warning and

uneasiness that says hold up a minute

till you get clarity and then that red

light that is a straight up no there’s

no peace there’s confusion there’s

dissension that’s the holy spirit’s way

of telling you no don’t go there there’s

a better yes for you if you’ll just wait

and be patient have you ever heard the

still small voice of the Lord in a

phrase and an impression what describes

some of what is in Discerning the voice

of God how how the Lord speaks or how

this conversation unfolds with you yes

well most of the time MO most of the

time God speaks to me through his word

it is exactly what I described it is

reading through a portion of scripture

and on that day it’s like the Holy

Spirit has taken out a highlighter and

has highlighted this verse you have seen

a million times before but on that day

it leaps up off the page and it grips

you that’s the only way I can really

describe it is that it grips you in the

depths of your soul and causes you to

pause for a moment because it seems to

be literally speaking to something

that’s happening in your life most of

the time that is the voice of God we

have discounted I think the power of

scripture because if we say we want to

hear from God and we never actually read

the love letter that he wrote to us we

don’t want to really hear from God and

we rarely will because the Canon of

scripture is not only it not only

provides the boundary into which

everything God says to us will fall

because he’ll never say anything that

manipulates the scriptures or his

character as revealed in the scriptures

so it not only gives us the boundary but

it also provides for us the number one

mechanism through which we have the

privilege to hear him in the first place

beautiful you know we’re discussing with

Priscilla Shire and and her not often

seen husband Jerry uh uh Jerry thank you

for being on by the way

all right I’m glad you’re here all right

now let me let me tell you

um a little bit about

the way a I believe the way the Lord has

communicated to me I have been sitting

uh or standing in a place before and

from one moment to the next

uh you know I I hate to be so secular

but remember that remember that that

moment in on TV back when we were kids

do you remember remember

um the I Dream of Jeannie where she’d

kind of do like that you know okay so uh

I have from one moment to the next I

mean this is like one heartbeat to the

next heartbeat I’m remembering some kind

of conversation that was a longer

conversation for instance and I felt

like that was something that got

communicated to me a big subject matter

communicated to me in a blink yeah so

what the voice of the Lord sometimes

feels like to me is like I’m remembering

a conversation not like I’m talking and

and going Hello Lord and he says well

hello Matthew it’s nice to have you here

with me today you know okay so I’ve

never had any kind of an experience like

that at all every time I felt like

volumes of information get communicated

in a in a in a snap of a finger and then

it just feels like you’re remembering

when we’re done with this conversation

today and we’re out of this studio we’ll

be able to remember this conversation

and we will be able to ultimately think

back on it that’s that is a way the Lord

has communicated I have heard

the still Small Voice say one word to me

or two words one time Hillsong Channel

um

[Music]

six months later the Hillsong channel

was on the air yeah okay uh we’re

sitting here today Lori and I

um you know have often heard the story

but just just because of what we’re

talking about and I wanted to set a

little bit of the stage and by the way

what a thrill to have you guys seriously

I mean it’s big it’s like I’ve known

your parents and I was like what’s the

matter with us man I mean so we met

actually at TD Jake’s church not long

ago that behind us and made us laugh

through the whole time I’m sorry for

that I was cutting up and the kids thank

you for sure thank you for that because

they were like okay when is this going

to be over

you realize you’re making fun of a TD

Jake service that’s okay it was

and just so that they wouldn’t freak out

I gave them a little money

kind of bribe okay anyway

uh so for me one

my mom and dad were working for somebody

else in the 60s

it was a TV station and after one very

successful night they were leaving the

parking lot and the Lord said I’ve

released you from your work here

now my parents believe it was almost

like one of these moments where you look

in the back seat make sure there’s

somebody not in the back seat but they

were in their car

and my dad

didn’t recall it as being an audible

voice but it might as well have been

because he looked at my mom and said

you’re not going to believe what the

Lord just said to me and she said no I

will he said the same thing to me he’s

released us from our work here

very very unique thing they quit that

job

I’m 11 years old my dad doesn’t go to

work anymore this is you know here in

Southern California in the early 70s

and then a few months later praying the

Lord said had to say these words somehow

because my dad heard call Angel Lerma it

was a gentleman that owned a TV station

here in SoCal

he called and he said to he said to

Angel he said I’m just calling you today

checking on your Channel

and there was a long pause on the phone

Paul I just came from the boardroom we

just had a board meeting just now we

just voted to sell this channel did you

know that

and he said no sir I didn’t know that

but based on that I’d like to come see

you by the end of that day there was a

deal worked out which was the birth of

TBN which was this channel here in Los

Angeles Channel 40. channels actually

changed now because of digital but that

was channel 40 back in the day

so here’s the here’s the thing we’re

sitting here today because of a couple

of

moments that the Lord was wanting to

communicate to someone to see if they

would respond to it okay so now 40

something years later we’re sitting here

there’s 31 television networks on the

air in 13 or 14 different languages and

we are literally ultimately uh now

communicating to the globe as we’re

sitting here okay yeah so if everyone

can

realize it’s kind of an important

subject that we’re talking about okay

okay and so if everybody moved on

something that God spoke to them there

it is you know take another generation

what would that become what exactly what

God had done if we would have obeyed at

that and we’ve had that we’ve had that

in our life I’m thinking about when we

first got married babe where you’ve had

these these moments where like you said

there is almost like a huge conversation

that has already happened and the wealth

of it download it just downloads to you

in an instant

um and one of those things happened when

we were married for our very first year

of marriage very first year what

happened

we were at a family reunion on my

father’s side of the family

and uh I remember one of my cousins said

Jerry do you realize that if you and

Priscilla don’t have any boys the

Chardonnay will die with you

I’m like and I looked around I’m like

wow

and at that moment I felt like Laura

said to me

Jerry you have nothing but boys wow and

so I looked at Priscilla and I told her

what I said you have nothing but boys we

have nothing but boys and I remember

when I first I was born Jackson a boy

uh the Second Son Jerry Jr a boy

and it was so funny the third child

everybody you know

oh the way she’s carrying it it’s a girl

it’s a girl I’m like no it’s not it’s a

boy and everybody asks me how confident

was I that I knew that it was a boy wow

and I told him years ago the Lord told

me I had nothing but boys because what

he’s doing

is starting a new generation wow of

Shire men wow and uh I remember being in

the delivery room and uh uh when when

when Jude was coming out and his head

was out uh I said oh I bet you a

thousand dollars

that’s a boy the doctor said we haven’t

seen everything yet I said if that’s a

girl she’s going to be with me for the

rest of her life that’s a boy

but you know what some of the details of

that that you have to know is that some

of the well most of the men in Jerry’s

Legacy

did not live well they didn’t honor God

they didn’t stay with their wives they

didn’t honor their kids nothing and so

in that moment where he felt like the

Lord said that to him he really felt

like the Lord was saying I’m doing this

on purpose I’m going to dinner I’m going

to change what it means to be a shire

man through this Legacy and he looked at

me just barely into our first year of

marriage and said we don’t have boys

God’s doing this on purpose and here we

are 18 years later with our three boys

and so we have high expectations that

God’s got a plan for them he does um and

you don’t have any plan for any more

kids we actually do not

you know she always says she always says

from this stage our youngest is Jude

because that’s as close as she can get

the Revelation because it is finished it

is finished

I’m lying right there

oh gosh okay so start us out on um

because I know so many people wonder oh

you know how can I hear God’s voice for

ourselves and I know trust it or trust

or trust it how can I trust God’s voice

when I do hear it is that really him is

it me is it yeah well let me let me just

start by putting a little Grace over

this entire situation the reality is

that sometimes

you do not know until hindsight that

what you heard was the voice of God

there you go and the reality is that

there is grace and mercy to cover our

missteps and that the Lord in his

graciousness toward us his knowledge of

our Frailty and our Humanity for the

Willing heart who desires to do his will

even when we make mistakes he allows

them to become our greatest teachers for

hearing him correctly in the future he

does not hold it against us because

we’ve misstepped along the way so

um just Grace for those of us yes who

have ever heard God wrong

and wish we could get it and get it

right one of the people I sort of

interviewed when I was first writing

that book many you know over a decade

ago now I interviewed Henry blackaby who

wrote Experiencing God yes and I you

know had my notebook out my pen I was

going to take a seminary class from

Henry blackody you know and I said how

do you know when you’re hearing God and

he gave me lots of incredible answers to

that question but really he summed it up

this way he said The more you know God

the more clearly you can hear God

there was really nothing for me to write

down because it boiled down to Priscilla

it’s simple he said The more you know

him the more clearly you can hear him so

the reason why we go to the scriptures

the reason why we have quiet time the

reason why we fellowship with other

believers who are going to help us

remain encouraged in our faith is

because we’re just trying to get to know

God when you know his character

when you know the nuances of what he

does say and what he wouldn’t say

because how he spoke to our forefathers

because of how he handled circumstances

previously with people in the scriptures

who were going through some of the same

scenarios we’re going through now when

you see his personality and his

character then you know when you hear

the voice of fear uh-uh that don’t sound

like my god when you hear the voice of

your ego Pride jealousy divisiveness

stepping in all of that stuff that in

our flesh is also trying to get a word

in edgewise we can quickly quickly

pinpoint the voice of a stranger because

if we know God the more clearly we can

discern and divide his voice from a

stranger okay now you talked about

seeking God’s provision and His

blessings on our life and then knowing

who what his character is talk about

that because I found that fascinating

yes so God’s blessing um and I believe

his Provisions are a corroboration of

his word to us so in other words while

in the Old Testament there were external

means as a primary way for to hear God

in the New Testament and now in this

time frame as well we have something

they didn’t have we have the Holy Spirit

so the primary way he has speak to us is

that he speaks to us has changed but his

goal hasn’t his goal is still for his

kids to hear his voice so he’s chosen

the holy spirit of God to be the the way

that we uh hear and know what it is that

his will is for our life but he still

uses external means his provision His

blessings his aligning of Providence

some people would call it luck or

coincidence no it’s the aligning of

God’s handiwork in our life to confirm

that what we’re sensing on the inside is

indeed how he’s aligning uh the

direction for our life to just FB Myers

a great Theologian put it this way when

a big 747 is getting ready to land on a

Runway well well the plane better not

just be looking for one light somewhere

to land better not just look for two

lights somewhere to land there better be

several lights that are that are

aligning a Runway so that that 747 7

knows exactly to relent the bigger the

decision that you have to make the more

you need to trust in the mercy of God’s

external confirmation that aligns for

you where to land that plane in your

life beautiful um and and so that’s

important that we have external

blessings provision coincidence that

really shows us the sovereignty of God

aligning I’ll give you an example I was

just telling you guys before we started

airing that I

that I started to to look at this

Discerning the voice of God book The

material that we’ve been privileged to

be able to develop Through The Years on

the topic and I just started you know

how the Lord puts layers of maturity on

a message the more you grow in him

aren’t we so grateful sure that he lets

us grow and mature and learn from our

mistakes and I thought I was just

starting to feel like you know it might

be time especially with the the video

series that we’ve done in regards to

this it was taped 11 years ago so it

kind of looks dated now and I thought we

might need to do something different

with that at some point this was going

to be my lazy year where I just kind of

sat down and didn’t write too much but

at the same time I started to sense that

on the inside maybe we need to do that

at some point one of my Publishers

called to say you know let’s redo the

Discerning the voice of God Bible study

then the publisher of this particular

book called and said hey you know what

maybe we’re going to put a reface this

and go ahead and freshen up the material

here in the new insights that the Lord

has given you so there were two things

two lights there that kind of

corroborated what I was already sensing

on the inside and then Matt Lloyd Crouch

called and said you know what Priscilla

we think that we would love to offer

this to to people who want to know how

to discern God’s leading that third

light wow was the confirmation for me

that what it was I was sensing on the

inside the Lord was very clearly clearly

giving me a light bulb to let me know

this would be his direction for me which

ultimately means that Discerning the

voice of God is a is on the heart of God

okay so I didn’t call your publisher

your publisher didn’t call us we didn’t

you know yeah there was nothing we are

yeah there was no person kind of trying

to stir that you know soup there a

number of years ago

when laws were different

um today

um if we’re hiring somebody here at

Trinity Broadcasting we can say by the

way you’re you know TBN is a Christian

organization might have noticed

um are you a Christian

we can say that that is but there if you

wind the hands of clock back about 30

years you couldn’t say that you couldn’t

make somebody tell you whether they were

a Christian or not in in the application

process it was a different rules

well my dad uh when he or in the early

days somebody called

and Trinity Broadcasting is you know

under the authorization of the Federal

Communications Commission we have

employees here that make sure we stay in

tune with those policies and procedures

and rules and all that kind of stuff we

have different sets of employees that do

Lighting and Sound and this and that but

my dad was of course the general manager

and and somebody called and my dad’s on

the phone Mr Crouch you have to be a

Christian to work at your Channel

he had the phone in his hand he went ye

and wanted to say yes and the Discerning

voice of God at that point was literally

he couldn’t say the word yes so he went

yeah

and tried to say Yes again and couldn’t

and he said hold second put the call on

hold and said you know just kind of went

what you know Lord

and he clicked the button back and went

well sir I suppose you don’t have to be

a Christian to work at our Channel but

you might want to be

uh you know much like if you were

applying for a Spanish language Channel

you might want to know how to speak

Spanish yeah and the guy went

well that makes a lot of sense okay I

get that uh oh by the way if he said yes

I was going to file uh you know against

your license at the Federal

Communications Commission

so my dad’s you know hit over the head

with a ball peen hammer from the Lord

that moment was that was God having a

conversation by literally not allowing

him to make a mistake and see here’s the

thing that I love about this story about

your dad and the story about your

parents at the very beginning of this

what I love is their willingness to not

push past those moments of restraint

when they sense the cat that that

warning that conviction to not put the

call on hold but then pick it back up

only to get that yes out that they

wanted that he wanted to get out and

that’s the problem with most of us that

rebellious streak that we all have that

when we sense that conviction that

warning don’t say that to your spouse

not right now that’s not the time to say

that to yourself you had to say the

spouse thing

yes you know when you’re in heat and

fellowship with your spouse and you you

know sometimes as wives we get ready

because we know what we’re going to say

it’s gonna shut this whole thing down

and we’re going to win this battle we

plan to win the battle and then we feel

that warning that conviction

that’s not that’s not going to be

healthy for the the longevity of your

marriage the question is when we sense

that well we push past it and say what

we want to say anyway yeah wow or will

we

submit to the leadership of the Holy

Spirit and the moment it might seem a

little bit uh limited to losing yeah it

might seem like your limit you’re losing

but really the outcome of obedience is

always freedom and victory yes and it’s

hard to see that from this perspective

but if you trust God if we trust God

then when we sense that conviction of

the Holy Spirit to not say this to not

buy this to not eat all of this to

restrain ourselves it’s because there’s

freedom and victory that he’s trying to

lead us to okay so I’m gonna personally

hold you to that when the butter cake is

is served a little bit later so there’s

this thing called butter cake

that both of you talked about okay we

ain’t gonna be talking about the holy

spirit

so when it comes to this kind of

Discerning the voice of God we’re

unpacking this all hour with Jerry and

Priscilla Shire

um I have a question let me let me just

let me let me say this one thing when it

pertains because I want to jump off of

something you’re saying about Mary

marriage

I was running one day and the Lord said

I didn’t call you

seemed to be pointing at me okay this is

like a Daydream this isn’t like you know

I mean it’s like you’re just trying to

just sound weird I’m not sounding weird

because I don’t want to sound weird uh

but it felt like the Lord was pointing

at me with one finger you know I didn’t

call you I called you and then he had

two fingers pointing and Lori was next

to me in this kind of Daydream yeah I

knew I was running and I was on the side

of the road and all that

came home and told her and and let me

tell you something that got more

important

the years later that this happened 20

years ago

because I’ve always loved her but the

idea that he didn’t call me he called me

I didn’t call you I called you and she’s

there so I wouldn’t be the me that God

sees without her and so that’s a good

man right there okay so ultimately I

have to remind him of that on it

honestly

she doesn’t I’ve always known that you

know so let me tell you bickering in

marriage pales to comparison of just

making this one statement if the Lord

said that to me and he did

or I felt you know again it wasn’t this

conversation then if I divorced her I

wouldn’t be divorcing her I’d be

divorcing my destiny

yeah now when in in light of that who

cares you know yeah what kind of what

kind of what kind of okay yeah yeah

let’s go there immediately so so the I

the idea that

um you know the voice of the Lord

changed my Dynamic about what marriage

was 20 years ago or so

uh I’m different yeah you know I’m

Different The Voice why is it important

to hear God because it changes you

change me why is it that’s right

let’s change you you know what it does

you know what it does yeah it ruins you

for church as usual oh hey it ruins you

yeah that regular Old Mundane Christian

Rita Versa day to keep the devil away

sit in church go because my mama went my

grandmother went this is what we do all

of that goes away okay because you’re

hungering for what you know you’ve

experienced before actually sensing the

voice of God his presence near you

listen sometimes hearing God is less

about having a specific word and more

about just The Nearness of his presence

just knowing that he’s near I’m talking

about where your physical body responds

to the presence of God there are times

when you know he’s near because he’s

omnipresent there are times where it he

manifests himself in a way where the

hair on the back of your neck stem kind

of fail Goosebumps yes and in those

moments once you start sensing The

Nearness of God in that way you’re

ruined for all just doing stuff because

it’s what you’re supposed to be doing

and you want more of that and I think

what a lot of people need to understand

and he also speaks through his silence

wow very much so you know I’m not saying

anything

you know think about the years in the

world where you know from the old to New

Testament he was just silent yeah

and his silence means stay still don’t

move I got you yeah does somebody your

size ever feel Goosebumps does that ever

happened to you ever

you know you know I’m gonna have

Goosebumps right now oh yeah hey hey hey

hey hey hey yeah how much time we have

left in the show they’re needing to get

out okay

um and by the way uh we’re gonna unpack

this so get right back into the subject

it’s an important subject matter even

the idea well the way the publisher and

all that kind of stuff this is a this is

on the heart of God right now this is

the people being dissatisfied with the

mundane yeah we are aren’t wanting to

hear God’s voice wanting to know you

know I don’t I mean you know not what to

to eat today yeah necessarily but

needing to know to help their kids yeah

to their jobs their you know in every

area of your life I believe God is

speaking or wants to speak or wants to

have a say yes and you know I want to

say too that just that sense of

dissatisfaction that that someone may be

feeling that we all feel when we’re

going to be launched into the next level

in our relationship with God sometimes

that dissatisfaction makes us so upset

and so frustrated because we just want

to know the answer we want to get to the

answer but the dissatisfaction itself is

a sign of God’s spirit working with us

absolutely and the satisfaction the

journey that it is going to lead you on

the lessons that are meant to be learned

they’re going to be learned because the

dissatisfaction sent you on a journey

the journey itself is not a waste of

time Discerning the voice of God is

never something you’re going to arrive

at it is never something you’re going to

be successful at it is going to be a

journey with God as you walk in The

rhythms of Grace you will be on your

deathbed still wanting to know whether

or not you have clearly heard the voice

of God because we are human wow he’s

mysterious he’s got it aren’t we glad

that he’s not just a big version of us I

don’t want God to just be a big me I

want God to be so far beyond my

imagination that I can never arrive at

the knowledge of him that I have to

constantly and consistently be growing

well because it takes faith it takes

Faith to say okay you know what that

that’s why I always say if we step out

in faith kind of no matter what it is

but if we walk in faith how can we ever

fail in that that’s right that’s right

if we’re believing that we’re doing what

God’s called us and we could have been

in our yeah yeah even when we’re when

we’re unsure and we’re unsteady in in

the book I list several of these but

I’ll tell you just a couple of them I

believe that he allows us to have the

mercy of confirmation I call them the

five M’s of hearing God when you sense

that God is imparting something upon you

impressing conviction

um uh just a a push towards something or

away from something ask him for the

mercy of confirmation he knows you’re

just a human he knows that you need to

make sure that his fingerprints are on

this assignment before you move forward

I believe that he honors the sincere

request of his children when they say

Lord would you just do something to

confirm not not because it’s the primary

way you speak I think you’re speaking

would you confirm that by some external

means to point me in the right direction

and then one of the other M’s is the

ministry of Eli do you remember the

little boy Samuel he had an older wiser

guy in his life named Eli who was the

one who pointed out to him that the

voice you’re hearing is the voice of God

you need to have a wiser more mature

believer in your life who you admire not

the car they drive the house they live

on live in in this success that they’ve

achieved but the ongoing conversational

relationship they have with God the

victory you’ve seen them experience in

your life you go to them and you say

here’s what I think the Lord is saying

would you pray through this with me

listen I’ve got those people in my life

the majority of the things that we have

done in ministry as a couple we have not

done I’m talking about big things that

would have marked our lives and our

children’s lives we have not done before

we have called people that we are

submitted to their Authority ask them

would they pray through and give us

their wise counsel before we took a step

so we’ve submitted ourselves to the

ministry of Eli we’ve got Eli’s in our

life okay we’re talking about Discerning

the voice of God we’re going to be

talking about it unpacking it with Jerry

and Priscilla are all hour long this

book why don’t you uh wind back and go

back to the original moment that you

started thinking about writing this book

what was happening in your life what was

going on how did this subject matter

start forming books for most people are

painful to write except Max Lucado who

says it’s easy which is not fair he’s

kind of different though that’s not even

yeah

and so most of us would would I’ve never

written a book probably won’t but the

idea it would be painful because it’s

hard for me to write a letter so this

this had to be a period of light in your

life where you were going to drill down

you were going to get into this why this

book why this subject matter when you

wrote it

specifically because of what your wife

described a few moments ago as a

dissatisfaction with my Christian life

the way it was wow I grew up in a

incredible wonderful Spirit-filled

environment where my father who started

the church that I still attend to this

day when I was one year old they have

been Faithfully pastoring for 40 years

and if anybody can preach the word of

God it is Tony Evans

he is one of the most gifted

communicators of God’s word and I was

talking to your wife earlier today and

telling her that

the reality is I had parents that lived

the thing I’m so grateful integrity and

character that’s what my parents had and

so I gleaned so much of what the word of

God was who it described God to be what

he did in the Old Testament in the New

Testament I knew all that

but felt dissatisfied because if he did

that for them then why am I not

experiencing that for me there was an

unrest in my heart I wanted more I

wanted to see and experience this God of

the Bible and it is that dissatisfaction

that sent me on a just a personal

Journey that connected me with people

who were in different streams of the

faith and instead of closing them out I

invited in what it is that God was

teaching them and the ways that he had

demonstrated himself to them and by just

listening and gleaning and inviting from

the breadth of the body of Christ I

began to realize that there is so much

more than our little box of our little

stream presents to us that there is more

that can be that doesn’t take away or

water down what we have but on the Firm

Foundation of where that God has already

laid in our life there are deeper depths

and there are higher Heights and so I

just started walking the journey and I’m

so grateful to the Lord because he um

honored my quest by again not allowing

me to be at a place where I’ve arrived

I’m in a place right now here I am at I

wrote that book I think when I was 31 or

32 here I am at 42 years old and I’m at

a place right now where I’m revisiting

this whole concept because I’m needing

to say Lord I’m at a place right now

where I feel like you’re silent or

either my heart’s hardened and I’m not

hearing so once again Lord I need to

retrain my spiritual ears I’m praying

and saying Lord would you heighten my

spiritual senses you know just like we

have five physical senses we’ve got

spiritual sentence Lord senses Lord I

Need My Radar to be up so that I can

detect your presence and hear your voice

and I’m going to need you to make my

detectors sensitive again Lord and I’m

entrusting that to your spirit so it’s

an ongoing

um thing that is born out of those

moments of unrest in our life with the

Lord the greatest gift ever it’s the

greatest gift it means there’s a new

level he wants to take you to so I’ve

been trying to keep myself from getting

frustrated by those moments right and

just go with God you know so then then

at some point though how is your life

different

how is your life better

after you hit that dissatisfaction Point

started writing this book what has

changed in the 10 years for you

personally because there could be

somebody viewing going you know this is

really too deep of a subject for me you

know I got kids to raise and I got two

jobs and I got this and that I don’t

have time to put into okay how can we

make sure everyone understands this book

the contents of this book the subject

matter of hearing God’s voice is

something that will change their life so

take your own Journey talk to us about

that

if we feel like our life is too big and

too filled with the busyness of kids or

business or life right now to be

concerned about this topic that this

seems so theoretical and sort of out

there

then those very reasons are the reasons

why I’m more than anything you need to

discern the voice of God okay all the

things that you love the most your

children your spouse your business your

ministry all the things that are closest

to you without guidance and leading from

the Holy Spirit without knowing what it

is that God wants you to do you will not

be able to handle those things I won’t

be able to handle those things correctly

we’ll miss out on some of the biggest

gifts and biggest surprises and biggest

Miracles that he wants to present to us

because most of those hinge on us

hearing a word and having faith enough

to step out on the journey just like

your parents got it let me tell you what

I’ve gained here’s what I’ve gained what

I’ve gained is that now at 42 years old

and I say this I say this uh you know

I’m stepping carefully when I say it but

at 42 years old there are very few

things

that the Lord could ask me to do that I

would not quickly and immediately step

out to do them because I have I have

such a track record with God now even

with my mistakes but I have such a track

record with God now and I think my

husband can attest to this but I’m one

of those people that if I sense the holy

spirit is calling me to do something

because of the track record of seeing

his faithfulness time and time again

step in for me when I stepped off what I

thought was a ledge and it didn’t look

like it was good but I had a word from

the Lord and it was confirmed in his

word and by leadership in my life so I

just went ahead and I did it anyway and

I watched him catch me and I watched him

take me to a place I never could have

gotten in my own giftings or my own

Talent or my own skill you watch him do

that enough times you get to the place

that when God asks you to do it again

you you can’t wait to step off the ledge

yeah another word okay let’s go I’m so

excited to see what’s next in the

journey so I get excited now about about

hearing a word from God I don’t allow

myself to become discouraged when I feel

like he’s silent I assume that that

means the last word I had stay with the

last word stay right there being

obedient to them do me a favor uh just

uh let’s let’s for somebody that still

is going

yeah that’s good for you folks that are

on television right you don’t know what

it’s like out here you know and all this

and and you know you’re all up there in

your suit and you’re all looking good

and smelling good and all that kind of

stuff it’s really rough out here think

of the people in you know foreign parts

of the world of Indonesia and and Africa

that are watching tonight they’re just

they’re struggling to get by okay what a

God talk to them yeah well yeah would it

happen think of think of them in in

regard to that and if you would look at

them and maybe pray for them Priscilla

let me just say this first of all and I

want to talk to those people please

I’m the youngest of three I grew up in a

single parent home

my mother had the sack groceries work

for tips only to put food on the table

but I remember nice I couldn’t sleep and

get up

I saw her praying on her knees

for her it was how bad she wanted it I

tell people all the time how the prayers

of one woman change the entire

generation wow

so yeah and so God speaks to us no

matter what ailments we have no matter

how devastating those seasons of Life

are where we feel like we are completely

overwhelmed we don’t have what it’s

going to take to sustain our current

needs and we’re wondering if God hears

we’re wondering whether or not our

prayers matter we’re wondering whether

or not he is ever going to speak into

and change and alter our circumstances

but one of the greatest gifts I think

from scripture is not his voice it’s not

what he can give us it’s just him yeah

seek Him He will disclose more and more

to you in terms of his will his plans

for your life his gifts His blessings

those are a benefit of just having him

and you need to know that he’ll never

leave you he will never forsake you no

matter how devastating things might

become and I know there are some very

real practical needs and so I want to

pray for those right now I want to pray

that the Lord will manifest himself to

you in a tangible way that will keep you

hope filled encourage and excited to

continue your relationship with the Lord

despite external circumstances Lord

Jesus I pray for my sister and brothers

all around the world I’m asking right

now in Jesus name that you would bring

encouragement you would replace

discouragement with encouragement Lord

I’m going to ask right now in Jesus name

that you would build up somebody’s faith

today by manifesting yourself in their

life Lord I’m asking you to speak to

them a still Small Voice Lord or let the

scriptures fall open to a page of of

your word Lord that is so evidently so

clearly for them that they will never

doubt again that they have not heard

from you and experienced you Lord I’m

asking that the church they attend would

be on fire with your spirit that every

time they and the others that go there

would walk through the door they would

have a tangible sense of your presence

with them Lord I pray that your word

would be alive I pray that the

assignment of the enemy against them

against their children against their

spouses Lord that those assignments

would be canceled and that they would

see those assignments replaced by um

Your Grace your love and your mercy

washing over them and their experience

Lord meet us speak to us Lord we need a

word from you and so we ask the Lord

that you would bring your word to your

people and speak clearly so that we can

hear

you thank you lift the veil from our

eyes thank you Lord

cause the veil that is over our ears the

hardness of our heart Lord to be

softened and to be removed so that we

have tender sensors that are able to

detect your presence we need you Lord

and so we ask you to speak it is in

Jesus name that we pray amen amen

beautiful wow

wow wow I love what you said about your

mama you know the need for God so many

of us we need something new in our life

we need God and and I think that

dissatisfaction leads us to a place of

seeking

you know and I think being a Seeker is

one of the greatest things that could

ever happen to us because there’s a lot

of people sitting in church that aren’t

seeking God anymore yeah but there’s a

lot of people out in the world that

haven’t found God yet God hasn’t found

them that are seeking you seek and

you’re going to find them that’s right

you know so I think that’s a that’s a

good thing if you’ve got children that

are seeking God you need to pray for

your kids that God brings that person or

something into their lives that that

draws them to God because I think that’s

a very open season of their life was

when they’re seeking God totally how do

you know

um so so I know that a lot of

um people want to hear God’s voice but

they won’t stop talking

right tell us how important my problems

stop talking

yeah we have turned prayer into this

one-way monologue where we’re just you

know just feeling like we have to feel

in the note of the silence any quiet

spaces we’ve just got to fill them in

with our next request or the next thing

that we want to say and you’re right we

don’t leave room for God to get a word

in edgewise but one of the authors that

I remember reading Bob Sorge I believe

his name is he said uh nothing happens

when I speak but when God speaks worlds

come into existence so why in the world

wouldn’t I want to leave time for him to

speak and what that practically looks

like is yes vocalize your prayers to him

I literally have kind of begun the habit

of even writing some down just writing

down what it is that I want to say to

the Lord yes we have the privilege of

bringing our needs and our requests to

him but there ought to be at some point

where you just pause and you say Okay

Lord is there anything you want to say

to me most of the time he’ll speak to us

just through his word through whatever

you’re reading in your Bible time that

day he knows how to match up what you’re

going to be reading today with what the

needs of your life or your future are

that you might not even be aware of yet

so in his word that is how most of the

time he speaks back to us but oftentimes

it’s just an impression it’s just a

Bible verse from that you learned in

Sunday school years ago all of a sudden

it comes back to your mind now take that

as God speaking to you or the name of a

friend you haven’t talked to in years

take that as God’s saying pray for this

friend right now those little

Impressions those little inklings you

know Deuteronomy chapter 30 says God’s

word is not so hard that you’ve got to

send someone above the heavens to go

find it for you or through the Seas to

go and get it for you God’s word is in

your own heart it’s in your it is as

close as your fingers tips all of that

stuff that we discount as our own ideas

oh that’s just coincident most of the

time for the believer for the one who is

seeking God’s will in his voice most of

the time that’s God’s word take it

seriously write it down ask him for

confirmation treasure his word and see

if he doesn’t show you how important and

palatable it is in terms of the

experience that he has planned for you

we are talking with Jerry and Priscilla

Shire Discerning the voice of God you

know what’s um

you know it it couldn’t be any more

important this subject matter I mean the

very fact that the four of us are

sitting in a studio

uh doing this broadcast is because

Discerning the voice of God came to Paul

and Jan Crouch 40 something years ago

and TBN is his thing this isn’t

something that the Crouch family built

this is something God did and and the

idea

um you know that’s why it’s almost

comical when people try to rise up

against something that God did it’s just

kind of kind of funny you know it can be

irritating for a season but it’s it’s

almost comical yeah uh because uh if we

thought that this ministry and as it is

now fully in its second generation we’re

up to us we quit it’s not up to us it’s

God’s thing and so we have that same

Firm Foundation of understanding and and

oftentimes people

will say well you know everything’s

different for you and everything’s

different for these smiling faces on on

television you don’t understand what’s

like you know in the real world and well

the problem is is uh the Crouch family

the Shire family and you know the Evans

Family were all just normal people till

we heard the voice of the Lord and then

that’s what changed if there is a

difference it’s because of his voice

there couldn’t be a more important

subject matter for you uh and Jerry I’m

circling back to you just for a second

because of what you said so it’s not an

economic thing it isn’t just you know uh

Executives that the Lord speaks to your

mama uh needed the voice of the Lord and

apparently was struggling in a single

family situation so it worked and it

worked for your mama yes you’re

absolutely right I remember her coming

home with her tips

and and it says she made forty dollars

in tips that day all right I remember

her taking out four dollars yeah you

know putting it to the side because that

was going to go into the offering plate

that’s an I mean I’m like Mom are you

kidding me whip you know the Lord would

understand

she goes no it’s just she goes it’s a

simple obedience so it had nothing to do

with that and then I remember her like I

said getting up early praying I remember

there were situations I was in off in

college that some of my boys and I we

would go do something and there was this

this thing in me like you know what

Jerry don’t go you know what no

that was the time my mom was praying for

me so she has kept me out of so much

situation through her prayers that’s why

I said the prayers had the prayers of

one woman change the generation I mean

still today it’s so funny our boys would

be like is Granny’s still praying she’ll

be in the prayer for 30 minutes I’m like

yep she’s still here praying I said

she’s praying for you guys so she’s

praying even for this next Generation

her grandchildren yeah yeah and so it’s

just great but yeah it is not an

economical thing it is it is a it is

something that you desire do you really

want it like I said she used to get up

early in the morning before the kids got

up on her niece praying for her children

praying for the day praying for whatever

so you know you make time for what you

want yeah and if you want to hear the

voice of God you got to make time for

him okay now we we the four of us

grew up in an environment where this

subject matter is normal yeah this on

this this is understood we get this

there are people that grew up in the

opposite polar opposite of that and they

don’t get it this book

you know it the title is Discerning the

voice of guard how to recognize when God

is speaking okay so there could be you

know why don’t you start with you know

just or speak to the people that are new

Christians they didn’t grow up they

don’t have no examples in their life of

this happening this isn’t normal and

sounds sounds like it’s not right that

we’re not right I think they sound a

little crazy

okay so uh just introduce the subject

matter if somebody just doesn’t quite

get it okay

so John 10 27 to me is the most concise

and comprehensive verse in scripture

about hearing God it is when Jesus says

my sheep hear my voice I know them and

they follow me

he says you got to be my sheep to hear

my voice so you said new Christians

Listen that relationship right there is

the the connector that allows you access

to the voice of God so so to me the

first step is actually believing that as

an adopted son or daughter grafted into

the family of God that you have the

capacity innately because you’re part of

the family to now hear the voice of God

it’s like um

when we were growing up in our house I

don’t know about you guys but we didn’t

have access to a whole lot of cable

television my parents didn’t get cable

they didn’t get you know whatever

DirecTV all that stuff we didn’t have

any of that stuff right and I I felt a

little mad about that I really wanted to

have more channels my parents chose that

we could really only watch The Cosby

Show on Thursdays at seven o’clock and

then a different world so it wasn’t

until we were we were getting ready to

get married I moved out I remember the

day I had the Cable Guy come over hook

up the cable and after he did all that

hooking up he said here’s the remote

control push the guide button and I

pushed the guide button and I had never

seen so many channels in my life on the

screen I had no idea all those channels

were there now all those channels didn’t

just get created

that day they had always been there it’s

just I didn’t have the right hook up so

that I could tap into them and bring

them and draw them down into my

experience the holy spirit is the hookup

when you place faith in Jesus Christ

Ephesians chapter 1 says the moment you

believe you receive the hookup the Holy

Spirit now you are able to draw down

Divine channels it’s not that you

created them no they were always there

God’s speaking he wants to reveal

himself now you have the the opportunity

to hear him so really the first step

especially if you grew up in an

environment where this concept is sort

of

um unique and different and new for you

it’s to believe that as a as a privilege

of being a son or a daughter you can

hear from God it is the deception of the

enemy to cause us to think we have to

have a seminary degree we have to have

some special hotline connection with God

like somebody we may admire that we as

regular men and women can’t hear from

God that’s what the enemy wants you to

think right he doesn’t want you to know

it’s your Birthright and so believing

that you can is the first step to hear

um we how much time do we have left we

got about four minutes

um uh why don’t why don’t you kind of

don’t get up from the set without saying

something that is in this book that’ll

help people uh and so just kind of start

giving your final thoughts in regard to

the subject matter and the fact that

this book is available right here right

now well

one of the most beautiful things about

hearing God that I enjoy reminding

myself of and that is that sometimes we

we want to know the will of God for us

we want to hear his voice but we’re a

little bit nervous about that because he

might actually call us to do something

we don’t want to do you know he might

actually send us somewhere that we don’t

want to be sent or he might actually

call us to a season that we don’t want

to we don’t really want to be single

anymore we don’t even we don’t really

want to be married anymore he might

actually impress upon us something we

don’t want and we’re nervous about that

so um one of the things I love about the

holy spirit’s work in us and this is in

regards to hearing God but his work in

US is to sanctify us sanctification is

the process by which we are molded into

the image of Jesus Christ it is the

process by which our mind changes our

Ambitions change our desires we start

wanting stuff we never thought we want

we stop wanting things we never thought

we’d ever not want to want to to

separate ourselves from all of a sudden

we find ourselves unnerved by jokes that

we used to laugh at or company we used

to keep it just doesn’t work for us

anymore that’s the work of the holy

spirit so in regards to Discerning the

voice of God if in anybody’s ever

concerned or afraid like I have been

that oh God might say to me something I

don’t want the Holy Spirit what he does

is turn your desires so that they are in

alignment with God’s will so you

actually want what it is that God wants

you to want that’s what I believe the

psalmist meant when he said that he

gives you the desires of your heart he

doesn’t give you what you want he

actually puts his Desires in your heart

and

use every available means to reach as

many individuals and families as

possible with the life-changing Gospel

of Jesus Christ thank you for helping

make the gospel of grace go around the

world

without you we couldn’t do it God bless

you