Actress Pricilla Shirer Explains How to Hear God’s Voice Better
By Movieguide® Contributor
OVERCOMER actress Priscilla Shirer explained why those who want to hear the Lord’s voice should turn to the Bible and why God’s miracles from the Old Testament are not as common today.
“That’s why we read God’s Word because we get to know His personality; we get to know the kinds of things He says and doesn’t say. And so, it occurs to us when our ego is speaking or when fear is trying to get a word in – because fear always has something to say – and pride and insecurity is also speaking, the enemy is speaking. You’ll be able to detect, ‘Well, God didn’t say that because that’s totally out of alignment with His character or totally out of alignment with His personality as it’s portrayed in scripture.’ And so, the more you know God the more clearly you can hear Him,” Shirer said.
“We’re listening to everybody and everything else hoping to find the voice of God elsewhere when we are really turning our noses up at Him and ignoring the main means of communication that we have access to straight from the hand of God Himself and that’s the Bible,” she continued. “If you want to hear from God and you don’t ever read the Bible, then you don’t really want to hear from God.”
While some people may think that they would listen to God if only He would perform some sort of sign in their lives, the Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit is the greatest miracle anyone could ever receive.
The Israelites, for example, would walk away from God time and time again even though they experienced undeniable miracles, such as the splitting of the Red Sea. Jesus even teaches that He needs to go away so that the Holy Spirit – who will make an even greater impact than He did – can come.
“You know, we look at those people from the Old Testament that had some of those things that we desire, you know, the fiery pillar by night and the cloud, you know, in the day. And we look at all of these things, the dreams and the visions and the donkeys speaking and all of this stuff and we’re like, ‘Lord if you could just do these things, we would really appreciate that,’” Shirer said.
“‘If lightening could flash at noon tomorrow if you want me to take that job or not,’ we want that,” she continued. “But think about the fact that the Psalmists prayed and said, ‘Lord, please, do not take you spirit from me.’ They wanted in the Old Testament what we have access to now. The reason they needed all of that – and not that God can’t still do that if He wants to because He can – but the reason they needed that was because they did not have the gift that we have, and that is the Holy Spirit.”
She previously explained that positioning oneself before God is key.
“You’re going to position yourself over a portion of scripture…when you make that commitment to posture yourself, to position yourself—I mean that in a spiritual way, meaning the position of your heart has to be in a perspective and a frame of reference that is eager to hear and expects to hear the voice of God speaking to you,” the actress explained.
When your heart is in a position eager for God to speak through the Bible, then you’ll be able to hear his voice better.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Priscilla Shirer, an actress and author known for her roles in WAR ROOM and OVERCOMER, appeared on PRAISE to discuss her book, “Discerning the Voice of God: How to Recognize When God Speaks.”
“There’s the conviction, you know, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that green light of ease and peace that says go. 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,” Shirer shared. “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.”
“Creating time, space, and opportunity to hear God is paramount for those of us who desire to sense His Spirit’s conviction, to receive His detailed guidance, and to discern His intimate leading,” Shirer wrote in her book.