What is in the Bible is there for a reason. Every page is inspired by God and teaches you, guides you and makes you grow (2 Timothy 3:17). In this article, we are going to learn together from a New Testament hero of faith: Philip the evangelist. But before we do so, I want to briefly review the previous articles on hearing God's voice.

Everything starts with knowing that you can walk right into God's presence because things are right between you and Him. Indeed, He wants nothing more than to communicate with you! But as in any human relationship, it takes mutual respect in your relationship with God to get closer together. The more you respect and worship God, the more you will hear His voice.

Philip respects God

An example of someone who respected God is Philip the evangelist. We are introduced to him in Acts 8. Philip tells the people in Samaria about Jesus. And God does the rest: unclean spirits flee and many people are healed. The Samaritans become convinced and heed what Philip tells them. So we come to know Philip as someone who believes what Jesus has said and is obedient to it. Indeed, Jesus has instructed us to preach the Gospel to all creatures and that is exactly what Philip does.

In doing so, he moves along with a Biblical principle: To whoever has, more will be given. Philip is obedient and God can therefore give him more. So when He wants to reach someone with the Gospel, He knows how to quickly find this faithful servant. In Acts 8:26 we read:

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went :

(Acts 8:26-27a)

What a beautiful example of respect for God this is! This may seem like something small, but it shows Philip's heart’s attitude. I don't know what Philip was thinking when he heard the angel's words. Perhaps he wondered if it was not a fantasy, if he had really seen and heard it. Perhaps he considered not going. After all, suppose something happens? Isn't it dangerous to go out all alone on such a deserted road? One could think of all sorts of reasons why Philip would ‘give it some thought’ before setting off - or even not to go at all. 

Yet he didn't. Philip did only one thing: he obeyed. Without knowing why he had to go to this deserted road. That is faith: trusting God. Doing what He tells you to do, even if you don't understand why.

The next step

Yet the why of this command soon became clear - after Philip obeyed and went on his way. Indeed, on the deserted road, he encounters a treasurer from Ethiopia who is reading the Bible. Then we read in verse 29:

Then the spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

So again, Philip hears God's voice. “Okay, and what do you mean by that?” I take from this a principle you find throughout the Bible: God leads you one step at a time. God could have chosen to give all instructions right at the beginning. To tell Philip about the treasurer before he set off and how Philip could tell him about Jesus. But He didn't. This is because He wants Philip to trust Him, and to obey God's voice - even if he doesn't yet know why.

Run to Him!

We can learn from Philip and adopt his attitude. The other day I read a great quote about this in 'The Jesus Book' by Michael Koulianos. On page 100 he writes: “The very nature of how He speaks will force you to run to Him in order to hear what He has to say. This gives Him exactly what He truly years for - you!”

God longs for this intimate friendship with you. He longs for you to simply trust Him. As with Philip, God does not give you all the instructions at once. No, He challenges you to trust Him in what He tells you now. To take the first step with Him in the adventure that is about to unfold. Even if you don't yet understand why.

Do you have a desire to hear God's voice more and go on an adventure with Him? Then I want to challenge you to do what Michael writes in his book: run to Him! And when you come to Him, He will probably remind you of what He said to you last. And He will again challenge you to trust Him and simply obey Him. For just as He had a wonderful adventure in store for Philip, He also has one for you. If you follow Him, He will always show you the next step!