The word synchronize means to occur at the same time or coincide or agree in time. It also means to go on, move, operate, and work at the same rate and exactly together (Dictionary.com). I once heard someone say we need to “ebb and flow” with the Spirit of God. We can move and work with God best when we are hearing from Him, but when we fail to hear or get fresh words and direction from Him, we may get out of sync with His will.
Some seasons are easier than others to hear from God. The dark and quiet seasons can be extremely difficult times for a person who desperately seeks the voice of the Lord. These are the seasons where our faith grows because we must walk in what we believe and not what we hear at the moment. There are a few reasons why we may not hear from God, but no matter the reason we must not lose heart nor go in another direction where we may end up hearing from another spirit.
In my opinion, there is no sweeter place than to be in a position of hearing from the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, everybody at some point will end up in a dry place spiritually; it is inevitable. I have heard even the most notable prophets say they have had seasons of not hearing from God and dark nights of the soul. These are inevitable experiences for every Christ follower, and I think they are necessary for our faith. Don’t get me wrong; I really dislike these seasons because they are agonizingly painful and lonely, but we must go through them to get to the other side and grow in faith and character. God knows what He is doing to help us along our paths of maturity.
Five Things That Block God’s Voice
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. - Jhn 10:27 NKJV Jesus assured us that we could hear Him, yet all too often we do not realize when He is speaking.
The following is not meant to be a complete list of reasons why we may not be hearing from God, but they are some of the most prominent.
Sin-Grieving the Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit will speak and often times loudly in order to direct us to go another way then the sin we are walking in.However, when we continue to sin and not heed His voice, we grieve Him.He will quit speaking so that you may go your way and deal with the consequences of your sin.
Prayerlessness – We cannot expect to hear from the Lord if we are not communicating with Him.We must not only be releasing our hearts to Him, but we must listen for Him to release His heart to us.
Not Reading the Word – The Bible is the living, breathing word of God.If we are not reading it, we are making it difficult for God to speak to us because we are shutting His voice out.We must have the word of God in us in order to discern the voice of God as well.
Disobedience – Sometimes God will lead us to do something, and when we fail to do it, He may not give us another assignment until we complete the first one. If we ask the Father to use us but every time He speaks, we do not do as He asks then He will eventually stop speaking until we obey. This doesn’t mean He has left us, but His quietness may reflect His waiting for our response to the last time He spoke.
Unbelief – If we don’t believe that the Holy Spirit is in us and will teach, counsel, and guide us in the truth according to God, then we won’t know when He is speaking.The Holy Spirit speaks on behalf of God, but if we only believe He seals us for salvation and nothing else, then we won’t likely seek Him to speak.
None of these reasons are irreversible; in fact, once we become aware of a potential problem in our spiritual hearing, it is then that we can fix it.
Out of Sync with God, Out of Sync with Everyone
One of the consequences of not reading the word, not praying, not obeying God’s commands, walking in unbelief or sin is relationship problems. The Bible often speaks about submission. We are to first submit to God and then resist the devil. There is also an order of submission within the family unit and the body of Christ. Ephesians chapter five lays out this order for us. We are to submit first to God, wives submit to their husbands, husbands to God, and the children to parents. This is not a submission to abuse but rather a way of coming alongside someone as helpers.
When we are not synchronized with God, we can become disjointed with other relationships. When we are not aligned properly with God, then all of our relationships can become misaligned. When our relationships are unhealthy, the root is an unhealthy relationship with God. An example of this is when our spouse comes before God, he or she now becomes an idol. We are better husbands, wives, moms, dads, and children when we are first submitted to God, all other order may satisfy the flesh for a season, but eventually, it will fail because we were designed to relate a specific way.
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. - Gal 5:16 This verse tells me there is a way to communicate with God so that we won’t miscommunicate with people. The word walk actually means to be occupied; we are to be so occupied with the Spirit of God, and His kingdom will be that we will not be moved by our flesh!
Think of your relationship with God as a data bank. We back our phones and computers up to a cloud, and when we need that information, we refer to the cloud to retrieve it. We sync our most valuable information to that cloud for safe keeping. When my PC is downloaded to the cloud, I can see it on my computer screen but I can’t see the cloud, yet it holds all my necessary files.
16 All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2Ti 3:16-17
Without the word of God in us, we have nothing to draw from. We must be synced to the One who distributes the Living Word, Jesus Christ. When was the last time you sat down with the most important Data Bank in the world? When was the last time you poured out your heart to the Creator of the universe in a humble position and asked for a restart? God’s mercy is new every morning, and that means we have the ability every day, through Jesus Christ, to have a fresh start on life. It is never too late to synchronize your life to God’s will. As you pray the words below ask God to speak to you in a specific way, He will!
Let’s pray,
Heavenly Father, thank You for mercy that is new daily, I need it today. I feel so out of sorts and have come to believe it is because I am not fully connected to You. You tell me to seek first Your kingdom, and all things will be added unto me. I am seeking You and Your will today; please speak to me in such a way that I can hear and understand what You are saying. I realize that I have put so many things and others before You that nothing seems to be as it should be and I confess my need to get these things right. I repent for the sin of idolatry and ask You to forgive me and put me on the right path. In Jesus name, Amen.