From the earliest pages of Scripture, God speaks. He calls, he commands, and he asks questions. He teaches and makes promises and gives blessings. He speaks all the time—and his words have power.

God declared, “Let there be . . . ,” and the entire universe came into existence (Genesis 1:3-25). He spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden; he told Noah to build an ark and called Abram to leave his homeland (1:28-30; 6:13-21; 12:1-3). He spoke to Moses and to the prophets. He spoke most fully through Jesus himself, the incarnate Word. And he speaks to us today through his Holy Spirit.

Our God longs to speak to us because he wants us to know him and to hear his words of love. He is our Father, and he wants to teach us and guide us. So this month, we want to explore how God speaks and how we can hear and respond to his voice. Let’s begin by looking at how God communicated with his people in the Old Testament.

A Call to Relationship. The Book of Genesis tells us that our first parents interacted freely with God. They experienced his goodness through creation and enjoyed unobstructed communion with him (Genesis 1:28-29; 2:15-20). Before sin entered the world, they spoke and heard directly from God; they expressed their needs freely and trusted him to provide for them. They felt no shame or distance in their relationship with him, and they were eager to listen to him and obey his words.

But another voice entered Adam and Eve’s world: the voice of the serpent. This voice twisted what God had said. He confused the couple and caused them to doubt the words and loving character of their God: “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1). Tragically, they didn’t cling to God’s words and his goodness; instead, they chose to listen to the serpent’s voice.

As a result, they lost their innocence and forfeited the relationship of closeness and trust they once had with God. They now heard his voice through a filter of shame, which drove them to avoid the Lord. Rather than running toward him, they hid (Genesis 3:8-10). God’s tender voice, which had once brought wisdom and love, now evoked fear and defensiveness as the couple avoided taking responsibility for what they had done (3:12-13). But rather than dooming Adam and Eve to eternal drudgery, God banished them from the garden (3:23). Isolated by their sin, they could no longer communicate freely with their Maker. This is our condition as well. Because of original sin, we, too, experience isolation, fear, and an inability to hear God’s voice.

Reflect: What makes you want to flee from the Lord or avoid his voice?

A Voice of Mercy. But God did not leave Adam and Eve to their own devices. Even as he pronounced the consequences of their disobedience, he promised a redeemer who would overcome the power of sin (Genesis 3:15). He clothed them, covering up their nakedness and shame (3:21). He did not leave them without hope.

In his mercy, God continued to speak to Adam’s descendants through creation, through angelic visitors, and in visions and dreams. He spoke to individual people, like Noah, Abram, Isaac, and Jacob and made covenants with them. He saved Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:16-17). He revealed himself to Isaac and promised to bless him and his descendants (26:24). He even spoke words of mercy to the sons of Jacob through their brother Joseph, whom they had tried to kill (44–45).

In every generation, God called out to his people to bring them closer to himself. They didn’t always listen, but because of his great love, God never gave up. He continued to find ways to reveal his mercy.

A Divine Invitation. After spending four hundred years as slaves in Egypt, the people of Israel thought that God had forsaken them. But he saw their oppression and summoned Moses to lead them out. Moses seemed an unlikely candidate for a divine conversation, but God captured his attention through the burning bush. While Moses was feeding his flocks, God invited him to join him in saving his people by demanding that Pharoah release the Israelites (Exodus 3:1-22).

When God communicates with his people, he speaks in ways that we can understand. He spoke to Moses while he was caring for his sheep, just as he speaks to us in the midst of our daily tasks. He attracts our attention and opens our hearts to hear him. And once he has our attention, he reveals his desire to bring us—and all his people—back to himself. God is always working to save his people, and he invites us, as he did with Moses, to collaborate in his mission to rescue them.

Reflect: How has God tried to get your attention?

A Reassuring Voice. Overwhelmed by his encounter with God, Moses hid his face in fear. He protested that he was unworthy of such a call, and he voiced his concern that the people would reject him (Exodus 3:6, 10-14). But God kept patiently repeating messages of his faithfulness: I will be with you, I will help you, I will give you the words to speak (3:12, 14-22). He even demonstrated that he was with him through his brother Aaron, who would help him speak, and by promising powerful signs to persuade Pharoah.

God’s reassurance moved Moses to take courage and set out on his mission, but even more important, God’s message of salvation found a home in his heart. In the years to come, Moses became the voice of God for his people as he spoke the very same truths to them: God is with you. You can trust him. He will not abandon you (see Numbers 14:9; Deuteronomy 1:29-32; 4:31).

Like Moses, we can fear God’s voice and hesitate to obey him. But just as he was patient with Moses, God is patient with us. He speaks words of hope to us: I am with you—don’t be afraid. I won’t abandon you or your family. Come to me; trust in me. I am faithful. If we stop to listen, we will hear his voice, and that voice will comfort us and fill us with courage as well.

Reflect: How have you heard the Lord speak to you?

A Call to Hear and Obey. On Mount Sinai God gave Moses the Ten Commandments to teach the people how to live (Exodus 20). Moses later reminded the Israelites that they, too, had heard God’s voice but that it was too much for them (Deuteronomy 5:4-5, 22-26). Instead of hearing God directly, they accepted Moses as his spokesman. Then, having heard all that God wanted to say to them, they promised to do what he said.

Israel showed humanity’s fickle response to the voice of the Lord. They promised to obey God’s word, but they failed to carry it out. Time after time, God proved his faithfulness by providing for their needs (Exodus 16). Even so, the people struggled to recall his words and trust in what he had spoken.

At Massah and Meribah, they tested the Lord, who gave them water from a rock (Exodus 17). As generous as God was in this incident, it endured as a rebuke against the Israelites: he had spoken, but they would not believe. The psalmist even used it to caution Israel, “Oh, that today you would hear his voice: Do not harden your hearts” (95:7-8).

Throughout the history of God’s people, we see the same paradox repeat itself. And it continues with us. God wants a relationship with us; we long to hear his voice. But we struggle to hear him above the clamor of our fears, needs, and desires. We ask him to speak to us, guide us, and help us. In his mercy God speaks, but we don’t always like what he has to say. At times, we even harden our hearts toward him.

Nevertheless, God continues to speak words of mercy and salvation, of reassurance and command. He constantly calls out to us, even though we struggle to understand his words. That is why he sent Jesus, his living Word and voice of mercy. In our second article, we will explore how God spoke though Christ—and how we can respond to him.