Consider the relationship between a herd of sheep and their shepherd. A shepherd guides, nourishes, and protects the sheep of his flock. The role of the sheep is one of response.
When their shepherd calls, they listen. When he leads them to grassy pastures, they eat. When a wolf or thief attempts to overtake them, they are dependent on their shepherd’s efforts to protect them and lead them into safety. Our relationship with Jesus is the same—he calls us, gives us all we need, and keeps us from evil. Our job is simply to know and follow his voice. In trying to hear Jesus, we should continually run to the Bible. God gave us His Word so we would know him and his voice. In John Piper’s weekly “Ask Pastor John” podcast, he tried to tackle the question of whether God still speaks verbally. The entire podcast is less than seven minutes long, and you can read the whole transcript in the link that follows, but in his opening few sentences, he says, “God really has spoken. And this word is living and active. It is not a dead word. He really speaks today through the inspired Scriptures. He really, really does. He really does. Not just with information, but with himself by his Spirit” (John Piper, “Does God Verbally Speak to Me?,” Desiring God, July 16, 2014, https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/does-god-verbally-speak-to-me).
