In Hebrews 1:1 we read that:

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.

One of the things that the author of Hebrews is doing in this verse is emphasising to us the fact that throughout human history God has not remained silent. God has not remained quiet and left it up to us to try to figure out what God is like or what God wants.

Instead, God has always sought to communicate with humanity, to make himself known to humanity, so that humanity can know God, so that humanity can know the will of God, and so that humanity can know the ways of God. We see this first of all in Genesis 2:16-17 where:

The LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

In other words, God communicated with Adam, to reveal to Adam what God's desire for Adam was, so that Adam could continue to know God, walk with God, and have fellowship with God. God's communication with humanity always has the ultimate purpose of making himself, his will, and his ways known to us.

As we continue to read Genesis, we find that God spoke to Abraham, sometimes in dreams, sometimes in visions, and as he spoke, God revealed to Abraham who God is, "Jehovah Jireh", the one who provides,[1] and God revealed that his plan and purpose was to make Abraham into a great nation.

In Exodus God spoke to Moses in a burning bush, and as God spoke, God revealed to Moses who God is, "Yahweh", the "I am".[2] God revealed what he was about to do, (deliver Israel out of Egypt), and God revealed to Moses his invitation to join him in that task.

As John reflects upon the person and work of Jesus, he says in John 1:18 that:

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

In other words, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has revealed to us exactly what God is like. Or, as Hebrews 1:2 says:

In these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.

God was speaking to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became a human being, and in becoming a human being Jesus was able to directly reveal God, his will, and his ways to us.

Throughout the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we notice that God communicates with humanity. A communication that continues to this day as we turn our hearts, our minds, and our ears to him, and as we listen to him.

What we further see in Scripture is that part of the Holy Spirit's task in this world is to continue this revelation of truth that Jesus gave during his earthly ministry. To continue to speak to us so that we might know God, his will, and his ways, as we read in John 14:26:

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

And John 15:26:

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.

And also John 16:13-14:

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Notice what Jesus says the Spirit of God does: He teaches us. He reminds us of what we have already heard. He testifies about Jesus. He guides us. He speaks to us.

Jesus also says that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father, and he is sent by the Son. The Holy Spirit speaks what he hears from the Father, and he speaks what he receives from the Son.

What Jesus is saying is that when the Spirit of God speaks to us, he is speaking the very words of God the Father and of Jesus Christ the Son who sent the Spirit into this world. That is, God is speaking to us by the Holy Spirit to reveal himself, his will , and his ways.

As we think about this, we realise that one of the ways the Spirit of God speaks to us is through the Bible. Peter himself made it clear that the Spirit's activity in revealing God's will, purpose and ways can be seen in the origins of the Bible itself. He said in 2 Peter 1:21:

No prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

David said in 2 Samuel 23:2:

The spirit of the LORD speaks through me; his word is upon my tongue.

Ezekiel said in Ezekiel 11:5a:

The spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, ‘Thus says the LORD.’"

The Apostle Paul said in Acts 28:25:

The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah.

Peter prayed in Acts 4:25a:

You spoke by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant.

The Bible didn't just "happen". Whoever the human authors were, and however the human authors worked; whatever their own purposes in writing the various books and letters of the Bible may have been, ultimately, behind them all was the inspiring, leading, guiding work of the Spirit of God, and so Paul could say in 2 Timothy 3:16:

All Scripture is inspired [or, “God-breathed”].[3]

Yes, human authors wrote them down, and, yes, the different personalities, backgrounds, and education of the different authors are clearly seen in the different works, and yes, the author of Chronicles used parts of Samuel, Kings, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Ruth, Ezra, and the Psalms to write his book.

• Including this part.

• Leaving this part out.

• Changing this other part.

• Bringing in new material that wasn't in any of his sources so that the end product was the work of the author of Chronicles to fulfil the purpose of the author of Chronicles.

But behind it all, underneath it all, the Spirit of God was inspiring, leading, and guiding the human author in the production of his work so that as we read Chronicles, or Romans, or Malachi, or James, what we have is not simply another human book or letter. Instead, we are reading the very words of God as the Spirit of God inspired, carried along, and guided the individuals who wrote these words.

As they wrote their different books, letters, prophecies, poetry, and wisdom they were not writing a book as we might write a book. Instead, as they wrote these things down, they were writing, as Paul said, they were writing down:

The words of God.[4]

However, as we read the Bible, we notice that God doesn't speak to us simply to give us "information". Newspapers give us information. School textbooks give us information.

But when God speaks to us, it isn't simply to let us know "about" God. Instead, when God speaks it is so that we might know God himself. To know what he is like, of course, but more than that, God speaks so that we might know him, so that we might develop a genuine relationship with God.

God also speaks in order to let us know what God wants, that is, so that we might know his "purposes", that we might know what God's will, plans and directions are for us and for all humanity.

We see this with Abraham. We see this with Moses. We see this with Noah. We see this with Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

We also find as we read the Bible that God speaks to us so that we might know God's ways. So that we might know how God acts in the world.

As we read the Bible, God is speaking to us by the Holy Spirit to reveal himself, his purposes, and his ways.

What does God reveal about himself? What does God make known to us about himself through the Bible?

God reveals that he is holy,[5] and because he is holy we know that every action of God springs out of his holiness. Everything God does is a reflection of the fact that he is holy, and because he is holy, he also reveals that his will is that we live holy lives.[6]

In the Bible God reveals that he is love,[7] and because he is love, every action of God springs from his love. God always acts in love. We see this especially in the life and ministry of Jesus. Because he is love, God also reveals that his will and purpose is that we love one another as he has loved us.[8]

God reveals to us in the Bible that he is compassionate, merciful, and forgiving.[9] As we read about how God spared Nineveh, how he rescued Lot, and how he commanded Noah to build an ark, what we are reading is the acting out of God's fundamental character which is compassion, mercy, and forgiveness, and because that is what God is like, it is God's will, his purpose that we:

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.[10]

But the Bible doesn't simply reveal things "about God". Instead, the Bible reveals the reality of God to us so that we might know him. So that we might realise that God's character as holy, loving, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving is the foundation for our entire relationship with him. Through knowing his character, we come to truly know him.

As we read the Bible, we find that God reveals his will for us. He says in 2 Peter 3:9:

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

What is God like? He is patient. But what does this mean for our relationship with God? It means that God is giving us the time, this thing that we call physical life, he gives us time so that we might have the opportunity to repent, to change our direction, to turn back to God.

He continues to reveal his purposes when he says in 1 Timothy 2:4 that:

[God] desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God's revelation of himself, God speaking to us by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, the Word of God, reveals to us, makes clear to us, things about God that we could never know otherwise.

• How else could we ever know that God loves us unless God tells us, and through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God shows us how much he loves us?

• How else could we ever know that God wants us to be saved, and that God will forgive us, unless God tells us?

• How else could we ever know that God is compassionate to us, desires to show mercy to us, and that God will forgive us, unless God himself tells us, and then shows it to us through all that Jesus did?

God is big, mighty, powerful, holy, just, and pure, but I could never figure any of these things out by myself, and that is why God, by the Holy Spirit, continues to speak to us through the Bible to make himself, his will, and his ways known to us.

If you look at the deities of the Roman and Greek world you will discover that none of them are big, mighty, powerful, holy, just, and pure. In fact, in the minds of people, they are quite often just the opposite of that. Paul said to the Athenians that people “grope for God,”[11] like we might grope around in the dark as we try to find the light switch, but they never really find God by their own thoughts and imaginations. However, Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 2:10:

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

But not only does God speak to us through the Bible, we also find that God speaks to us through prayer. As we sit and pray, as we turn our hearts and minds to God, as we come to God with our hopes, dreams, fears, joys, questions, and concerns, God answers us in ways that we never could have figured out all by ourselves, and so we read in Mark 1:35-39:

In the morning, while it was still very dark, [Jesus] got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.”

He answered, “Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

What we find here in Mark is that during a very successful ministry of teaching and healing in Capernaum, Jesus prayed, and it was through prayer, through spending time with God that God revealed his will to Jesus that: "we must go and preach to the neighbouring towns".

We read again in Luke 6:12-13:

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles.

What we read here is that Jesus prayed, and through prayer he gained guidance from the Father, and through prayer he chose the Twelve Apostles.

We read in Matthew 26:36 that:

Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

We then read that as Jesus prayed; he gained strength to go to the cross.

Throughout the Gospels we find that Jesus prayed, and through prayer he discovered God's will, and through prayer he was strengthened in the way of God to do the will of God.

Not only that, but we also find that God spoke to Jesus through the Scriptures. When Jesus was in the wilderness, and when he was being tempted by the devil, how did Jesus respond? In each case, and to every temptation, Jesus responded with the words, "it is written", and then he would quote a relevant text from Deuteronomy.[12] But when Jesus quoted scripture during his temptations, this wasn't simply Jesus reciting parts of the Bible. Instead, it was Jesus proclaiming what the Holy Spirit had spoken through the Bible to reveal God, his will, and his ways.

This is what God says.

This is the will of God.

This is what God is like.

Therefore, this is the way that I will follow.

As Jesus listened and responded to the revelation of God in Scripture, Jesus knew God and God's purposes for him.

As we read the Gospels, we see that the Spirit spoke to Jesus through the Scriptures and through prayer to make God, his will, and his ways known, and what we find in our own lives is that God also speaks to us through the Bible and through prayer. But these two things are not separated. It isn't as if we pray – without reference to the Bible, and it isn't as if we read the Bible – but never pray. God uses both the Bible and prayer to speak to us, guide us, and show us himself and his will for us. We read in Acts 1:14:

All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

After the ascension of Jesus, his followers, which now included his mother and his brothers, gathered and prayed, but what happens next? We read in Acts 1:16-17, 20-22 that Peter gets up and says:

Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus—for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. . . . For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it;’ and ‘Let another take his position of overseer.’ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us . . . must become a witness with us to his resurrection.”

What we see here is that they had spent a great deal of time in prayer. They had also spent a great deal of time listening to the Bible, and applying the Bible to their own situation (in this case, the death of Judas), and as the Holy Spirit spoke to them through their times of prayer and through their times of listening to the Word of God, they knew what needed to be done, and they knew that the will of God was for Judas to be replaced. What did they do next? Acts 1:24 says:

Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen."

In other words, they continued to pray, and through continued prayer they trusted God to show them the right way forward.

But all of this, from the beginning to the end, all of this was through letting God speak to them through their times of prayer, and letting God speak to them through reading and listening to the Bible, and then letting God speak to them through more prayer, and then taking action based upon what God had revealed to them about his will and purposes through the Bible and through prayer.

Through the work of the Holy Spirit God spoke, God revealed himself, his purposes, and his ways to them, and it changed the direction of their lives.

We read in Acts 13:2 that it was during their times of prayer, worship, and fasting that the Holy Spirit spoke to them and said:

Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

What did they do after they received this message from the Spirit of God? Acts 13:3 says:

Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Having heard the Holy Spirit speak, they prayed, and then they obeyed.

Some thirty-five years ago when I was about to go to the Baptist College which, at the time, was connected with Murdoch University, I faced a great challenge. I believed through prayer and a variety of circumstances that it was God's will and purpose that I should quit my job at the timber mill I was working at and go. But I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do it. By this time I was thirty-six years old (which in hindsight is quite young), and I hadn't done any formal study for years. So I was worried whether or not I would be able to do all that was required.

At the time I started work at six in the morning and so I would get up early, have my breakfast and my morning devotions before heading off to work. This particular morning I was praying about my fears and concerns about going to university because, after all, "what if I failed?" That morning my reading was from Exodus 3, where God called Moses to join in the work of freeing Israel from Egypt, and Moses said to God in Exodus 3:11:

Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?

And I could understand what Moses was going through. "Who am I to go to Theological College, to go to University, and study"? But what did God say to Moses in Exodus 3:12? He said:

I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.

Then, as I thought about all of this, and applied it to my own situation, the message of God to me that day was:

The proof of the call is that you will be successful.

God spoke through his Word.

But what had actually happened that morning? I had spent time in prayer talking to God, being heard by God, and listening to God. I had spent time reading the Bible, not just the words on the page, but to what God was saying to Moses and how it all applied to me. I prayed some more, and by the grace of God I gained assurance and courage for the task ahead. I was enabled to obey the leading of God as he spoke by the Holy Spirit through prayer and the Bible.

God spoke that morning by his Holy Spirit, and when God spoke, it was through prayer and the Scriptures.

As God spoke, I saw something about God's will. I saw something about God's ways and how God works that encouraged me to follow him.

As I responded to what God was saying and obeyed God, I saw something about God's character. About who God really is.

God does not speak simply to give us useful information. God speaks to reveal himself, and because of this, it is important for us is to listen. To listen as God speaks through our times of prayer. To listen as God speaks through the Bible, and then to obey what God says!

Therefore, as we read and as we pray:

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.[13]

[1] Genesis 22:14, יְהוָ֖ה יֵרָאֶֽה. Literally, “the Lord will see.”

[2] Exodus 3:14, אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה, or the “I will be who I will be.”

[3] θεόπνευστος. Used only here in the Bible

[4] Romans 3:2. τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ

[5] Leviticus 20:26; 21:9

[6] Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:15-16

[7] 1 John 4:8, 16

[8] John 13:34-35

[9] Exodus 34:6-7

[10] Ephesians 4:32

[11] Acts 17:27. ψηλαφάω

[12] Matthew 4:4, 7, 10;

[13] Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22