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Recently the Lord showed me why we have such favor and anointing with what we teach concerning helping believers to hear His voice. Briefly speaking, it all has to do with establishing the New Covenant with His people. Hallelujah!

Hebrews 8:7-10 
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
 
For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
 
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
 
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

The purpose of the New Covenant was to fix a problem with the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant, as described in Exodus and Deuteronomy, required hearing God’s voice and obeying it. His voice came through the anointed revelation word of the prophets. For example, notice Moses and Jeremiah spoke via revelation concerning God’s first covenant:

Exodus 19:5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
 
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
 
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
 
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

The problem with the Old Covenant was that it was external to the heart. It required three things of His people:

• Hearing His voice (Jeremiah 11:1-5, Exodus 19:5) 
• Diligently obeying the laws and commandments given by that hearing (which used the power of sacrificial blood to stay the effects of sin) 
• Remaining faithful to continue in them

The elements of the New Covenant are almost the same, but with a major difference. Instead of hearing God through prophets, God made it so that every believer in Christ could hear His voice internally on the inside of their heart. God created an upgrade. 
 
As noted above in Jeremiah 31, that upgrade to the covenant specifically targeted each person’s ability to hear, listen, and obey God’s voice internally. The Old Covenant was hampered by their inability to hear (except through the prophets) and their consequent inability to stay faithful in their hearts. Hence God’s upgrade to the New Covenant featured the hearing of His will into their hearts internally. He promised that the day would come when He would write His words into their hearts through hearing His voice as individuals, giving them new hearts in the process.  Ezekiel captures God’s yearning desire for such hearts:

Ezekiel 36:26-28
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

What was necessary to make this change?  What was necessary to internalize the ability to hear and obey God’s voice? It was the perfect, permanent blood sacrifice of Christ. This enabled the giving of the Holy Spirit to create the internal connection within every heart through Jesus Christ. John 7:36-37 declares that, via the Holy Spirit to those who thirst, that out of your belly shall speak (rheo, from the same root word as rhema) rivers of living water, i.e. speaking in tongues as well as hearing the voice of the Lord (Psalm 29:3, John 7:37-39, Ephesians 5:26, Revelation 21:6). 
 
The covenant obligation of God’s people today is fulfilled when they hear and obey His voice. God writes His word in our hearts as promised long ago in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
 
Notice the supernatural favor that grows upon each believer who hears the voice of the Lord. We are not talking about reading, studying, and enjoying Bible verses. We are talking about hearing and fellowshipping in two-way dialogue with Jesus Christ. In fact, it is in exercising the capacity to hear His voice and fellowship with Him that enables our joy to be full (1 John 1:3-5) and which prompts His invitation to believers  who overcome in such fellowship and hearing to even sit with Him on his throne (Revelation 3:20-21). Glory to God in the highest! 

Bestowing Favor

The favor of God hinges on the relationship we are keeping with Jesus, hearing and obeying His voice so that He can build His church through you. Our blessings increasingly manifest as we draw closer to Him and rest in His presence (Psalm 16:11, Hebrews 4:1-9, 1 John 1:3-5). 

Hebrews 8:10-11
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
 
And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know (ginosko = to know by experience) the Lord: for all shall know (oida = to know by internal perception) me, from the least to the greatest.

What marvelous blessings await those who devote their hearts to hearing and obeying what the Lord desires to share with them in the secret place of the Most High.  At KFMI this is our blessing to teach in our schools to pastors, and we are continually grateful in all praise to Him! Mungu Yu Mwema (God is good!).