4 Keys Abridged Edition - Session 3

Summary

Mark Virkler argues that hearing God’s voice is central to a close relationship with God. He says that regular journaling and listening have helped him use his time better, receive guidance, and find greater peace and emotional healing.

He also shares a story about a woman who, according to him, ignored a warning he believed God gave her in a dream and later went to prison. He presents warning and protection as one possible benefit of learning to listen for God’s guidance.

Main Ideas

• Relationship over religious striving: Virkler contrasts trying to satisfy God by following rules with seeking God’s guidance and living in response to it. He describes rule-centered religion as producing guilt and condemnation, while listening for God’s voice brings life and direction.
• A recurring biblical theme: He interprets the Bible as showing God’s desire for people to hear and respond to him:
  • In Genesis, he describes fellowship with God in Eden as the intended pattern.
  • In Deuteronomy 5, he contrasts the Israelites’ reluctance to hear God directly at Mount Sinai with Moses’s willingness to receive God’s words.
  • He presents David as an example of someone who sought God’s presence and guidance.
  • He cites Jesus’s dependence on what he heard and saw from the Father, and Paul’s desire to know God intimately.
  • He uses the story of Mary and Martha to argue that listening to Jesus should take priority over being preoccupied with tasks.
  • He contrasts Mount Sinai with Mount Zion in Hebrews, encouraging believers to approach God rather than refuse his voice.
  • He interprets Revelation’s wedding imagery as pointing to an ongoing, intimate relationship between God and his people.
• Guidance and limits: Virkler says listening to God can help people discern what to do—and what not to do—instead of trying to respond to every need or undertake every task.
• Ongoing attentiveness: He describes “abiding,” or praying without ceasing, as repeatedly turning attention toward God and receiving spontaneous thoughts or pictures. He says speaking or thinking from this perceived inward “flow” differs from relying only on one’s own reasoning.
• Worship and imagination: He encourages listeners to picture the heavenly throne room during worship and use that imagined scene to engage with God. He describes this as moving from a godly imagination into a vision.

Suggested Listening and Journaling Practice

1. Make a little time to listen. Virkler recommends beginning with about five or ten minutes; a longer session is optional.
2. Choose a comfortable setting. He describes walking with Jesus along the Sea of Galilee, but says people can choose another place or ask God to suggest one.
3. Use gentle background music if helpful. He recommends soft, unobtrusive music without lyrics or dramatic changes, so it does not dominate attention.
4. Picture the scene. In the guided exercise, listeners imagine walking with Jesus beside the Sea of Galilee, noticing the landscape, water, sky, warmth, and breeze. They are invited to imagine Jesus’s presence and respond naturally.
5. Ask a question. Suggested prompts include:
   • “What is my destiny?”
   • “What purpose did you create me for?”
   • “What is your greatest desire for me?”
6. Listen and write. After asking, listeners are instructed to focus on Jesus, attend to spontaneous thoughts, and journal what comes to mind in a simple, childlike way.
7. Review the writing. Earlier in the session, Virkler says he reviews his journaling and compares it with Scripture. He does not lead that evaluation during the closing guided exercise.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Mark Virkler — presenter and narrator, including during the guided visualization and journaling exercise.
• Biblical passages and figures referenced by Virkler — Genesis and the Garden of Eden; Deuteronomy 5; David and the Psalms; Jesus’s teachings and example; Luke 10 (Mary and Martha); Philippians 3; Hebrews 12; and Revelation 19.
• Soft instrumental background music — accompanies the guided exercise; no separate speaker is identifiable.