By Shenalyn Page
Jenny rolled over and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Suddenly, she sat up straight. “Oh no! My wisdom teeth are being pulled today! Oh God, help me. I’m so scared!”
Then, just as suddenly as she had realized today was the dreaded day, another thought popped into her mind. “Psalm forty-six, verse five.”
“Is that you, God?” Jenny whispered as she reached for her Bible and flipped it open. “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day” (Psalm 46:5 NIV). Immediately, the fear drained away. Peace flooded her heart.
“It is you, Lord! Thank you for that incredible promise. It could not be more perfect!”*
You can hear God’s voice!
Have you ever wished you could hear God’s voice like Jenny did? You can! Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).
If Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice, we’d better believe it’s true! And we should expect to hear from Him.
How does God speak?
It was easy for the disciples to know when Jesus was talking to them. But we can’t walk and talk with Jesus in the same way they did. That’s why, just before Jesus died, He promised that He would send the “Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).
There are five primary ways the Holy Spirit speaks:
1) The Bible is the primary way God speaks to us. If you ask God to talk to you personally through the Bible and are willing to listen, the Holy Spirit will bring the passages to life. He will give you understanding and show you how the verses apply to your life. He will lead you to verses that answer your questions and give you the direction you need (Psalm 119:105).
2) The Holy Spirit communicates with us in a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). Occasionally, God speaks audibly, but most often, His gentle voice comes as an impression or thought. Like Jenny, you may have a Bible verse pop into your head. Or you may find yourself unexpectedly thinking of someone who needs prayer. Or your conscience may remind you that you really shouldn’t be doing something enticing. That’s the Holy Spirit speaking to you.
3) Prayer is a two-way conversation with God. David said, “In the day when I cried out, you answered me” (Psalm 138:3). Take time to be still so that you can listen to what God wants to say to you when you pray.
4) God also speaks through wise, godly people. (See 2 Samuel 12:1.) Listen carefully to people who know God because He may be talking to you through them.
5) God sometimes reveals Himself through visions and dreams (Joel 2:28), as He did during Bible times.
How do I know if an impression is from God?
Good question!
Knowing the answer is essential because the devil can speak to us through other people and things around us—or by planting questionable thoughts in our minds. Our own thoughts can get us into trouble too: “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool” (Proverbs 28:6). That’s why the apostle Paul tells us that we must bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Yet, it is possible to tell the difference between God’s voice and Satan’s voice. Jesus promised that “the sheep follow [the good shepherd], for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:4, 5, emphasis added).
How to Recognize God’s Voice
Does your best friend have to introduce himself to you every time he calls on the phone? Of course not! You know him so well that you would recognize his voice anywhere, right? The same principle is true for knowing God’s voice. The better you know Him, the easier it is to recognize His voice.
But it is also true that learning to discern His voice can take some time. The child Samuel needed help learning to recognize God’s voice. (See 1 Samuel 3:1–10.) Ask yourself these questions to tell whether it is God speaking to you or someone else:
1) Is it in the Bible, or does it line up with the teachings of the Bible? See Isaiah 8:20. The better you know the Bible, the easier it will be to tell when God is talking to you.
2) Is it in harmony with God’s character of love (Exodus 34:6) and His purposes? God speaks to bring healing (Matthew 13:15), to provide further understanding of truth (John 16:14), to guide us in our lives (Psalm 32:8), and so He can bless others through us (Acts 8:26–30).
3) If you are still unsure, check with godly people you know and trust, like Eli did for Samuel. They can help you learn to recognize God’s voice for yourself.
God would love to speak to you personally. The only question is this: Do you want to hear Him? If you are willing to listen and obey, He will talk to you!
“Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know’” (Jeremiah 33:2, 3).
Check out these resources to learn more about how to hear God’s voice:
• “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor Doug Batchelor
• “Hearing God” by Pastor Doug Batchelor
• “Hearing Voices,” Part 1
• “Hearing Voices,” Part 2
*Adapted from Dawson, Joy. Forever Ruined for the Ordinary. The Adventure of Hearing and Obeying God’s Voice. Thomas Nelson, 2001. p. 12