Hearing God's Voice
A question I often receive is “How do I know that I am hearing God’s voice? Is it just me or am I actually hearing God?” Hearing God’s voice is actually far less complicated than we might make it out to be. All Christians have been given the Holy Spirit, who allows us to directly “connect” to what God is saying and doing.
I believe the ability to personally hear the voice of God is essential for Christian living in the 21st century. It allows a flow of heaven into our experiences and circumstances. Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Hearing from God is our spiritual sustenance - our daily bread. “Word” here is the Greek rhema, which is the spoken, living word of God for the present moment. We must learn to live in a flow of God’s rhema words to us.
The Bible makes it clear that God speaks to His children. In the past, this happened through the means of particular prophets and leaders who were chosen specifically by God. These men were priests and prophets who acted as intermediaries between the common people and God Himself. We are no longer under the Old Covenant. God now speaks to us directly through the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV) “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom also he made the universe.”
John 16:13 (NIV) “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
Believers have been given the Holy Spirit, who is also the personal spiritual presence of Jesus. We now have direct access to God. No intermediary is necessary because Jesus lives within us. Because we are sons and heirs of our Father in heaven, we are able to interact and communicate with Him as a personal being. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27, NIV). His presence is in and amongst us.
There are examples of the Holy Spirit “speaking” to the apostles, disciples, and others in the Bible. Here are two such examples:
Acts 8:26-29 (NIV) “Now an angel of the Lord said to Phillip, ‘Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Phillip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’”
Acts 13:1-2 (NIV) “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
More examples exist, but from these these we can see that the Holy Spirit spoke to the early church. He continues to do so today, for “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). So, how can we hear God’s voice?
Learning the language of the Spirit is not hard, but it takes belief and practice. God speaks to each of us in a unique way. I experience the voice of God as a specific “channel” in my consciousness. There are thoughts in my head that have a certain quality and feel to them. With time, it becomes easier and easier to differentiate the voice of the Holy Spirit and other voices. A commonly believed myth is that God only speaks to certain “gifted” people. The truth is that God is always speaking to us, but our minds need to learn how to tune in to His channel. As we grow and become more aware of God’s voice, it becomes easy to look back and pinpoint specific times when God was speaking to us, even though we did not realize it. He has always been speaking, is speaking, and will always be speaking.
Just as if it were a natural language, the language of the Spirit takes time, patience, and practice. God is more eager for us to hear His voice than we are. What, if anything, can be done on our end to accelerate our ability to hear from heaven?
1) Be open.
If our hearts are not open to the idea of God speaking to His human sons and daughters, we will not be able to hear His voice. Faith facilitates a deeper experience of God.
2) Read the Bible.
The Bible is the written Word of God, but it is not the rhema. Rather, the Bible allows a flow of God’s rhema into our minds. When we read the Bible, the perceived veil between heaven and earth thins. The Bible is our intellectual doorway to heaven. Allowing the written Word of God to penetrate our mind and heart propels our entire being into the atmosphere of heaven. Presence comes when our minds and hearts are tuned to God.
3) Practice stillness and silence.
God urges the Psalmist, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). We must learn how to be still, both physically and spiritually. This is difficult in an age of noise. God speaks most often in a “still small voice.” Practice sitting in complete stillness. Invite God’s presence to envelope your heart and mind. Reflect and contemplate on your thoughts. Are you “hearing” thoughts? Are you seeing anything in your imagination? Don’t assume that these things are just you. Ask God what He is saying and speaking to you. Allow time to listen for His “response”. Ask specific questions about what you are hearing and/or seeing. He is always speaking.
If you can practice these three core elements - openness, time in the Bible, and the practice of stillness - you will be hearing and discerning the “God channel” in no time. It is not difficult. The biggest impediments we may come across are feelings of unworthiness, a busy mind, or an inability to truly be still. There is no shame here. Be patient with yourself. Focused time with God may only start as a few minutes a day. This is enough. Make it a habit. You will become addicted to hearing the voice of the living God. Before long, it will be easy to access God’s channel at any time, in any place.
The apostle John advises us to “test the spirits”:
1 John 4:1-3 (NIV) “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you know you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God…”
God’s voice will always be aligned to the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God will never encourage us to do something that is not in the character or spirit of Jesus Christ. To “acknowledge Jesus Christ” is to align with His character. For example, God would never fill our minds with hopeless thoughts or invite us to speak harsh words over another person.
In hearing God’s voice, we must allow our trust in Jesus to override our fear of deception. Fear prevents us from living in the fullness of the inheritance Jesus purchased for us on the cross. We are sons and daughters of God, who have been hidden in Christ. He will protect us as we explore a deeper, more tangible experience of His person.
There is an element of risk in hearing God. Our ability to hear God will not mature and develop if we do not take risks to follow what we think we are hearing from God. If you hear God about a certain situation, follow through with His advice. If He is inviting you to speak to a person at work about something, take the risk and talk to that person. He teaches us through experience as we risk and trust Him. We cannot learn and grow if we are not willing to risk.
As we mature in the Lord and grow in our identity as sons and daughters, we will find that He begins to initiate conversation with us. He will invite us to share prophetic words or act on divine impulses. Our ability to tune in to what He is doing and saying at all times only grows as we fall deeper in love with Him. He trusts us with so much!
We will end with a promise from the Lord:
Jeremiah 33:1-3 (NIV) “While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time: ‘This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it - the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’”
If we call, the Lord promises to answer. Let us be brave and bold to hear the “great and unsearchable things” we do not yet know.
