Do you remember when you first started praying and wondered when you would first hear God’s voice back? I remember those days. I yearned for Him to talk to me. I had so many questions I wanted to ask Him, but nothing came forth. I had no idea how God speaks to us or communicates with us.
So, I thought maybe if I read the Bible and the words of Scripture, this is God speaking to me. And while this is true, as God does speak to us through the Bible, as believers, we are also supposed to hear His voice. After all, He spoke to your heart, and you obeyed and came to Him in prayer.
John 10:27 NIV
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
If we look at the Old Testament, it is filled with people that God spoke to directly.
Moses, for instance, was first spoken to by God through the Burning Bush, followed by several other instances of Moses communicating with God in the clouds on Mount Sinai.
Or when God spoke to Saul on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians. God spoke to Him, and He listened and changed his ways.
Acts 9: 3-6 NIV
3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. He is the one who enables us to go through this life by His guidance and His teachings. The Holy Spirit is God on earth and everything about our life succeeds or fails depending on our relationship with Him.
All believers yearn to hear God’s voice giving them guidance, advice, or approval. If you are really keen and look back, you will notice that God has spoken to you at one point or another. For example, let’s say you had a strong feeling in your heart to call someone, a friend, or a loved one, and you go ahead and call, only to hear them say you called at just the right time. That was God talking to you through the Holy Spirit.
Due to our busy schedules and lives, our minds are busy—crowded. We lack time for God, and even when we have the time, we go into His presence, present our problems, and leave without giving Him a chance to speak or to answer. And when He is speaking to us, because of our many thoughts, we don’t realize that it’s God speaking to us.
God desires to speak to us so much. He’s like a father desiring to have time with his child. He desires to have conversations with us. All we have to do is quiet ourselves and quiet our minds, and we will hear Him speak back to us. We will hear Him talk to us. I know, because this has happened to me many times – the moment you go to pray, that’s when you have all kinds of thoughts: what you ate, what about the yogurt in the fridge, what this person said about that person, etc. But we have to learn to take our thoughts captive, quiet our minds, and just be still – even if it’s just for 5 minutes. This is why meditation is so important, but that’s a whole other discussion.
Psalms 46:10 NIV
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
When God speaks to you, He speaks in different ways. He speaks audibly, and you can hear Him through your ears like Moses or Paul. Or perhaps He speaks to your heart and spontaneous thoughts, or maybe even through an angel like Gabriel when he appeared to Zackariah. He may even speak to you through another human being. We just need discernment to know if it’s God talking to us or if it’s our own thoughts cluttering our brains.
To verify that it’s God’s voice that you have heard, it will align with the Scriptures. He will always guide you by the words of the Scripture. If what you think aligns with what was said in the Bible, then it was God that you heard, for His word is a lamp to our feet.
Psalm 119: 105 NIV
Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
Living in Christ puts us in a position to hear His voice constantly. Spend time in the presence of God, study the word and dedicate time to prayer. Develop a relationship with God. This way, you will not doubt when He speaks to you. You will hear His voice very clearly. He will direct you, He will guide you and He will teach you His ways.
Father, we thank you for your salvation. Thank you because You loved us first, even when we were still sinners. You predestined us to be yours before the foundations of the world, and there is nothing that we can say or do to appreciate what you have done for us. Thank you for grace through your son Jesus Christ. And so father, we ask that you teach us your ways, help us to be open to receiving your word, physically and spiritually. We ask that you give us discernment to know when you speak to us. Thank you for your Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth. Our desire is to draw close to you and do your will.
Amen.
Susan is a mother of four beautiful babies and a born-again Christian. She took over Hope No Matter What in 2024 and enjoys sharing her knowledge of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Her passion is to bring hope and encouragement to others, and she prays that by sharing her knowledge and personal story, she can inspire others to find enlightenment in God's word.