Many people have shared with me that they want to hear from God. They want to know the “secret” to recognizing His voice as they seek out their specific life purpose and/or get answers to their prayers.
Many are asking God for big signs – billboards or skywriting where He proclaims His personal message for them. While I’m not saying this can’t happen, it’s not likely. God isn’t going to shout above the noise but rather wants to speak to us personally.
So, what does that look like? How does God speak to us, His children?
God Speaks Through His Word
First and foremost, God speaks to us through His Word. When we read and study the Bible, we can know with one hundred percent confidence that these are God’s words.
If you have a Bible with red type in the New Testament, these are Jesus’ exact words and therefore, we know these are God’s words:
“For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” (John 12:49 NKJV, emphasis mine)
It doesn’t get any clearer that that! Jesus said Himself that He speaks the words that God His Father told Him to speak. Therefore, if we want to know what God is thinking or saying, we just need to “read the red” – Jesus’ words.
The Word of God is the will of God. When we read it, it provides us with His instructions to live a godly life. When we align ourselves with His will, doing all He commands us to do, then our lives will be blessed.
And when we don’t, well, that’s where God’s amazing grace and mercy for us kicks in, enabling us to go to Him in repentance and ask for His help to do better.
Hearing God in Quiet Moments
Another way we can hear from God is through that still small voice in our spirits. Some call it a “knowing” – you just know that you know it is God. Jesus, our Good Shepherd said:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)
”Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:5)
If we don’t know His voice, know His character, and know who He is, then we will not be able to discern if it’s really Him. For example, if you hear that you are to rob a bank, then you know that’s not God as it goes against His commandment to not steal.
I realize this is a silly example but if we don’t know His Word, then we won’t recognize His voice and we will “follow the voice of a stranger” as it says above.
When God Spoke Personally to Me
Lastly, God can choose to speak audibly to us. We actually hear with our natural ears His voice. I’ve not experienced this, but I have heard from God.
The first time was right after my divorce when a vision of Jesus, His arms outstretched and surrounded by a bright light appeared to me. I saw the marks in His hands and knew immediately that it was Him.
He spoke these seven words that have carried me through the challenges of life:
“I will always take care of you.”
The second time I heard from God was while I was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. It was at this time that He placed a call on my life. In the midst of scrambling eggs, there was God!
How did I know it was Him? First, His words to me aligned with His Word and second, He repeated that He’d take care of me.
It was both personal and prophetic.
I hope this message has encouraged you to know for sure that you can hear from God. And here’s the cool thing – He wants to talk to us! God, the Creator of all things wants to talk to you! Wow!
This week, I’d like to encourage you to be still and listen for His voice, whether that’s while you read your Bible or just as you sit quietly, eliminating the distractions and voices of this world. If you seek Him, you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).
It won’t likely be on a billboard. It might just be over breakfast.