Hearing God's Voice
How do I hear God's voice?
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27)
Jesus said that His sheep do hear His voice. Most people say, “I don't hear His voice”. That is the first point in hearing God's voice.
Not insulting Him by contradicting
Stop calling God a liar. If someone insults Him, contradicts Him, and claims to know much more than He does and then tries to get prayers answered and get favor from Him you are done before you start. This has to be the number one reason most people are left deaf and dumb in the dark, spiritually speaking. Insult God to His face then immediately expect His special favor. No wonder we cannot hear anything.
Know the Word
Of course, the Spirit of God existed before any scripture was written or available. But today, when the Bible is available to most people, we really have no excuse to be ignorant of the Bible. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would bring to our remembrance that which Jesus said to us (John 14:26). If one of God's main tools for communicating to us is by way of Spirit guided memory, how can He lead us if we are not familiar with His written Word?
Another means of hearing God is to compare a spirit's communication to us with the Bible. A major part of hearing God is discerning false ideas from truth. In fact, we are commanded to test the spirits (I John 4:1) because deception is the enemy's main tactic in the last days.
English is not God's first language
God can handle Himself pretty well in English or whatever your heart language may be but that is not His first language. Many people are straining and waiting to hear Charlton Heston's or Alexander Scourby's voice thundering from the heavens. They may likely die of old age waiting to hear God in this manner. All the while, according to Jesus, His sheep do hear His voice.
To hear the voice of God means to perceive the communication of God. This is likely to come as a thought, an image, a sudden idea, or a feeling. It may come as a voice but waiting for a voice in English may cause you to miss the communication of God to you.
Interruption of our natural thoughts
One way you can tell if a spirit is talking to you will be that they interrupt your natural thoughts. One cannot instantly assume it is the Holy Spirit. The communication of a spirit must be evaluated to see if it lines up with the Bible. These are not your normal thoughts if they suddenly interrupt the natural flow of your human thought process.
Instant download without the thought process
Another way to perceive the communication of God is to experience an “information download” without going through your usual thought processes. You may be working through a problem in your mind. You identify the problem. You consider several possible solutions. You evaluate the pros and cons of each possibility. You finally settle on the best or “least worst” answer. In the middle of this mental exercise, you may experience an instantaneous download of information. It interrupts your thoughts. It includes what might be several minutes or an hour's worth of understanding in an instant, totally bypassing the normal thought process required to produce such a result. You, my friend, have just heard the voice of God. If you think it was just your own genius, I doubt if it will ever happen again.
I have always struggled to prepare messages in Spanish. I would read the dictionary and my grammar books. I would write out my messages word for word. I would practice them many times. All of this was, of course, while also studying the Bible in at least a couple languages. I think I can honestly say that I always tried to do my homework and not be lazy.
I remember one particular meeting that I was preparing for. I worked as hard as ever but I could not come up with anything to teach at the meeting. I prayed, I studied, I fasted, I cried. Nothing would come to me. I thought that maybe God would give me something at the last minute. The time of the meeting was approaching. Nothing. Finally, I was sitting in the meeting. I thought God might give me something at the very last minute. It was the last minute. I was introduced. Still nothing. I took the microphone and stared at the audience. Absolutely nothing. The last minute had come and gone. Nothing. I felt so stupid, so helpless. I thought I would greet the people. I nervously took a breath and intended to say Hello/Buenas noches. In that very instant an hour-long message in Spanish was downloaded into my mind. It came rolling out of my heart as if I knew what I were doing.
I thought, “God, don't do that! Wait...yes, please do that but don't leave me hanging like that again!”
I experienced the communication of God but not the way that I expected.
Trial and success
In the end of walking with God for some time, we learn what is and what is not the voice of God. By experience we learn, sometimes the hard way, what is the “voice” of God and what a deception is like. It is alright to make mistakes. When we are mistaken in what the voice of God is like, we must say, “I was wrong”. If we humble ourselves, we are given more grace. If we double down in our error, we go further into deception.
If we turn our attention to the Spirit of God, we may discover that Jesus' sheep really do hear His voice.
July 16, 2024