Hearing God's voice is one of the most important parts of being a Jesus follower. Jesus often withdrew to a quiet place to listen to His Father.
To hear God’s voice speaking to your heart, you must turn down the volume of the world.
Once you’ve found the volume dial and silenced all of the noise of this life, how do you know it’s God speaking and not your imagination, or worse yet, the voice of the accuser of your soul?
The following list is not comprehensive, but it's a good starting place to use as a guide as you learn to hear and recognize God's voice when He speaks to you.
1) It is a spontaneous thought that "pops" into your mind.
Let me be clear, every spontaneous thought is not from God. I have fleeting thoughts about consuming frozen yogurt, my favorite baseball team lineup, and whether I left the iron on at home. When you are between sleep and waking in the morning, if a phrase, a concept, an idea, an urge, or a strong feeling appears without any outside reminder, you should test to see if it’s God speaking to you.
God most frequently gets my attention when I’m not thinking about anything specific, when I'm shaving, showering, driving or walking.
Certainly the most ideal time is when you are taking 10 minutes of silence to listen to God, but God is not limited to when you sit in quiet. The point is: God doesn’t speak more to me when I’m thinking harder or trying harder to hear him. The most profound revelations from God have all come in times of rest.
2) There is a repetitive nature to the message.
Some call it a “divine echo,” but it’s the concept that God will keep speaking the same thing to you until you get it. God doesn’t play games or punish us because we don’t realize He is trying to communicate with us. I always think of the movie Bruce Almighty when he is asking for a sign and the truck in front of him is filled up with signs that he ignores. It’s great news that God is so patient and gracious with us as we learn to discern his voice through all the noise.
3) Suddenly you have some information in your mind.
When you “know” something you couldn’t have known or had no way of gaining the information, it’s God revealing it to you. We don’t always realize some information or knowledge is from Him, but probably just keep moving through our day.
I think of it as in this illustration: let’s say I am putting a puzzle together (that represents a problem or challenge in my life). As I am sitting at the table, I drop a few of the pieces on the floor unknowingly, so Jesus quietly picks the pieces up and slides them in front of me. I didn’t know I was missing these pieces of the puzzle, but all of a sudden they are right in front of me and I can finish the section of the puzzle I am working on.
4) When a phrase from the Bible or verse number comes into your mind.
The Holy Spirit was given to us to lead us into all truth and remind us of the words of God. Sometimes a phrase from the Bible will just pop into your head. It is an invitation to read that verse and ask the Lord for further clarity on how to apply that verse. God’s word never comes back void (it always bears fruit in us). Sometimes hearing from God is a bit more like a treasure hunt – where Jesus gives us a hint or a clue, expecting us to search out the message and meaning He has for us.
5) God's voice is quiet, calm, confident.
Even in stressful crisis situations, God doesn’t get riled up and start yelling at us. He is never surprised and even when there is loss and pain, his steady character and approach puts our anxious hearts at ease.
While God’s voice is direct, firm and can include showing us where we have blown it – even His times of exposing our short comings are kind and for our own good.
6) Hearing God doesn't bring fear, judgment, or a feeling of condemnation.
It is the tempting voice of the accuser of our soul that bears the terrible fruits of fear, shame, judgment and condemnation. Anytime you hear a voice that leads you to that constellation of feelings – you can be sure it is not Jesus speaking to you.
There was a young husband that came to me, panicked that he felt like God had spoken to him and said, “your wife is going to die soon.” We quickly discerned that the fruit of that sort of message was filled with fear and being paralyzed in moving forward. As soon as we clarified where the voice was coming from, his relief was palpable. Satan disguises himself as a force for good, an angel of light, but He is actually the father of lies and an imposter.
7) When God speaks, it comes wrapped in His peace.
The presence of overwhelming peace is always proof to me that God is present and moving. The atmosphere of heaven is not of chaos, but of peace. The enemy of our soul can’t give us peace – he can only flatter us and try to puff up our ego. Satan is incapable of delivering a fruit of the Holy Spirit like love, joy or peace. When I think I have received a word from God and I pray to discern if it’s from God or not, it’s the presence of peace that often is the tipping point for knowing it’s from God.
8) When you receive and apply a word from God, dissonance in your body dissipates.
Sometimes I feel like God is challenging me to do something that takes me out of my comfort zone. While God’s words are accompanied by peace, sometimes that peace isn’t fully experienced until you lay down your agenda and begin to obey. It is at that moment that there is a release, sometimes even your body will feel a release. Others have told me that headaches and muscle pains stopped as soon as they chose to surrender and do what God was leading them to do.
9) God's Words always lead you to love and serve others.
Jesus’ command for us to “love one another” reflects His Kingdom most succinctly. You can’t encounter God without experiencing some aspect of His love. James 4 tells simply, “God is Love.” You can’t separate his character from what He says. To test whether a word is from God or not, it’s critical that it lines up with the character of God and lines up with His written Word – the Bible.
10) When you decide to follow through on what you are hearing, there is a good fruit.
John 15 talks about staying connected to God like a branch connected to a vine. The connection to the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 is also important to remember. If the Holy Spirit is speaking, then His fruits (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control) will be present. When I think God may be prompting me to do something and I follow through, I am always watching to see what fruit comes from my actions. When the fruit is disproportionately great, I know it really was God speaking to me. Sometimes you won't know if it’s God until you follow through in obedience to the word you heard.
We are all constantly learning to recognize God’s voice and obey Him. The key to growing in this practice is to move toward the posture of humility and surrender.
May God bless you as you live into the adventure of hearing God’s voice for yourself!
If you are interested in learning more about this topic, I recommend Mark & Patti Virkler’s interactive workbook called, “How to Hear God’s Voice.” To go to the link to purchase it on my Reading List at the Neighborhood Church website, click here.
I look forward to seeing you in church this week. Our Sunday Worship Service in the Dome begins at 10:00 a.m.
You can also live stream our 10:00 a.m. service on Facebook and YouTube.
If you missed last week's message Unforced Rhythms of Grace #7 - "The Posture of Listening, Part 2" click here.
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