There are four ways to hearing God’s voice. How do you know you are hearing God’s voice? When you commit to being available for the Master’s use, hearing God’s voice empowers you to surrender your own carnal desires and plans and align yourself with God’s vision for your life.
God is speaking to you all the time. In fact, A.W. Tozer said, “It’s the nature of God to speak.” He wants to have fellowship with you, and He wants you to hear Him—all the time. That means you can learn to know exactly what the Spirit of God is saying to you about every situation. You don’t have to go through life blindly making decisions or relying on your own abilities.
Here are four ways to know if you’re hearing God’s voice:
1. Expect To Hear From God
“And you will seek for Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” –Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV)
Here is an important truth to remember: even if you don’t feel like God speaks to you—He does. In fact, He’s speaking to you right now. He isn’t going to scream, yell and demand that you pay attention. He is always speaking to you, but He speaks in “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12, NKJV). So, to hear Him, you have to tune in and listen carefully. Another way to describe the way we hear God’s voice is through an inward witness.
What is an inward witness?
God doesn’t communicate with us the way we communicate with one another. He communicates from His Spirit to your spirit, and then your spirit communicates what you hear to your mind. That is what we call an inward witness. It is very similar to a thought or a prompting. It’s very subtle and requires a closeness with God and regular practice to hear it more quickly and clearly.
That’s why the more time you spend with The LORD and the more you practice tuning in to His voice, the more it will become a voice that “thunders in marvellous ways” (Job 37:5, NIV).
How do you come to a place where you know whether it’s you or the Lord?
Watch Kenneth Copeland and Keith Moore talk about how to hear and know the voice of God.
2. Be Obedient With the Small Things
“They know his voice” –John 10:4 (NKJV)
Most often, we miss His instructions because we’re tuned in to hear some huge revelation; when, in fact, God gives us simple instructions. That’s what He will do when you first begin to hear from Him—and He will continue to do this for the rest of your life here on earth. Obedience in the simple things is very important to God—it reveals the willingness of you heart.
So, if you’re waiting for God to send you out to part the Red Sea, you may be missing what He’s saying to you right now—which might be to clean out your closet or stop watching certain television shows or spend more time with your children. He will talk to you about the small things in your life that you need to change—adjustments you need to make. He will begin to deal with you where you are, which most often involves helping you walk in God’s best by getting rid of things that are holding you back.
To reach a level of intimacy with God where we hear His voice and are launched into new places in the spirit, obedience must become a non-negotiable in our lives.
Click here for A Prayer for Hearing God’s Voice.
3. Learn to Discern His Voice
“My sheep hear my voice.” –John 10:27 (KJV)
When a loved one calls you, you recognise their voice because you’ve spent so much time with them. The same is true when it comes to our relationship with God.
If you want to get to a place where you don’t have to wonder whose voice you’re hearing—yours, the devil’s or God’s—you need to spend time with The LORD. A lot of time. But, if you keep your mind and your heart full of the things of this world, it will be difficult for you to differentiate between the Spirit of God and your own thoughts. That is the definition of a carnal mind—one that has not been renewed by The WORD of God.
The more time you spend with Him, the more certain you’ll become about hearing God’s voice. It isn’t just time talking to Him, though. We learn His voice when we listen to His voice. That’s why in Matthew 17:5 (NASB) He said, “This is My beloved Son…listen to Him!”
Find out more about discernment and how to use it here.
4. Line It Up With His Word—the Bible
“All Scripture is inspired by God.” –2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB)
One sure way to know if you’re hearing God’s voice is to align what you hear with The WORD of God. God will never tell you to do, think or say anything contrary to His Word. If you have a thought and you don’t know if it’s God or not—you can look it up in the Bible and settle it right away.
God always agrees with His written Word, and His Word always agrees with Him. In fact, Psalm 138:2 (NKJV) says He has magnified His Word even above His Name. That means God has put His Name on His written Word the way we would put our name at the bottom of a contract. He has given us His Word as a covenant and signed it in the Name of Jesus, by the blood of Jesus. Since God cannot lie, there is no way He will ever do or say anything contrary to that Word; He has absolutely joined Himself to it forever.
Have Confidence in The WORD
God trains us to recognize His voice through His written Word. He uses it to tune our spiritual ears to what is real so that we can easily recognize a counterfeit.
To live in confidence that you are hearing from Him, you need to have a knowledge of His Word continually in your heart. And you do this by drawing near to God (James 4:8). Diligently seek Him. Be obedient to the small things, and whatever place you give Him in your life, the Spirit of God will fill it up for you.
When you expect to hear God’s voice, purpose to be obedient in the small things He tells you to do, learn to discern His voice, and line up what you are hearing with His Word – hearing God’s voice won’t be an occasional event, but a lifestyle. And when someone asks you: “what is the Spirit of God telling you today?” you won’t hesitate for a moment. You’ll know exactly what to say.
