Listening To & Hearing From God

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying  'This is the way, walk in it.' Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to your left" (Isaiah 30:21)

This coming Sunday (April 26) I was originally scheduled to meet with the youth of our church to have them ask me faith questions and let me respond to them.  Of course, with our shelter-in-place orders, I won’t be meeting with them in person.  However, in its place, our Student Director instead invited me to video myself answering questions from them that they shared with her. (If you want to see the whole video, click HERE). 

They asked really great questions, and one of those was: “How do I hear from / listen to God?”  We all know that there are many voices that speak to us in our world today, telling us where we should go, what we should do, and how.  As Christians we know we’re “supposed” to listen to/hear from God for this kind of direction.  Yet,  many of us are either so confused by the many other voices around us that we can’t discern God’s voice, or we may not really have an idea of how to recognize His voice in the first place.

So how exactly DO we “listen to” or “hear from” God, regardless of what age we are?  How can we recognize His voice in the midst of so many competing voices around us?  While what I shared in my video with our youth is slightly different than what I share here, nevertheless there are at least six basic filters that I often use to help me determine which things I’m hearing are from God or not.  I offer them to each of you now: 

1) Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17): Is what you’re “hearing” consistent with God’s word found in the essence of the Bible?  As taught by Jesus, the “voice of God” will never contradict the spirit of “love for God and love for others” found in holy scripture (Read Luke 10:25-28).

2) “Gentle Impressions” of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 8:10-11):  Sometimes we sense certain “nudges” or “impressions” in our inner heart/spirit that are an indicator of the voice or calling of God.  With practice using the other filters (along with our own experience), we’ll increasingly come to recognize the ones that are from God vs. the ones coming merely from our own desires or from non-godly sources around us.

3) Godly counsel from others (Proverbs 11:14):  Sometimes God’s voice speaks through the wisdom and advice of others.  What are others telling you about God’s voice?

4) A sense of God’s peace (Colossians 3:15):  The voice of God can often be determined “after the fact” by a sense of “peace” about a decision or direction that you’ve “stepped out on faith” to take. You may or may not experience this before or at the time you’re making the decision, but once made, an inner “peace” comes over you and your “gut” tells you that it will all be okay

5) “Coincidental” confirmation through circumstances (Matthew 18:16 and Acts 18:1-3):  Sometimes things just “happen” to us at the right time -- timing that seems fortuitous and very coincidental.  In my experience, employing eyes of faith can help us see that there are really no “coincidences” -- that God works through all things that happen to us in life (even the things that He didn’t cause), and often these seeming “coincidences” are God’s way of confirming our direction; of saying “this is the way; walk in it!”

6) Repetition!  (Mark 12:1-6) Do you continually keep “hearing” or sensing the same idea or thought over and over that you are supposed to do something?  As long as it is not inconsistent with the overarching law of love in holy scripture, it’s probably God trying to tell you something!  For example, you may think that God is “speaking” to you in a scripture you read, which is then confirmed by counsel given to you by someone, affirmed through a “coincidental” happening.  So, you step out in faith and try it, and a great sense of “peace” overwhelms you. And that’s when you realize:  yes, that was God speaking!

Of course, it hopefully goes without saying that all of these filters are merely tools that need to be used in conjunction with PRAYER -- intentional time to both talk to God and space to listen for God.  As you and I practice these more and more, we’ll come to increasingly be able to correctly discern the voice of God in our lives.  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!