When we begin the conversation about if we can actually hear God speaking to us, depending on where you are you might get a side-eye if you know what I mean. Mainstream thought does not entertain the ability to have a personal relationship with God. This is different depending on your faith background. People fall into 3 groups on this issue:
3 Groups God Can Speak To...
Group 1- Non-believers
To these individuals, the whole concept of hearing the voice of God is foreign to them. In fact, if you approached them with this type of language they look at you funny. Like you need to have your head examined! These groups include those of non-Christian faiths, New Agers, atheist, etc.
These are individuals that have no concept of a personal god whatsoever or have a different view of god. If they have some concept of god it often involves rules, regulations, and working in hopes of getting closer to god and attaining true fulfillment.
It can also involve doing things to cleanse themselves to be able to be acceptable to reach higher levels of enlightenment. This is a very rough summary of all that’s out there. I am unable to describe the complexity of this group without writing a dissertation on the subject! And I know you are not here to read all that, LOL.
God can speak to people in this category. But, their interpretation of His speaking often contrasts most Christian’s views. They often rationalize God speaking to them as coincidence or “it’s just me”.
The trouble with this group is that they are probably hearing a lot of things in the spiritual realm and all of them are not holy! They lack the discernment to know the difference between, God, the devil & his demons, or themselves/emotions/intellect.
(Here are some scripture references of God speaking to unbelievers- King Cyrus (Isaiah 45), Balaam (Numbers 22), people recognizing Jesus (Mark 5:7), Pontius Pilate's wife in a dream (Matt 27:19),
Group 2- Traditional Christians
These are Christians who may belong to a traditional faith system like Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran… you get my drift. These are people who have a more religious context of God based in their church experience.
They tend not to believe that they are worthy enough to be able to hear from God directly. They often need another person, such as a priest, minister, etc. to speak to God on their behalf. This often occurs in the form of confession, prayers prayed over them, and ritual services.
In my understanding relationship with God is not as personal as in other faith traditions. This is not my current faith tradition, however, I spent some time as a youth in Catholic churches and was originally baptized Catholic.
So I know a bit about this particular faith. Their ability to hear the voice of God, in my opinion, is widely based on their own devotion- time spent in the Bible and prayer.
Group 3- Non-Denominational/ Evangelical Christian
This is the faith context I now identify with. In this faith tradition having a personal relationship with God is important and emphasized. In fact, most in this faith have a “born-again” experience where they make a decision to live for Christ.
This means your relationship with God touches every point of your life, not just Sunday worship. You have a relationship with God where you communicate (fellowship) with Him on a regular basis.
In my opinion, This is the most fulfilling faith context there is. It is a relief to know that you have a Father that loves and cares for you. A Father that watches over you daily and protects you from hurt, harm, or danger at all times.
In all these groups there are always variations and exceptions to my brief discussion above. As we all know there are exceptions to every rule and God is omniscient and will speak to whoever He likes!
What group do you fall in?
This blog post will be written from the standpoint of a person in Group 3. If in any of the other groups you may not be able to engage in this particular post. You are welcome to stay and keep learning more. In fact, I encourage it. I think it can often be interesting to hear about another faith and their view of God.
My Experience Hearing the Voice of God
For many years, I did not know God could speak to an individual. As a child, I did not have a point of reference for this experience. For the first few years of my life, I was in denominational churches. Then at the age of ten years old, I was introduced to what is commonly called a “Word (of Faith)” church.
It was there that I learned about the Holy Spirit and how God will speak to His children through the Holy Spirit.
My life was forever changed. I continued in the Word and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the Bible evidence of speaking in other tongues at the age of fifteen years old during a church youth camp.
I received my personal prayer language! This experience brought remarkable peace in my life. From then to now I have been growing in my relationship with God and my ability to hear and speak to Him.
God is Always Speaking. Are you always listening?
God is always desiring to speak to us. We were created to fellowship with God (1 Cor. 1:9). So the question remains, “How do I hear the voice of God?” We were designed to hear the voice of God. God is an intelligent being, I hope you would agree.
Why would He create a creature in His image and likeness and not want to communicate with them? Simple logic would tell you that God desires to talk to you.
God has designed us to desire to know, hear, and understand His voice, nature, and character.
Logic should tell you that if you are able to create something as intricate and complex as the human, that creator would be interested in communicating with His creation.
God is always speaking, however, most of the time we have the problem with listening!
If you are dealing with sickness and disease God wants to speak to you and help you in making wise decisions concerning your physical and emotional health.
He will speak to you about closing open doors and your health habits. He does not want you to suffer in fear and with sickness and disease.
The Bible says there are many voices in the world, which is true. We must be able to discern the one voice we should be listening to. In the spirit/spiritual realm, there is much activity- godly and ungodly.
Those who claim to be psychics, intuitives, and such are hearing a voice- from a spiritual being, but it is not of God. If you follow psychics, intuitives and other “gods” be very careful. Jesus is the door, if you enter by another your protection or peace is not guaranteed! (John 10:9)
Tune Out the Other Voices
God desires to communicate with you, but are you willing to tune out the other voices of the world to hear Him? (John 10:27)
God designed us with the capacity to hear and discern His voice. We must take the initiative to become familiar with Him. There are many ways that God can speak to us.
Communication with God is key to living a successful Christian life! God often speaks to us to confirm His direction in our lives in many ways. It is our duty to pay attention to when God is speaking. individually.
My Favorite Books on Learning to Hear the Voice of God
Over the years, I have personally grown in my ability to hear the voice of God. I definitely am not perfect in this area. I have missed it in the past but through practice and patience, I have grown tremendously.
The number one thing I had to realize is that it is God’s desire to speak to me! Once I realized this fact I spent more and more time with Him learning what His voice sounds like- mainly during my times of prayer. I also studied the Word of God and read great books by awesome ministers in this area.
One of which being Lynne Hammond and all her books; but especially “The Master is Calling”. Other good books that have helped me in this area are:
God Still Speaks by John Eckhardt
You can click on these books and read a synopsis on them. I highly recommend them all. Do you know of any other good books in this area? If so, please let me know about them in the comments!
Hearing for Healing
There have been times that God has spoken to me through the Holy Spirit to do certain things about my health. Like eat more of certain items, impressions to go to the doctor to get bloodwork done, etc. Every time I have listened it has been for my benefit.
I have also sought and heard from God about those close to me like my husband. I have sought God about what doctor to see, what things to do naturally, medications to take, and the list goes on.
In a lot of these instances, I pray and then follow the peace of God. There have been times when surgery was the answer and other times where God performed a creative miracle. I am just obedient to do what He says when He says it and I get God’s results.
Of course, in all these things follow wisdom. If you are not mature in your ability to hear the voice of God seek confirmation and Godly counsel. If you question the best thing to do and do not have clarity, seek out someone who is more mature than you to pray with you and follow the best medical course of action until God says otherwise.
12 Ways God Speaks
God speaks to us in many different ways. The way we best hear Him often has to do with how we are wired. God’s purpose and calling for our lives also affect this as well.
#1 A Still Small Voice
Hearing God through the “still small voice” is one of the primary ways God speaks. The Holy Spirit will speak through your spirit. This can be heard as a passing thought, sudden impression, or internal “sense” of what God is saying or your conscience.
It is very similar to hearing God through impressions. Your conscience is the voice of your spirit, feelings are the voice of your body, and reason is the voice of your soul.
It can become hard to explain since things transmitted from our spirit often have to go through our soul (mind/intellect, will, and emotions) to be recognized. If your soul is filled with fear, shame or other things, listening to your conscience might not be a good guide.
If you know Jesus, you and your soul are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). If this is you, please confirm what you believe you hear with the Word of God. God’s voice will never violate His Word.
The “still small voice”, peace of God and inward witness are very closely related with very slight variations. They could actually be lumped in one way. However, for the purposes of this article, I have separated them to give you a better understanding.
#2 The Bible
The Bible or the Word of God is the most common way God speaks to His people. The Word and the spirit must agree. If you believe you are hearing something and it does not line up with the Word of God you might be in error.
You need to check your leadings. Most people cannot figure out if God is speaking to them because they simply don’t know Him.
You get to know God through the His Word. People who have taken things they believe they heard from the Spirit of God, but does not line up with the Bible often are listing to familiar spirits.
Familiar spirits are spirits designed to deceive and distract you from the truth of God. Some call them spirit guides/animals. (1 Cor. 14:10)
These are the main communicators to those who practice witchcraft, psychics, New Agers, energy healers, practicers of chakra, and others.
If you have not been a person to read and study your Bible, start today. I started with an Amplified Bible. This Bible includes the meaning of words in the text.
Another good resource is The Message Bible. It is a Bible written in plain language. It makes reading the Word easy and understandable. I currently read these Bibles, but my favorite study Bible is the Dakes Annotated Study Bible .
It contains study notes, definitions, and explanations. Whenever you read a Bible with commentary, you must realize that the commentary is not God’s anointed Word. Often there are areas where the author's biases can come through. However, an annotated study Bible does help at times with bringing understanding to complex passages.
#3 The Peace of God
The peace of God is another very common way God speaks to people. This is also referred to as the inward witness. God can speak to you through an “inward intuition”. It can be likened to an inner knowing whether or not to do something. Or it can seem like a “red light” or sense in your spirit as not to do something.
Or a “green light” in your spirit as to whether to do something. You “feel” really good about it. However, if you are a person that is fearful you have to be careful that you are not interpreting the voice of fear as the voice of God. Some people also call it “following your heart”.
This is why having a relationship with God and His Word is so important. It fine tunes your hearing and discernment. It causes you to have greater clarity and be able to distinguish between messages from God, the devil, or your flesh.
#4 Angels
Angels can be seen by people if God chooses to open their eyes to them. This is a manifestation of the spiritual gift of discerning of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10). Angels have been used by God throughout the Bible to bring messages to believers.
This can be seen in the case of Mary, the mother of Jesus. An angel alerted her to Jesus’ birth and her pregnancy. Angels are messengers from God. They are sent to minister to the people of God (Heb. 1:14).
God can choose to get a message to you through the vehicle of an angel. To learn more about angels and their ministry study the Bible on how they spoke to people. Another great reference is the book Angel Armies by Tim Sheets.
#5 Creation
God speaks through creation to demonstrate the reality of His existence. It is easy to see through the intricacy of the world that an intelligent being created the Earth. An awesome song which illustrates this is “So Will I (100 Billion X) by Cross Worship.
#6 Tongues/Tongues & Interpretation
Speaking in other tongues is another way God can get a message to you. This is a spiritual gift and manifestation of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8, we see the prelude to the disciples of Jesus’ first experience receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-4 describes the experience in detail. Depending on your doctrinal background you may or may not believe in this gift. However, it is one of the ways God has spoken to His people for years. Speaking in tongues is not necessary for salvation.
However, this gift helps you in your Christian walk tremendously. There is so much more that can be said here, but I did not want this blog post to turn into a book… There are numerous sources on the web to learn more about this gift. If this is of interest to you I encourage you to study and learn. Here is a good resource .
#7 Impressions in Your Soul (mind, will, emotions)
This way of God speaking is often seen in combination with some of the other ways mentioned. This way also works hand in hand with spiritual gifts in general. We are spirit beings. We possess a soul (our mind will and emotions), and we live in a body. We are led by our spirit.
However, the spirit will often speak messages which are “filtered” through our mind, will, or emotions. Hearing God in this manner requires you to be highly discerning. You have to be able to distinguish clearly between what is God and what is just you. God will lead and guide you to know His voice distinctly with time.
Time spent in the Word of God also helps train your spirit to know the character of God and His voice. If you are new to these things, it is best, to begin with, the more basic ways of hearing God speak- still small voice, peace, scripture.
#8 Prophetic Acts, Songs, Dance, and Artistic Expression
God speaks to people through prophecy. Prophecy is given for edification, exhortation, and comfort (1 Cor. 14:3). The message given is divinely inspired by God. The gifts of the spirit found in I Corinthians 12 discusses various ways the Holy Spirit demonstrates Himself.
I believe spiritual gifts can be illustrated in various manners depending on how the person is wired. These illustrations can be in words, visions, impressions that you illustrate through song, dance, or some other artistic method.
Prophecy can be demonstrated in various ways. Examples of this include David in the Bible driving out evil spirits through music from his harp (1 Sam. 16:23). Noah crafted an ark based on God’s specifications. Asaph worked with other creatives to uses their gifts to worship God with artistic expression.
#9 Signs & Wonders
Signs and wonders are often connected to a gift of the spirit. In the Old Testament, God, at times, led His people in this way. This often occurred through the hands of a prophet.
Today, signs and wonders give evidence of God and the miraculous. However, God will primarily speak to you through the Bible, peace, or a still small voice.
Today, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside of us. In the Old Testament, this was not the case.
#10 Prophetic Words of Knowledge, Words of Wisdom, & Prophecy
God speaks through us through the gifts of the spirit. I Corinthians 12:6-11 lists the manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is simply how the Holy Spirit can manifest Himself in the life of a believer. The gifts are often classified in 3 ways.
Gifts That Reveal Something
Word of Knowledge
Word of Wisdom
Discerning of Spirits
Gifts That Do Something
Gift of Faith
Working of Miracles
Gifts of Healing
Gifts That Say Something
Gift of Prophecy
Divers Kinds of Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues
The word of knowledge is the supernatural revelation by the Holy Spirit of certain facts (past & present) in the mind of God. The Word of wisdom is supernatural revelation concerning the divine purpose in the mind and will of God. God’s purpose and plan for the future are revealed by this gift. The gift of prophecy is a supernatural utterance in a known tongue designed to build up or comfort the hearer with no revelation/foretelling present.
This gift often operates with the Word of Knowledge and Wisdom which are revelation/foretelling gifts which is why the simple gift of prophecy is often confused with these. The Word of Wisdom and Knowledge often operate in visions and dreams. However, you must seek God for the interpretation.
There have been many times in my life where the Holy Spirit has used these gifts to warn or prepare me about something in the future. He also regularly uses these gifts to help me to pray specifically for others with insight into their situations.
#11 Circumstances
At times God can speak through open or closed doors. You may have been seeking God for the answer to a problem and if may feel like there are no open doors regarding the situation. This could be God speaking to you that this is not the way to go. However, with this, you also must be prayerful and discerning. At times, closed or open doors can be the result of a person’s work ethic and personal responsibility. When God speaks this way you must look for other confirming words or peace that this is what God is saying to you.
#12 Godly Counsel
The Bible says that in a multitude of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14). Sometimes it is hard for us to hear God for various reasons.
Our hearts can be crowded with other things, we could be dealing with sin, or we simply have not spent enough time with Him or in His Word to recognize when He speaks.
Godly council provides help and accountability when you believe you have heard from God. God should be able to speak to your Godly council concerning you and your situation and they can provide an answer.
Pay Attention!!!
Often times we might get a sudden impression of a person on the inside. This often means that God would like you to pray about that individual. Especially, if it is someone you do not often think about. In all of this, it is also good to check your leadings. Using the same example, pray for that person the Lord has reminded you of; then call them to let them know you have been praying for them and check to make sure everything is alright. Often times this person will let you know that they were going through something and your prayers were needed!
Listen to God About Your Health & Healing
God will also speak to you concerning praying for your own healing or praying for others healing.
Sometimes the Lord will tell us to do some natural things to walk in our healing and divine health. He may give you a Word of Wisdom or Knowledge to give you insight into the situation and guide your prayers. It is of great importance that we recognize His voice and respond with corresponding obedience to what He tells us to do.
He might tell us certain things about the person we are praying for healing for also. Our ability to accurately hear the voice of God in our lives could mean the difference between life and death.
I have seen this multiple times occur in my own life and when I have been ministering to people in a healing setting. I first seek God on how to pray for the person’s healing. At times I will get a word or phrase and begin praying those things out with the person. At times it could have been something the person did not even realize was connected to their healing.
I have sought the Lord for myself and husband when we have been attacked with sickness and disease. We have decided to undertake certain treatment regimens as a result of following the peace of God. The end- result was healing.
God is Always Speaking
God is always speaking and He wants to speak to you. God created man for fellowship with Him. He is concerned about you and your life. He wants you to live and walk in victory. The best way to ensure that this happens is to listen to Him and follow His voice.
God is omniscient and knows all things. He sees where you’ve been, where you are, and where you are going. He wants to point you in the best direction for your life. Commit to learning and being able to effectively distinguish His voice. It will enhance and change your life.