Hearing God’s Voice

By Henry and Richard Blackaby

Have you ever wondered if it’s God’s voice or it’s just your imagination when you think you’re hearing from the Lord? Do you ever wonder if God speaks to His people today? Will He reveal to you where He is working when He wants to use you? Yes! It is wonderful to know that God has not changed. He still speaks to people like in the days of old. If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble within the heart of your Christian experience. Sin has affected us (Romans 3:10-11 says, “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.”), and you and I cannot understand God’s truth unless the Holy Spirit reveals it. He is the Teacher. When He teaches you the Word of God, carefully listen to Him and respond to Him. As you pray, watch to see how He uses Scripture to confirm in your heart a word from God. Watch what He is doing around you and in your circumstances. God speaks to you as you pray. God speaks to you in the Scriptures. God is also working all around you.

Knowing God’s voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God. This is why those who do not have a relationship (“do not belong to God,” John 8:47) do not hear what God is saying. You must watch to see how God uniquely communicates with you personally. You will not be able to rely on other people’s walks with God. You will have to depend on God alone. Your relationship with Him is extremely important. It is the most important and beautiful relationship you will ever have or ever know.

When God wants us to know something or to teach us something He uses the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. There is no set plan or way in how God may choose to speak to you. I can share with you what His Word says which is always an encouragement and dependable. When God chose to speak to people in the Bible, they knew it was God Himself and they knew what He was saying to them. Let’s read John 10:2-4, 14 when Jesus said: “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The sheep listen to his voice. His sheep follow him because they know his voice. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

Yes, you are His little sheep-ling. He wants you to seek Him with all your heart; He wants an intimate love relationship with you. He wants you to be totally dependent upon Him alone. Hearing God does not depend on any method but only on a real relationship. God loves you and desires a deep intimate relationship with you. He wants you to depend on Him when you seek a word from Him. He wants you to learn to hear His voice and know His will. Your relationship with Him is the key to hearing when God speaks to you.

Here is a prayer you may pray: “Lord God, I pray that I will grow in my relationship with You so much so that when You speak to me, I will know immediately it is You and hear and respond to You.” When God speaks to you, you need to believe and obey Him. You have to adjust your life to God and follow Him, your Shepherd. I have found the moment God speaks is the time He wants me to respond to Him. I can’t wonder if its God’s timing. The moment God speaks to you is God’s timing. This is why He chooses to speak when He does. He speaks to His servant when He is ready to move. Otherwise, He wouldn’t speak to you. When God is the center mainstream of your life, the timing of your response is crucial. Just believe then obey. This is different than when God calls you, He always takes time to prepare you for His assignment. Look at Abraham; it took 25 years to prepare him to be the father of Isaac and founding a nation (Gen. 12:4; 21:5). God took time to build Abraham into a man of character. In this time spent together, he learned God’s ways are better than his own and was trained to depend on God as he got to know God in a personal intimate way. God loved their relationship. God also had a plan with Abraham’s life, which still affects us today. When we gave God our hearts and believed that Jesus is His son; that He died and resurrected from His grave, we invited Him to take our lives. He should have full authority over all your decisions and plans. I think your creator knows what He designed your purpose to be and He can be trusted not to misguide you. To hear His voice in order to be lead means your relationship with Him must be intimately close. Spending quality time with him sharing your heart and seeking Him, is a relationship. Both working together as He leads, you follow. Laying your life down for the life that He has for you, will fulfill you abundantly and bless Him. Nothing else matters in this life more than your relationship with Him. So make sure you’re doing your part in seeking Him and knowing His heart