Being able to hear the voice of God is one of the many blessings available to us as children of God. Jesus Christ didn’t come to redeem us from sin alone. The salvation He purchased also grants us access to fellowship with God.
It is God’s desire for all his children to have an intimate relationship with him. This relationship begins by being able to hear the voice of God.
What’s in the Voice of God
We understand from scripture that God is a person. He thinks, has a will and even has emotions (anger, hate, love, jealousy, etc). God also speaks.
In Genesis 1, we see how God created the world by the spoken Word:
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light… And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” – Genesis 1:3, 6
Time and again at creation, God uttered His voice and creation occurred. So we see that God’s voice carries the Word of God which carries creative power.
In Psalm 29, the Bible tells us of the majesty and power in the voice of God:
“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.” – Psalm 29:3-8
We see in this scripture that the voice of God is so full of majesty, it breaks cedars and divides the flames of fire.
We are also told in scripture of the still softness of the voice of God in 1 Kings 9:
“And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?” – 1 Kings 9:12-13
Through these scriptures, we see that the voice of God is creative, full of majesty and power and can also be still and small.
Regardless of how God decides to speak, it is important for us to desire to hear His voice. This is because what is most important is not how God speaks but what God speaks. We should seek to hear what God is saying and not seek after the spectacular.
Why we need to hear God’s Voice
Being a born again believer is about having fellowship with God. The purpose of salvation was to pave the way for us to have fellowship with God like Adam did in the Garden of Eden before he sinned. The bible records that before the fall, God would come down in the cool of the day and walk with Adam in the garden.
As believers, we all have access to this intimate walk. However, it cannot exist if we are unable to speak to God and likewise hear Him speak back to us. In other words, our ability to communicate with God is the foundation for fellowship with Him. Therefore, if we desire to have fellowship with God, we must first be able to hear His voice.
Being able to hear the voice of God also goes beyond having fellowship with Him. We also need to hear the voice of God to:
- Receive divine direction from Him: Acts 9:10-16;
- Access revelation from God’s Word: Acts 10;
- Receive warning from Him: Acts 27
How to hear the Voice of God
In John 10, Jesus himself spoke about hearing the voice of God:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” John 10:1-5
In the above scripture, Jesus made it clear that we as believers know His voice. He also made it clear that we will not follow the voice of the stranger because we do not know his voice. What Jesus meant in this scripture was that the Holy Spirit in us will help us recognize the voice we hear as being from God or not from God. This is of great reassurance because it means we can trust Him to lead us. We must not let fear so paralyze us that we are scared we will hear the devil.
In order to hear the voice of God, we must do the following:
- Be quiet on the inside: We must recognize that God wants to speak to us. We just have to position ourselves to hear from him. In Psalm 46:10, the bible says:
Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10
The fact that we lead such busy and active lives means we need to spend time in the presence of God till our minds are quiet. The best way to do this is through worship. When we do this, our minds are less noisy with thoughts of our needs or activities of the day. Other ways to quiet our minds is by spending time studying the Word of God and also by praying in other tongues.
- Listen for what God is saying: As we spend time in God’s presence, praying in tongues, worshiping Him and loving Him, He will cause His voice to be heard. In the Acts of the Apostles, the bible gives us a unique insight into how this happened in the New Testament Church. Let’s take a look:
“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” – Acts 13:1-2
The bible says as these prophets and teachers ministered to the Lord, the Holy Spirit spoke. Ministering to the Lord means worshiping God. It is taking special time out to express our love, worship and adoration to God for who He is. When we do this, the Holy Spirit will speak.
- Judge what we’ve heard by God’s Word in scripture: This is extremely important. This is because God will never speak to you or I outside what is revealed in scripture. Judging what we hear through scripture will also keep us from error and helps us differentiate between what is the voice of God and our own thoughts. In Hebrews 4, the bible says:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12
God’s Word is a discern-er, able to differentiate between what comes from the realm o the soul (our thoughts) and what is from the spirit (the voice of God).
Discerning the Voice of God
Let us remember that the Word of God as contained in scripture is the foundation for our relationship with God. It is the standard by which everything we hear or experience must be judged. If we hear something that is contrary to what God says in the bible, we must discard it as false.
One other key to being able to discern the voice of God is to fill our hearts with God’s Word. In Colossians 3, we receive the following admonition:
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. “ – Colossians 3:16
The more we study and meditate on God’s Word, the more we will become familiar with Him and are able to discern His voice.
It should also be noted that only children of God can hear the voice of God. If you are not saved today; if you have not surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you cannot hear from God. Today however is your day of Salvation. We ask you to give your life to Christ today. To do so, simply visit our Salvation message page here.
We also invite you to leave a comment in the comments section below or leave your Testimony or Prayer Request through the respective links. For further study on this subject, we recommend this message by Pastor Andrew Wommack titled How to: Hear God’s Voice.
God bless you.
David Adeniji is the Founder and President of The Behold File, a teaching ministry founded in 2003. The Behold File provides a platform through which the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of men to see Jesus so they can be changed to be like him.
Comments 1
It’s so uplifting keep it on