How to hear God’s voice
How can you hear the voice of God? Good question. Here’s what I know. God’s voice will never be contrary to His Word. It is completely inseparable. If you want to know how He speaks, the context in which He speaks and the manner in which He speaks, read His Word. His word is alive and active, He will speak to you prophetically through the Scriptures that were written thousands of years ago for your situation that is happening right now.
I would suggest that you set aside time to study the Scriptures, learn the verses by heart, maybe find the context and definitions, if that is your thing, to make a conscious effort to acquire biblical knowledge that you would store in your heart. I can’t tell you how many times, through my struggles, memorized Bible texts replayed in my mind like a broken record. I believe that it was God, through his Holy Spirit, reminding me of his truth, his faithfulness, his strength.
One of the key ingredients is prayer. God created us for relationship. In the very beginning, he created everything with his word, but when he created man, he got down on his knees in the mud and formed him from clay. He leaned over him and breathed his breath into the man’s nostrils, filling his lungs. It is what separates us from the rest of creation, it is our value and significance, His personal breath in our lungs. When we surrender our life to Jesus, I believe that he breathes life into our nostrils again, stores the Holy Spirit, not only a part of himself but himself in all its fullness.
The Holy Spirit is God. He is not a concept or an idea. He has emotions and thoughts, so we must approach Him and communicate with Him as a person. Because of this, we have access to God at all times, more than Moses, Elijah or Abraham ever had. Through prayer we communicate with Him, we return to the original design of the relationship He envisioned, that boundless and continuous connection. When we outgrow prayer through monologue, God is forced to speak, sometimes repeating the Word, sometimes through unexperienced insight, sometimes through loving conviction and encouragement. Each time is different, God works in unexpected ways.
“One of the key ingredients is prayer. God made us for relationship.” Remember, God made us unique. He is the Lord of all creation, but also the Savior of one. He went in search of that one, while leaving ninety-nine behind. Given the above, the way He talks to you will be personal, completely different than He would talk to someone else. Once upon a time, I allowed myself to be extremely disappointed because He wasn’t communicating with me the way He communicated with my friends, until I discovered that He longed for uniqueness and creativity with me as well.
I am an emotional being. He speaks to me through sadness, bursts of laughter, overwhelming though righteous anger or a strong wave of love. When He created you, His vision for your communication was complex to meet your soul personality. He is in control of how He wants to reveal Himself to you, and although comparison can deceive and say it is not true, He desperately wants to be close to you. Desperate, not because he is weak or insecure, but because of his love for you.
When he wove you together in your mother’s womb, He has woven the need for fellowship into your being, above all and especially the need for fellowship with Him. Hearing His voice is a promise to all His children, not a capricious sign on some “holy” people. This is the reason why the curtain is torn. The way God speaks is more than a booming, articulate voice, although for some it may be the very way you connect with Him. But for others, it can be through the sunset, meeting a stranger’s eyes, through dreams and visions, or many other ways. God’s creativity is limitless. In any case, familiarize yourself with His voice through His Word, through prayer and through His Holy Spirit, with expectation and confidence. Author: Hannah Crosby
