“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” John 10:27
One of the true marks of being a mature believer is having the ability to hear God’s voice. Sometimes, the struggle is not simply in hearing God but in the inability to recognize if the voice you have heard is God’s or not.
Too often, people use prayer as a channel through which they talk to God but never as a channel through which they can hear from God. Sometimes, in the place of prayer, we do most of the talking without waiting to hear back from God. We nag, cry, plead, we offer petitions, pour out our hearts, but we do not pause to receive a response from our heavenly Father.
“After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:12
How Do we recognize God’s voice?
God is a spirit and he communicates with our spirit which in turn relays the message to our minds. Often times, God will speak to us in a still small voice which manifests as an inward witness, tugging on your heart, an impression, a thought or a prompting.
Many times we hear a voice, and we are confused about whose voice it is; is it our flesh, the devil? One thing for sure is that God’s spoken word never negates his written word because he is not an author of confusion.
When people complain that they can’t seem to hear God or that God is silent; it may be because they have not spent a good amount of time studying the bible.
So many of us are always waiting on a still small voice, but there’s a lot that God wants to say to us through his already written word in the bible. Before God will trust you with the grand revelations, you would have to begin by obeying the simple commands in his written word. Jesus in John 14:15 says “If you love me, keep my commandments”
One of the likely barriers to hearing God’s voice in a particular situation is the fact that our environment all around is surrounded by noise and distractions that only edify our flesh. This is why quiet time with God is very crucial; the silent moments we spend digging deep into the word or times we spend alone listening to spirit-filled worship songs.
Sometimes, all we need is some quieting down, to be still, eliminate distractions so that we can hear God clearly. However, this does not mean that God cannot speak to you even when your life is busy and chaotic, he can!.
Spiritual Fasting and Prayer can prove useful in hearing God’s voice and is essential for any Christian who wants to grow spiritually. Fasting is the medium through which we discipline the flesh (subdue and put it under control) so that our spirit-man is fully awakened and sensitive to the spirit and voice of God. Fasting might put you in a better position to receive God-given revelations, ideas, prophecies, and spiritual gifts.
Being able to discern God’s voice comes from ample time spent in communion with him through prayer, worship and reading his word. Proving to be diligent in the little things will lead to you being trusted to receive access to secrets and revelation knowledge.
Just as a young child can recognize his father’s voice even in the dark because he has grown up to know and get familiar with hearing that voice over and over again.
A personal Experience
Last year, I misplaced my journal and had searched everywhere in my home but still could not find it. It was a really frustrating time for me, as the journal contained prayers and musings that were dear to my heart.
I had just gotten married and moved in with my husband and so I began to wonder if I had left the journal in my parents’ house even though I had a faint memory of packing it with me while moving to my new home. I prayed a few prayers and asked the Holy Spirit to show me where the journal was hidden.
A few days later, I had a dream where the journal was laying under my bed in my new home; so of course, when I woke up I searched under the bed for the umpteenth time but did not find the missing journal.
After two months of unsuccessful searches through the house, I sat on my bed one morning and quietly asked the Holy Spirit for help. Lo and behold, that same morning I found the journal in the guest room without even intentionally searching for it.
Apparently, the dream I had was God’s way of telling me that the journal was right there in my own home and not my parents’!
God wants to speak to us regularly even about the things that seem trivial but we need to develop a close relationship with him.
Practice listening to God speak to you about the seemingly little and mundane things such as what to wear, where to find a missing journal, how to be more punctual at work; and then you will be perfect in recognizing when God speaks about the big issues.
We cannot only desire God’s voice or his will only when it’s time to make huge decisions such as choosing a life partner or deciding whether it’s time to quit that job or move to a new city or even a new continent.
God speaks to us to guide us and lead us in the course of our daily living and walk with him but our hearts have to be open and rightly tuned to him. So when next you hear a voice and you find yourself asking in confusion “Hey God, Is that you?”, it’s probably a sign that you need to spend more time communing with your Heavenly Father.