How do we listen to the voice of God? How do we know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to us and what He is saying? Jesus said like the sheep with his shepherd, his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
John 10:3-5
The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
John 10:14
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me–
Do we know His voice? Do we take the time to listen for Him? How can we know His voice? This is one of the most important steps of following our Lord; of being what we call a Christian…knowing and following His voice.
One that I know, asked this question of some friends and acquaintances and many varied answers came back. But there appears to be a common thread to them. The Bible is instructive and the overarching guide; there is a sense of conviction; a strong sense of direction; it involves waiting; there is a trust in His guidance;
Let me share some of them:
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“So this will be quick and dirty: There is an over arching prayer for grace filled ears to hear correctly. When I start there, what I read – scripture and/or spiritual books, what people say, what the preacher highlights, what comes up when I teach tend to contain answers or pieces of answers. I pay particular attention to convergence – when the same thought comes to me from several disparate sources…How do I know the ‘answer’ is from God? I have to trust that when I genuinely lay something before him with an earnest desire to follow his path, he will send me down a straight one.”
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“The Holy Spirit NEVER contradicts the WORD of God. It can be the toughest things in your life to hear.It can lead you to places you’d never imagine you’d go. It can call you into ministry, sustain you, direct you, lead you and give you the POWER to keep on.”
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“I don’t see listening to the Holy Spirit as a discipline now. Before. . . years ago, yes. But I see it as an ache that never goes away. It is a driving force that runs so deep it demands I get on my face before God some mornings. It is not always a “feeling”. “. It is that “epiphany” in the middle of a conversation or movie or sight of something. It speaks through sounds of birds, rush of wind, calm of rain and covering of snow…It instructs me, fills, me, breaks my heart, heals my heart, causes me to visit people I probably wouldn’t otherwise. The discipline I suppose is “Keeping in step” with the Spirit GAL 5:25-26. It is taking time. I think busyness of life; ministry and church can be some of the major thieves of this.
“I don’t just mean a daily quiet time. I mean an all day abiding and conversation and seeking state.”
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“Sometimes I just go with the feeling/urge I have and as I get further down the path, I have more of an idea if it’s being led by the Holy Spirit. If it feels right, I keep walking, if not, I change direction. This is even just in the thought process… I tend to “try it on for size” and the Holy Spirit either opens doors or shuts them!”
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“I have found in my life it is the quiet proddings of the Spirit that we need to be in tune to —or we miss so much…It’s also important to remember that the Lord’s great desire is to use us—a clean vessel. Sometimes our busy and very hurried lives make us insensitive to the Spirit’s leading.”
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“Oftentimes it is a still soft voice (actual words) in my heart/head. I have to stop and step into the holy of holies in my heart to really hear him then. It is not like when I am thinking to myself like now as the words go through my head as I write this, it is more like the voice is coming from more deeply within me. That is why I say heart/head. Here in the holy of holies in my heart I can ask questions and he will answer… this is the easiest for me to ignore and disobey, it is also probably the most frequent way he speaks.”
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” listening to God is not to be taken lightly or acted on hastily, without thought or consideration (discernment). I believe that we were given the Bible to help us in our daily following of God. There are a couple of overriding themes that are continuously seen in the Bible- Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your mind and Love your neighbor. Wit h Jesus,the Bible also describes a new relationship with God- Grace. I think that it is essential to “double check” what we are “hearing” against these very basic Biblical principles. Any “word from God” should not conflict what is taught in the Bible. It should show love t o God or t o our neighbor and it should be tempered with grace and mercy.”
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And then there is this really honest answer:
“All I feel like I can share now is how NOT to hear the Holy Spirit. My life is so full of clutter: visual, emotional, physical…every kind of clutter you can imagine. I’m not sure I could hear the Holy Spirit if He were screaming at me. Maybe He is. So, if you get a chance, I’d love to hear what you come up with.”
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With all that said, I am very interested in how you know the voice of God, how you sense the work of the Holy Spirit as opposed to the work of our enemy who likes to disguise himself as an angel of light.
I have come to the conclusion that it is the heart that is His that truly begins to hear His voice. Not the perfect heart, not the dutiful heart, not the proud heart, but the broken heart. As my heart began to yearn more and more for Him and realize my total need for Him, I found I could understand His voice more clearly as He spoke through scripture, through others and through situations that I encountered. I have come to understand His voice through His creation. I am learning to be still. I have more to write on this soon.
But for now, please share your journey with us in listening to the voice of God.
Blessings, scott for Wellspring, 2007
