Published by Christians, and people that just call themselves that, sometimes say God told told (or spoke to, etc.) them to do or not do something. Most times an audible voice is not meant, but an urging within us which we then might, as directed by the Holy Spirit, put into words in our mind or spirit.
Throughout this study, unless otherwise indicated, “voice” and “urge” will mean the same thing: a sense of direction that might be from God, whether or not we hear an audible voice.
It is very important to develop your ability to hear God. It can mean the difference between life and death both physically and spiritually.
For those that would like to use this article for a study, there will be opportunity to do five worksheet items. You might have to press control and then click the link. If it opens the page in the same window as this article, you might have to use your back button to return to this article until I establish links on the worksheet page back to this article.
The answers to the questions will be presented on the same page on or just after October 21, 2008.
As you continue to read, please carefully note the sections between these marks: >> <<.
Know What You Have
Understand that each of us is comprised of a body, soul, and spirit (1Th 5:23). Our spirit is that which is designed to be initially in tune with God (John 4:24). An important element of our spirit is our conscience (Heb. 13:18). Our spirit and conscience are damaged due to the inherent sin nature in us, so our spirit is not adequately in tune with God, nor does our conscience direct us properly at all times. Rom. 7:18
>> God moves upon our conscience and spirit at the time of our true conversion to Christ (Heb. 9:14). There may have been times God moved upon us before, but we might have ignored or resisted that urging. In these cases, you were hearing from God in any manner as described in the introduction. <<
Your body also speaks to you, indicating whether it is hungry, tired, and so on (John 4:6). Your soul is the place where your affections reside (Ps. 42:11) and based on past experiences or natural tendencies, we prefer certain things to others (Nu. 21:5). Both our soul and body will send us urges, or in rare cases due to illness, voices.
Influences
Satan can certainly generate audible voices and urges for us to sense. Society, relatives, friends and enemies certainly influence us. Sometimes what we have heard others say keeps “replaying” in our mind.
The Battlefield: Your Brain
Naturally, everything we sense, including any urges we might feel or voices that we hear are analyzed by our mind. Outside of Christ we are going to make numerous bad decisions about what we sense. So, it’s best to be in Christ, truly dedicated to Him, because we are then in the position to have our mind actually transformed to think like Christ in many ways (Rom. 12:2).
Examine Your Relationship With God
What do you know about God? Your ability to decide if God is talking to you is partly affected by what you know about God. Some of His moral attributes are found in Ex. 34:6-7 and Ps. 99:9. God is predominately described as being holy. Reading the Word of God will help you to know how God thinks and works. Read 1 John for a foundation that will give you certain principles to follow.
The following three questions mean the same thing. Do you personally know God? Have you truly committed to Jesus Christ? Have you been born-again and have become a true child of God? >> As noted above, the convicting presence of the Holy Spirit frees and empowers our spirit to make the right choice — choosing Christ. Hopefully, you can remember the Holy Spirit moving upon you. That’s God’s voice. You may not have heard audible words, but you did sense God’s Spirit speaking to your spirit (John 10:14). <<
If the above link does not work, open another browser window and enter into the address bar by copying and pasting . . .
http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/HowKnowGodsVoice01WS.html#item1.
How much do you know about the life of Christ? The more you know about Christ’s life the more you will know how He would think and behave, and what He might tell you in a given situation. We can learn about the life of Christ by reading and studying the Gospels. The Apostles Peter and John were uneducated men, but the religious leaders of their day who would find fault with them noted that they had been with Jesus. See Acts 4:13.
How much do you obey His written Word and those in authority over you when they act according to His written Word? Disobedience to His Word hardens our hearts, making us less able to hear His voice and more prone to listen to something other than His voice. If we do not obey His written Word (whether we read it or hear it) we are less sensitive to the moving of the Spirit upon us. Heb. 3:14-19
How much have you tuned yourself? Condition your mind to think about God and the things of God. Have holy Christian music run through your mind. What artwork is around your house? Is it artwork that Jesus would have? Are you memorizing any Bible verses? Whatever you have and do, focus on the the goal found in Php. 4:8. Eliminate those things that don’t meet that goal.
Condition your soul. Your flesh won’t want this, but learn to like the things Christ would like. Isa. 55:1-3
Condition your body. Determine that your spirit, and not your body, will have priority. I once knew a man who would read the Holy Bible before he would eat his breakfast. Ps. 42:5
8.Condition your spirit by yielding to any urges you feel to worship, pray, reverence, read the Bible, speak about Jesus, and similar things. If you haven’t had any of these urges, ask God to give you these urges (Ps. 27:8).
Ask God to increase your discernment (Col. 1:9).
If the above link does not work, open another browser window and enter into the address bar by copying and pasting . . .
http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/HowKnowGodsVoice01WS.html#item2.
Testing a Voice
These tests are supreme and would be a good way to check any voice/urge, even for those with mental illness and other circumstances mentioned above.
How did you “hear” it? If you heard something audible, make sure it did not come from another human. For an example, see 1 Sam. 3:1-15 where little Samuel thought he was hearing from Eli. If it was an urge, did it come from your body, soul, or your spirit / conscience? Most times, but not all times, it should be coming from your spirit. Question urges you feel from your body or soul.
From what you read in the sections between the marks >> <<, if the urge or voice is similar to those points, most likely it is God speaking to you. If you are saved, you will instinctively know it is His voice (John 10:1-5).
If the above link does not work, open another browser window and enter into the address bar by copying and pasting . . .
http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/HowKnowGodsVoice01WS.html#item3.
Use the Word of God. If the voice or urge you sense goes against the Word of God, do not follow it, because the Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word of God (Isa. 8:20).
If the above link does not work, open another browser window and enter into the address bar by copying and pasting . . .
http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/HowKnowGodsVoice01WS.html#item4.
Whatever you sense or hear, would Christ consider it? If He would not entertain the thought, neither should you. Rom. 12:1-2
If you would follow through with what you hear or sense, is it something Christ would do? If not, don’t even consider it. 1 Jo. 2:6
Think it out. If you follow through with an urge, would you feel “dirty?” If so, don’t listen to it. 2 Cor. 7:1
Conversely, if the urge passes the other tests, if you begin to disobey, do you find the urge becoming stronger? Acts 9:10-15
If you still have doubts, privately ask God for a confirmation of what action you should take. This is not a sinful seeking of a sign as spoken of by Jesus, but something that God fearing people would do to make sure they were making correct choices. In Genesis 24:12-20, Abraham’s servant asked God for confirmation in direction in regard to finding a wife for his son Isaac.
About Medication
The Word of God is not against the reasonable (in the eyes of God) use of material means to better our flesh (Isa. 38:21). However, God wants us to seek Him first (2Ch 16:12). If you must go to a doctor, try to find one that is truly a Christian (quite rare), or at least acknowledges God and believes that nothing is impossible with Him, or, in the very least, one who will not go against you placing your trust in God.
If the above link does not work, open another browser window and enter into the address bar by copying and pasting . . .
http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/HowKnowGodsVoice01WS.html#item5.
Watch Your Pearls
Every Christian should actively sense directions from God. Our spiritual experiences should be like pearls to us and we must be careful as to whom we tell them. Tell only those who truly know Christ and are mature enough to realize the movings of God’s Spirit (Mt. 7:6). If you tell, tell only for the proper motives, either to instruct or, perhaps, to double check your experiences with another true Christian.
I and others tell of our experiences to instruct those who are hopefully the disciples of Christ, and to whet their appetite for the moving of God in their life.
Really good read, I must say though its tiring reading all your articles!
cheers,
denus
Helpful article. It needs practice to recognize God’s voice.