Hearing and Knowing God's Voice by Annette Capps One of the primary concerns of all Christians is their individual ability to hear from God. Because people and their personalities vary so widely, having God speak to you can defy explanation. Some claim to hear God's voice audibly, while others say they never hear from God. Whether you think you hear or not, God is always trying to communicate with us. As Proverbs states: Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: (Proverbs 1:20) God desires to impart to us wisdom and the knowledge of His will. He desires to communicate love, comfort, and understanding as well as correction. The Written Word and Inward Witness Two of the primary ways that God speaks to us is through the written Word and our inward witness. Not only does He speak to us through the written words of the Bible, but also can speak through inspirational books written by men and women today. I'll never forget the first time I read the book, Authority of the Believer by Kenneth Hagin. The words of that book jumped off the page into my heart and I knew the truth had just hit me! The inward witness, sometimes called 6th sense or intuition is one of the most important spiritual tools to develop. There have been times in my life that I escaped tragedy because "something inside" did not "feel" right. There are also times that I had that "feeling" to pray for someone only to find they were miraculously delivered from a car wreck. Then there are countless times that my spirit "checked" me about a business situation. When I went against it, I lost a lot of money! Developing Spiritual Discernment Spiritual discernment or following the inward witness is something that you practice and develop. It does not normally just fall on you in perfect form. You learn by trial and error. (I could do without some of the errors!) If you are sensitive to the leadings of your spirit and are diligent to follow them, then you will find your discernment growing. If, however, you ignore those promptings, they will come less and less. What happens is that you "sear your conscience". In the same way that a sinner commits and squelches his or her conscience, you can squelch your inward witness. Eventually it won't bother you anymore. Because of personality differences, some Christians feel the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Others see what God wants them to do, and some hear God speaking to them. The hearing is an inaudible voice on the inside. The seeing is not visible to others, and the feeling is often felt in the mid-section. These 3 senses are not necessarily spectacular, but provide a means of communication from the Holy Spirit. Supernatural Communication There are very supernatural and spectacular ways in which God also communicates. He may send an angel to appear with a message. He certainly can speak to you audibly and others can hear. There are also times that a person may be in a trance and see a vision of the future. I have occasionally had dreams where God revealed things to me. These are unusual occurrences and do not happen on a regular basis. His primary means is still the inward witness and written word. I have told God that he can use any means to get His message across to me, however, I think that perhaps the reason God has to speak in an audible voice is that some people are spiritually hard of hearing! God's Timing Another area of discernment that we need to develop when learning to hear God, is to discern and know His timing. Sometimes we get so excited that God communicated that we jump up and think the time for this to happen is NOW. In the book of Exodus, Moses knew that he was to deliver the nation of Israel out of Egypt. It was in his heart to do so. When he happened upon the Egyptian beating the Israelite, he slew the Egyptian. He took it upon himself to start the deliverance. Then he had to hide himself. When God spoke and said, "Go" then Moses truly delivered Israel. In Moses impatience, he delivered one Israelite. In God's perfect timing, he delivered the whole nation! Having knowledge of God's will without the wisdom to know His timing can be dangerous. As you develop your spiritual discernment, you learn to draw from that wisdom concerning God's timing. Some things that you feel, hear, or see may be for the future. If you realize that, it will keep you from being discouraged. Colossians 2:3 says that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Since all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ and Christ dwells in you, then that wisdom and knowledge is inside of you now in your spirit! Quotes: Some claim to hear God's voice audibly, while others say they never hear from God. Having knowledge of God's will without the wisdom to know His timing can be dangerous. Back to Newsletter Index.
