How to Hear God’s Voice

Day Five

Often I have had people—even born-again Christians—ask me how it is that I hear God speaking to me, and how do I know it’s not just my own thoughts.  If you’re following my blog, then you know that I am doing a 21 day fast, praying for understanding of the things to come, and how we can prepare.  Almost everybody agrees that we are living in the End Times.  The Bible speaks of many dangers to come, and one of the most dangerous is deception.  We need to be tuned-in to God’s voice so that we can know truth from deception.  The enemy’s deception will be so strong, supported by counterfeit miracles, that even Christians will be in grave danger of believing his lies (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22).

With this in mind, I had come across notes from a 2010 cell group meeting a few days ago.  These were notes titled How to Hear God’s Voice, and taken from Matthew 7:24: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock,” (emphasis mine).  A lot of times we hear God’s voice, but for whatever reason (timidity, the instruction seems crazy, we don’t want to do it, etc.) we don’t do what He says.  If we don’t do what He says, He won’t speak again—why should He?

Ask yourself: did I obey God the last time I heard His voice?

If not, then do the thing He told you to do, if possible.

Submit to His lordship and resist the devil.

James 4:7

Confess any known sin.

God is not going to share His thoughts with someone who is unrepentant or continuing in sin.

Ask specific questions and expect an answer.

I have always disliked my forehead, and felt embarrassed about it.  One time I was going to get my hair cut and I looked in the mirror and said, “Lord, why is my forehead so big?” not expecting an answer, but immediately He said, “To kiss!”  In my mind I saw God kiss me on the forehead.  Sometimes even when you don’t expect an answer, you will get one.

Allow God to speak to you any way He chooses, and don’t limit Him.

Understand that God will never contradict His Word, the Bible.  He speaks:

1. Audibly, often in a still, small voice, other times in a voice that sounds like your interior voice
2. Through the Bible, which you should be reading daily
3. Through other believers
4. Sometimes even through strangers or unbelievers

Step out in faith.

Trust God that He can and will lead you in the right direction, even when you don’t know exactly where you’re going

Don’t talk about your word too soon.

The enemy is listening, but he can’t hear your conversations with God, only with other people, so be wise.

Unless you must act immediately, wait and watch for confirmation.

Beware of counterfeits!

The devil may try to lead you in a wrong direction, but you can avoid this danger (see below).

Cultivate a relationship with God.

Spend time with Him in prayer.  Pass time quietly in His presence, without making requests.  Include listening when you pray.  Just as you walk and talk with friends, walk and talk with God.  Practice hearing His voice so that you won’t be fooled by counterfeits.  This means really listening for Him to speak.

You’ve got to want to hear Him speak to you.  

• Don’t be surprised when God’s response is not what you expect, His thoughts are higher than your thoughts (

Isaiah 55:8-9).

• Concentrate on His love for you, and you will hear His voice.

Fall deeply in love with Him, and be willing to p

• ut aside the things that distract you from hearing His voice:

1. Turn off your cell phone, tablet, video games device, MP3 player, computer, tv—anything that prevents you from being fully present
2. These things are not evil, but the enemy can use them to distract you
3. Practice being fully present for at least an hour a day

I believe that it will become increasingly important for us to be listening to His voice.  If the world’s Christians don’t willingly turn off the distracting electronic devices, then God will allow the whole internet worldwide to come crashing down.  Frankly, I’m surprised that it hasn’t happened already.

The Prophecy Fulfilled At Last!

Waaaaaaaaay back in 1976, I received a prophecy at a prayer meeting.  Someone was kind enough to write it all down for me, which means that it must have been recorded.  In those days that means that it was probably recorded on a cassette recorder, possibly even a big reel-to-reel tape recorder, and typed on a manual typewriter.  Young people, what this means is that a lot of time and effort went into writing the prophecy for me.  I don’t remember who spoke the prophecy, but it really doesn’t matter, that person was just the instrument God used that evening, and also the person who wrote it out for me.

The prophecy is on 3 yellowed and stained pieces of paper.  There are typographical errors and ellipses to indicate where the person writing could not hear parts of the prophecy.  The paper has been folded in half and has moved with me every time that I have moved since 1976, which is 10 times.  Most of those moves are long distance (more than 500 miles), and include 3 international moves.  It is astonishing that the paper was never lost or destroyed, especially considering that I didn’t take any special care of it.

Most astonishing of all is that for most of the 1980’s I was very far from God, even considering myself an atheist for 8 years.  The prophecy hadn’t made sense to me at the time I received it, so I probably would have thrown it out  if I had come across those papers during that time.  [How God reclaimed me is a very cool story, but too long for right here.  Stay tuned, I’ll try to get to it in a day or so.]

Over the years I have come across the prophecy, sometimes I’ve searched for it.  I have read and re-read it many times, but I never, never understood it until just recently.

Part of the difficulty in understanding the prophecy was the language.  The prophet spoke in King-James-ish English.  I don’t personally have trouble with King James English.  Having grown up Episcopalian, my early church experience was all King James.  My first reading of the Bible was the King James Version.  But for some reason, the prophecy was too difficult to understand.  During my believing years I had kept it, always feeling that it was somehow important, though I didn’t understand it.  The last time I read it was about 2 years ago.  I had brought it to Milan with me.  But I still didn’t understand it.  It makes me think of Habakkuk 2:2, which says: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.  For the revelation awaits an appointed time.”  I think that I didn’t understand the prophecy before the appointed time.

What it says (in part) is:

There is a truth, says the Lord, that I am leading you in; that you should be one of My true mercy, that you should be one of greater mercy, which is My love in action.  My mercy, My kindness, My tenderness upon the lives of others.  For I will send you in as a great Christian spring in a time when many are dry.  For now there shall be those of your own kindred that you should be witnessing to, that you should be speaking to and shall refresh them so that they shall receive greater, greater than that which even I promised. . . (emphasis mine).

Now I understand that this was speaking of this ministry of encouraging missionaries—decades before it started!  On Thursday night I returned home to Milan from a prayer trip to Sofia and Skopje (see my posts of the previous couple of weeks).  Yesterday the pastor from Skopje sent me a message saying (in part): “What a blessings you where in Skopje, Macedonia.  Thank you sooo much for being like fresh water in the desert,” (emphasis mine).  Wow!  This is when the encourager gets encouraged!

I had always taken “those of your own kindred” to be literal relatives, but now I realize that the prophecy speaks of brothers and sisters in Christ.  I’ve always felt called to help Christians understand and begin to really live in their calling.  That is the “truth” spoken of in the first line of the prophecy.

Another part of the prophecy says:

You will find Me in praise, as many of My people find Me in praise, for I will direct praises even now, even henceforth, that they may be praises from your hearts.  My praises, that have seemingly been by sacrifice in the past, but now shall be very real; for now I shall be pleased with you in obedience in My Word that you praise and enact truth in affixing your eyes upon Christ Jesus. . .

The “sacrificial” praise was something that wasn’t in the past when this was written, but in the future.  Now it’s in the past—how I praised God with all my heart even while I was going through the worst depression of my life in the summer of my divorce [more about that another time].

There is also a part that I believe speaks of the future.  I will not include it here.  As Daniel wrote: “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future,” (Daniel 8:26).

I have spent some time today looking for the actual papers, and I can’t find them.  But I know that I will find them when the future part becomes important.  What I did find was €230!  Provision and grace are always working in my favor because I don’t limit God.  God is good!