Listening for God’s Voice

This can feel intimidating, can’t it? 

Pastors, mentors, Christian speakers and influencers, and maybe even your friends might have told you that you need to listen to God—you need to listen for His voice.

They’re not wrong. We do need to be listening for God… but how do we do that?

You might know some people who pray and say they have heard an audible response from God. I am not one of those people, and perhaps you aren’t either.

There’s nothing wrong with you or your faith if you don’t hear an audible response from Him, or if you don’t hear whispers from Him in nature, or whatever other way someone you know might hear from God.

I think God can speak to each of us in different ways, but there’s one way I know that we can all hear from Him.

Through His Word. 

As it says in Hebrews 4:12:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (emphasis added).

I was listening to a message from Priscilla Shirer the other day, and she was talking about how we need to be reading the Bible for ourselves. If you’ve been in and around the church for a while, then you’ve probably heard that before—you need to be spending time reading your Bible.

I want to reiterate how crucial that is. We can’t only be consuming other people’s messages and interpretations of the Bible, whether it’s in Sunday services, listening to podcasts or sermons, or attending a Bible study group. Those are all wonderful things, and I hope you are involved in one or all of those. 

But, there’s something important to consider here. You wouldn’t necessarily consider yourself a friend of someone who you hear other people talk about but don’t personally know, right? 

Let’s say you went to a weekly meeting discussing some celebrity. Then you also listened to podcasts about them. Maybe you’re even part of a fan club. These things could all be true, but you wouldn’t be able to say you were friends with or in a deep relationship with that person. 

The same thing is true of our relationship with God. We can’t have a deep and meaningful relationship with God if we don’t spend one-on-one time with Him, getting to know Him and His Word through the Bible and prayer.

We can recognize His voice because we know and love God deeply. 

In 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Paul tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

We can trust that God will speak to us through His Word because, as believers, we are guided by the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps you have a question for God that isn’t directly answered in the Bible.

“God, which job should I take?”

“Should I send my child to public or private school?”

“Why did this happen to my loved one?”

You probably have a lot of questions, and you would like answers.

God doesn’t owe us any answers (Romans 11:34–36). However, He still wants to hear from us (Philippians 4:6–7)—all of our questions, thoughts, requests and praises. 

Like in the books of Job and Habakkuk, sometimes God chooses to answer us. And, as Christians, we always have access to His Holy Spirit who leads us.

So, how do we follow the Holy Spirit and hear God’s voice?

I had a friend recommend a practice to me. When you pray, and maybe you’re asking God about something specific, sit in the silence and listen for Him.

If you’re anything like me, you might spend most of your prayer time talking to God. You tell Him what you’re grateful for, ask Him for clarity on something, or even ask Him to heal or be with a loved one.

But, how often do you sit in the silence with God?

We can’t hear from Him if we never give Him room to speak.

This same friend also recommended starting those prayer times with a simple question: “God, do you love me?”

Listen for His answer: “Yes.” It might come from your head, deep within your chest, in your heart. It might be quiet at first.

Tune into where His voice comes from. When you’re sitting in that silence with Him, you’ll know where to find His voice and how He speaks to you.

You can also go back and forth in conversation with God. Maybe you hear something in your prayer time, and you want to make sure it was from God. Ask Him! 

Anything you hear you can also check with Scripture. You can ask a few questions:

Does what I heard line up with what the Bible says?

Do I feel peaceful about this answer, even if it isn’t what I wanted to hear?

Does a trusted Christian friend or mentor agree with this?

If the answers to these questions are yes, then you’re likely hearing from God.

As it says in 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace…” 

When God speaks, we won’t be confused, but we will experience peace. 

You can rest in the knowledge that, if you’re walking closely with God, you can’t stray too far from His path. God listens to and answers His people, and that includes you.