Do I Know God's Voice?

Many times we are asked the question "How do I know if it is God speaking to me? how can I recognize his voice?"

This is often one of those questions that really has a very simple answer. How do you recognize the voice of anyone that speaks to you? when someone you just met recently calls you on the phone they may assume you know who they are when in reality you have no idea. You haven't spent much time with them to get to know their voice. You may have talked to them several times but perhaps you were only concerned with what you had to say and not what they had to say so you really didn't pay enough attention to learn what their voice sounded like.

To really know someone's voice we have to spend time talking with them. Not talking TO them but talking WITH them. The more time we spend in CONVERSATION with someone, the easier it becomes to know their voice. Then when they call you and start talking they don't have to introduce their self each time.

in the Old Testament we see many people in the Bible who talked with God and knew God's voice. Obviously Adam talked with God and knew his voice. Noah knew God's voice, if he didn't then he would never have built the ark. Abraham talked with God and knew his voice as did Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Daniel, and many other prophets. If they knew God's voice then why can't we?

God doesn't change. People's perception of God may change but God does not change. Well if God doesn't change and he spoke to people in the "Bible days" then what makes you believe that he does not speak to us now? He does, the problem is most people have not spent enough time talking to God to know his voice when he does speak to them.

So how do you learn God's voice? Well when you hear a "voice speaking to your heart" ask yourself a few questions.

"Does this sound like something that God would tell me based on what I know of God?"

"Is what this voice telling me lining up with the word of God (the Bible)?"

"Am I 100% sure that this is God talking?"

 If the answer to any of these questions is no then you better closely examine the voice and what it is telling you to do. Is this something that would look good in the eyes of man? Is this something that has no value in building up God's work? What will be accomplished by this?Is this perhaps an exercise in faith for me?

We can read in Judges where Gideon asked for a sign just to make sure he was hearing God correctly, not once but twice. Gideon did not want to take any chances. Do you think this helped him to know God's voice better? I am sure of it. God doesn't get angry when we question "Is that you Lord?" when we are learning and growing. Even sometimes an older Christian (or preacher) will receive a word from God and he'll stop and say "Wait, that didn't sound right...God was that something you are trying to tell me or am I being tempted to be deceived through misunderstanding?"

You see prayer is not a 100% asking and no listening. How much fun is that? Nor is it 100% listening and no talking, how much fun would that be? Do you enjoy listening to someone ramble on and on and on for hours and never shut up to hear what you have to say? Of course not. Prayer is communication and part of that communication is learning to hear God's voice and learning to identify it so you can begin to have meaningful conversations from both ends.

Try the voices speaking to you to see if it is God talking...as you learn to listen more and beg for less you will learn what God's voice sounds like so you can identify the real from the fake. Remember Satan will do is best to duplicate everything he can of God.

Pray, question, read and learn to communicate with God so that you can more clearly identify his voice as he speaks to you.

May God bless you

Sister Becky