Why is this a difficult topic?

Communication with persons who we can see and hear can many times be challenging. It is even more challenging to communicate with God who we cannot see and often cannot hear. Given that we are accustomed to a fast pace world, we want our time with God to fit into that mould. Sometimes we expect to be able to hear God easily and quickly, but it can take time and persistent practice. Sometimes we just forget to take the time to have a conversation as opposed to a one-way stream of talking to God. Sometimes we do not hear because we do not want to hear what He has to say. But God is supposed to come first, above all other things in our lives and so we need to spend time with Him. We need to spend quality time, talking with Him, listening for His voice and getting to know Him through the Bible.

How do we know that He speaks to us?

God has spoken to men throughout the history of the world. In the beginning, man was in the presence of God. He was able to converse with God one on one. Hearing from God was easy. But then man disobeyed God’s voice and fell from his position out of God’s presence (Genesis 3). After this, speaking with God was forever changed. But God put a plan in place to reconcile us with Himself. This plan is salvation and it is in motion. It is an ongoing process until Jesus returns but in the meanwhile, man still hears from God.

We know that God speaks with us even more clearly now (after Jesus died for us) because we have the Holy Spirit within us. After Jesus came, we have been given the Holy Spirit as prophesied by Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Joel long before this happened (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18). Jeremiah says that the Lord shall put His law in our minds and hearts, and we shall know Him. Ezekiel and Joel spoke of God putting His Spirit within us. So now that we are saved, God has given us His Holy Spirit to teach His word and His ways. In this new testament time, we have an advantage in being able to clearly hear the voice of God because His Spirit dwells within us. (Thanks, Mike, for this!)

God Speaks to His People in Different Ways

God speaks directly to people. God spoke to Cain (Genesis 4:6). God spoke to Noah about building the ark (Genesis 6:13). God spoke to Abraham (Genesis 12:1) many times. And God continued to speak to many people as time went by. God spoke to Moses on Mount Horeb (Exodus 3:4-6), and when he heard God’s voice, he was afraid. God spoke to the people of Israel after they came out of Egypt but they were afraid and did not want God to speak with them (Exodus 20:18-21).

God speaks through prophets. Later, God used prophets to speak with His people (Isaiah 38:4). God spoke with Samuel as a boy. When Samuel first heard God calling him, he did not know it was God. He thought it was Eli (his teacher) calling his name (1 Samuel 3:4-14). God spoke to Daniel through dreams and visions (Daniel 8:1; Daniel 10:10). God spoke to Saul (Paul) on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:4), changing his life radically forever.

God speaks to us through the scriptures. All scriptures are breathed by God (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, it is His word. And even though the scriptures were written so many years ago, God uses it to speak with us directly at times. In His miraculous way, by the Holy Spirit, He responses to each of us in our individual situations using the word.

God speaks to us through people. God spoke through His prophets frequently. For instance, in 2 Samuel 12, God used Nathan the prophet to rebuke David for the sin he committed with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1-7). But even today, God uses people to speak with us. God can use anyone to speak with us, saved or unsaved. God even used a donkey to speak with Balaam (Number 22:28). Nothing is impossible with the Lord (Luke 1:37).

God Speaks to us through our thoughts. The bible tells us that He who formed the mountains and created the wind declares to man what is his thought (Amos 4:13). Paul spoke about feeling something in his spirit, which was direction from God. He said he felt it in his spirit that he must go to Jerusalem (Acts 20:22).

But how do we know the difference between God’s voice and my thoughts? The word tells us that God’s sheep hear his voice, and they know it (John 10:2-4; John 10:27). The sheep knows the shepherd’s voice because they have become familiar with it by hearing it many times. So, we need to learn to recognize God’s voice by getting to know Him. We get to know Him through His word. Also, God’s message will always be aligned with the bible and many times when God speaks with us, we hear the same message multiple times in different ways.  

But God can speak with us in many other ways. The important point is that we need to learn how to recognize it by drawing closer to Him and practising it.

How do we get better at hearing Him?

Jesus said that whoever is of God hears the word of God; the reason why you do not hear it is because you are not of God (John 8:47). We get better at hearing Him when we become of God. How do we become of God? We spend time in the Bible, we live by the bible, and we obey the Bible. The Bible says that if we treasure God’s commandments, be attentive to His wisdom and understanding, seek for it like hidden treasure then we will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:1-5).

God wants us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind to discern the will of God (Romans 12:2). God wants us to know His will and His ways. The more we lean towards God, the more He will lean towards us, and our desires will become His desires. Therefore, what God has to tell us has to do with His will. So, the question is do we want to hear from Him.

Summary

• God speaks to us through the Bible, other people, our thoughts and more.
• To hear God’s voice, we need to know it.
• To know God’s voice, we need to spend time with Him.
• We spend time with Him by reading and studying our Bibles and practising conversing with Him.

All photos were taken by Kyle or Vani. These photos are from the many adventures we have been blessed to experience together. We are so grateful for every blessing from God. No filters were used nor were the photos edited except for an occasional crop. We hope you enjoy.