How do you know when God speaks to you

[tillmother]

I was wondering how someone would know if God speaks to them. This has always been one thing that I'm unsure of? I'm not sure if I have heard God speak to me? Any suggestions

Edited March 7, 2005 by tillmother

[Guest obeyacts2:38]

I was wondering how someone would know if God speaks to them.  This has always been one thing that I'm unsure of?  I'm not sure if I have heard God speak to me?  Any suggestions

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There is not a lot of information that I can provide, but to tell you that it feels like an urge. Like, God is urging you to do something or like a thought from God. Maybe he lets you know that certain situations are in is control, or you feel an urge to speak to a stranger who might need some encouragement. These are the ways the Lord has spoken to me. If you have the Holy Ghost in you, sometimes God speaking to you sends chills all over you and you KNOW that it was God. On the other hand my pastor says when he was called to preach he heard an audible voice from God telling him "Some preach it mild, some preach it cold, you preach the victory". One thing to remember, God will never tell you to do something that is contrary to the Bible. When you receive the Holy Ghost by speaking in an unknown (other tongues as the spirit gives the utterance) tongue,as in the book of Acts, then the Lord reveals more to you and you will have no doubt that it was Him.

Hope this helps.

May God Bless You, Obey Acts 2:38

[Shelby]

I would just say, that it is that inkling in the pit of your stomach, that thought on your mind that pulls at you until you recognize it is something you will have to deal with. I would say it is my conscience. I believe that is the Holy Spirit in me.

Now I wouldn't go into speaking in tongues on this issue, but I would say that I am sure you already know. It is hard though sometimes to dicipher your own thoughts from the guidance of God. I just ask God, and if he brings it up again, then I know for sure. This is a hard one to answer, but in one short easy way, I say he is your conscience.

[Christ's Free Servant]

I was wondering how someone would know if God speaks to them.  This has always been one thing that I'm unsure of?  I'm not sure if I have heard God speak to me?  Any suggestions

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

tillmother,

God's word is God's word to us. When we read his word, it is God speaking to us. Now, we are not to take everything in his word and literally apply it to our lives today, because some of it is historical, some of it is for specific people, such as the rich young ruler was told to sell all he has and give to the poor because money was his god, and some of it is to be applied within the time frame it is written, such as the OT people were under the law and in the NT we are under grace (after Jesus death, burial, resurrection and ascension into heaven). In other words, even though the word of God is God-breathed and is alive and active, I must caution you against interpreting everything in it and applying it literally to your life. I think this is where a lot of people fall into error. Also, do not take scriptures out of context unless God (as you mature in your relationship with the Lord) gives you a specific message through a specific scripture that is intended just for you, such as he may have you read the story of the rich young ruler and he may convict you personally that you have to sell all you have and give to the poor. But, this is not intended that all people everywhere have to follow this. There is, though, a good principle here, which is to not make money or anything else your god and God will require us to make him our only God if we are to truly follow him.

Ok,have I sufficiently confused you yet? The point is, even though God's word is how he speaks to us, we must be able to "correctly handle" the word of truth, so we must understand how to correctly interpret scripture. For instance, I noticed someone said something to you about receiving the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. I must caution you here, too. The Bible does not say that speaking in tongues is evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit, but many churches teach that. The Bible is clear to state that we don't all have the same gifts and that the tongues gift is one of the lesser gifts and Paul admonishes the church in Corinth to desire the greater gifts and the gift of prophecy over the gift of tongues, even though he boasted of having that gift himself. Paul's letter to the Corinthians also warns the church of "order" in worship and to not have more than one person speak in tongues at one time and to not have someone speak in tongues without an interpretation. But, many churches have meetings where people are all speaking in tongues at once w/o interpretation, so who is getting edified there?

My point here is not to begin a debate on the gift of tongues. I was just concerned that your first response was from someone who was comparing that gift with the ability to hear God speaking to you, at least that was my impression.

Ok, that said, the way you know God's voice is through listening first to what you know is his voice, which is his word, then you obey it, then you listen more, then you obey it, then you listen, then you obey, etc. The more you listen (and that means reading his word every day) and the more you obey, the more you will learn to know his voice speaking to you. I agree with the other person who wrote you that God's voice will never contradict his word, but there again you must know how to correctly interpret his word so that you know whether or not it is contradicting. Also, God is consistent. If you want to be sure it is God speaking to you, first check to see if it is consistent with his word, and then check to see if he is telling you this more than one time. I would caution you against accepting something you have not heard before the first time you hear it. Make sure he is definitely telling you this by asking him to keep showing it to you. If you receive the same word at least 3 times (I have learned this through experience) and perhaps even from 3 different sources, like your quiet time, a sermon, a word of encouragement from a friend, etc. and it checks out against God's written word, then I would say that God is probably telling it to you. So, you act upon the faith of what you believe he is saying and you ask for continued guidance and open and closed doors and if it is not where God wants to take you, he'll let you know if you are open and are listening and are obeying.

[Dad Ernie]

I was wondering how someone would know if God speaks to them.  This has always been one thing that I'm unsure of?  I'm not sure if I have heard God speak to me?  Any suggestions

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Greetings Tillmother,

For the greater part, God now speaks to us through His Son and the written Word of God which He writes on our hearts and our mind as we daily partake of Him. With that said, yes, sometimes God does "almost audibly" speak to a person. I have had this happen to me on only a few occasions, but each time it was either a direct quote from His word, or it lined up with the scriptures I was familiar with. When God speaks there is NO confusion, a clarity of thought and mind occurs and we know precisely what He is saying, although we may not understand immediately. On ocassion, I have had to ponder what He said, give consideration to His Word, and seek out my counselors for help in understanding. Other times, my mind was compliant to His Word and when He spoke I understood immediately.

So if God is speaking directly to you in your spirit, it will always glorify Jesus and will edify you, or even perhaps others, as the Spirit wills. It will conform to His Word and God is open to your doubts and will allow confirmation to come from other sources. Sometimes when I have doubted, God has given me two other witnesses, so a total of 3 times has He spoken to me in those moments.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[Christ's Free Servant]

I know you didn't want to make this a discussion on tongues, but I wanted to tie up some loose ends on what you said.

1) While the Bible does not litereally say, "Tongues is the only evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit." The scriptural fact is that in 5 times that someone recieved the Holy Spirit in scripture, they are recorded as having spoken in unknown tongues, and another 2 there was some evidence that someone physically observed that confirmed they had recieved the Holy Spirit. (Acts. 2, 8, 9, 10, 19). I can assure you, I did NOT have the Holy Spirit before I recieved the evidence of Speaking in Tongues. My father did NOT have the Holy Spirit before he recieved the evidence of speaking in tongues, and neither did my mother, nor my uncle or aunt, nor any of the christian friends I have had.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

WhySoBlind,

I have no intention of debating this subject with you. But, let me just make one response to the comment of yours above. Talk to any biblical scholar who is worth his weight in gold about biblical interpretation and you will learn that we can not make doctrines out of historical events and especially not based upon ours or someone else's experiences. If you do a thorough study on the Holy Spirit, which I have done, you will notice there were times when people received the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues. The Bible does not teach, as a doctrine, that speaking in tongues is the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit, so neither should we teach that. And, other passages which I mentioned in my previous post give indication that tongues was not to be desired above other gifts and in fact prophecy (in the language of the listeners) was far superior and should be desired over tongues. And, Paul said that "he" wished that all speak in tongues. He did not say "God" wishes. And, the fact that other passages indicate that not all people have the same gifts... do all prophecy? do all speak in tongues? The obvious answer is NO! We can not take selected passages of scripture and make doctrines out of them w/o regard for all other teaching in scripture on the same subject. We must always compare scripture with scripture, because the word of God does not contradict itself, even though it may appear that way at times.

On a personal note, I have been a believer in Christ for nearly 50 years. I have had a close walk with God for 30+ years. I have never spoken in tongues, but I am very Spirit-filled! God has chosen to give me many of his gifts and he has manifested new gifts on me just in recent months, but never once have I spoken in tongues even in a prayer language. The Holy Spirit "moans" for me when I am not able to find the right words to say. This is not to say I will never speak in tongues, I may, but it is not a gift God has chosen to give me. That in no way limits the power or the filling or the working of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Please, please do a thorough study of the scriptures on the Holy Spirit with an open heart and mind to hear what he has to say to you. And, do a thorough study on tongues with the same open heart and mind, not looking to back up what you believe, but looking to see what God has to say. I've done this many times, and God has changed my way of thinking and has even altered my theology on many ocassions. And, remember that accurate biblical interpretation does not make doctrines out of historical events. If we did this, we would be in a mess - hey, maybe that's why the church is in such a mess, huh?

[Keith]

Tilly,

We get to know God's voice very much the same way we get to know anyone else's. By spending time with Him. If you and I were to meet (say we lived in the same town) and wanted to be friends, we would spend time with each other. We would take turns talking and listening to each other. By spending time with you, I would get to know what you're like. I would get to know the sound of your voice. If you called me, you could simply say, "Hi, it's me," and I would say, "Tilly! I'm so glad you called!" I could do that because I got to know you and your voice.

I believe it's the same way with God. It's how I learned to hear His voice. I spent time with Him, talking and listening. I got to know Him.

[tillmother]

Thanks Keith

[irishcowboy]

Tilly,

We get to know God's voice very much the same way we get to know anyone else's.  By spending time with Him.  If you and I were to meet (say we lived in the same town) and wanted to be friends, we would spend time with each other.  We would take turns talking and listening to each other.  By spending time with you, I would get to know what you're like.  I would get to know the sound of your voice.  If you called me, you could simply say, "Hi, it's me," and I would say, "Tilly!  I'm so glad you called!"  I could do that because I got to know you and your voice.

I believe it's the same way with God.  It's how I learned to hear His voice.  I spent time with Him, talking and listening.  I got to know Him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

this is true, and also we have to remember that God speaks to each of us in our own way. God spoke to Moses several differant ways, spoke to Joseph thru dreams, to Saul/Paul in person talked to Abraham in person ( they was and is friends )..... God uses Mathamatics to talk to my grandfather, He uses visions to talk to other people, uses a small quiet voice to talk to Elijah, and a thundering voice to talk to some one else. God uses what ever means He needs to use, or wants to use to talk to each and every one of us, some times it is just a small tug. another time a hard push.

as was said, the more time you spend with the Lord the more familure His voice becomes.

I would venture to say that most people can identify the majority of the voices they hear singing on the radio...... how many of these same people would recognize the voice of their shepherd?

we do have to be careful, some times satan will try to imitate the Lord and get us all gooffed up..... if what you are hearing lines up with scripture then i would say it is the Lord, but if part of it does not line up with scripture, i would say test it more.

we do have to test what we hear to ensure it is of the Lord.

mike

[Big Steve]

Tilly,

We get to know God's voice very much the same way we get to know anyone else's.