voice

A friend just emailed and asked me questions about hearing God's voice and here was my reply...


Ok! So you have good questions! That is good because God is the one stirring you up to ask those questions! And if you are longing to hear and know His voice - that is because He is longing to teach you how to hear His voice.

Look at John 10:
10 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

What is so great about this verse - is that we do not need to question whether or not God talks to us - He Does! He wants us to know his voice! And He says that we will recognize His voice if we are His sheep. So first answer that basic question - are you His sheep? ( I believe you are ... but You need to be sure - more than me!)

I believe you are His sheep - you know why? Because you have already heard His voice! Those moments that you outlined were all times when the Holy Spirit convicted your heart of sin ... He doesn't do that for everyone - but He will do that to His own children - as it says in Hebrews 12 - He disciplines those He loves - just like a good father.

But I bet you were hoping for more of a dialogue between you and He - right? How do you know His voice in the everyday ins and outs of life - yes? It is a process! Probably not the answer you want to hear but it is the truth. Like I said that night during the study - you have to be in relationship with Him. Just like you have gotten to know your boyfriend - you spent time knowing his ups and downs - what he loves and hates, everything! So you need to commit to getting to know the Lord like that. You have to put in the time to spend with Him - you have to get to know His Word. Praise God for the Bible - because he has given us something that is not subjective - but is objective - so we can know for sure who He is and what he wants - and what he wants for us. Learning to know His voice is awesome - but also can be a subjective hard to grasp experience. But the more you know His Word, and study it - the more you know His heart for you! And then learning His voice becomes much easier!

The Lord has been very gracious to me - I have heard His voice a lot. I am very grateful. But just because i hear Him regularly - does not mean I am always prepared to obey! Everything is a work of the Spirit in us.... and that is why we need to be totally surrendered and sold out to God ... and that is indeed when He loves to bless His children with every spiritual blessing under the sun - more Holy Spirit, more of His voice and direction, more of His presence. And there is nothing else like spending time with the Lord - when life is that full of Him - it is awesome... I never feel more alive than when He is so present with me. Pray that God will give you a taste - so that you will want to put in the time to know Him that much! And he will not disappoint.

His voice has become more easy to know - because I know His heart more. I have put the time in. A couple years ago I was so fed up with myself - and my lacking in my spiritual life that i just decided to give more time to the Lord. I gave Him an hour every day. ( I am in no way saying you need to do this ... let the Lord take you where you are meant to go ... let Him lead you). But that hour became the best hour every day. And then I gave Him even more time - sometimes 3 or 4 in a day. ( I had the time - it was a summer and the kids were at home - and we were all relaxed and chill - I am sure a work of the Spirit! ) But in those hours the Lord overwhelmed me with Himself. It was if I was floating along on His will - i always knew where to go, and what to do - it was as if time came up to meet me. And I could hear Him all the time, my heart was always singing a praise song, and I had visions and dreams, and words of knowledge for people. It was the most amazing 6 months of my life. Then the Lord removed his presence - or at least the overwhelming sense of His presence - and said lets get to work! i had much in my life that needed to be purged, much I needed to learn about faith and how God works ... and all the while I ached to be back in that amazing time with the Lord. Now my heart beats for Him - and all I want is more of Him ....

That is just a small piece of my journey to knowing His voice better. His voice is spontaneous ... it cuts across my thoughts ... I know it is Him because it is not my idea. There are times that things fly out of my mouth - words that I have never even thought before ... and ring with the truth of the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit - and again I know they are not my own. Other times He fills my head with His scripture - brings something to remembrance that I could not have come up with on my own, directs me to a passage in a book, or reminds me to pray for someone. Other times He wakes me up to pray, and sometimes i can just feel the presence of the Spirit burning in my chest directing me - or comforting me. Sometimes it comes as a vision, sometimes a dream, sometimes just an intense sense of His presence all around. But in all of it - I have had to learn that this was Him... I had to get to know Him... I had to make the time to listen.