How Can You HEAR FROM GOD?

The Bible reveals seven general ways that you can hear from the LORD and discern Divine will on a matter:

1. Through the Holy Scriptures

The Judeo-Christian Scriptures are said to be “God-breathed” and therefore it’s “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Every believer has an anointing to receive insights from God’s Word with the help of the Holy Spirit, who is our Counselor and Teacher that guides us into all truth (1 John 2:27, John 14:26 & John 16:13).

Notice what David said about the revealed Scriptures of his time:

7The law of the Lord is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

8The precepts of the Lord are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

9The fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever.

The decrees of the Lord are firm,

and all of them are righteous.

10They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the honeycomb.

11By them your servant is warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

Psalm 19:7-11

14I rejoice in following your statutes

as one rejoices in great riches.

15I meditate on your precepts

and consider your ways.

16I delight in your decrees;

I will not neglect your word.

Psalm 119:14-16

If you’re a person who doesn’t like to read, then get an audio version of the Scriptures. You can listen to them while you’re doing this or that around the house or driving in your vehicle, etc.

2. Through Responses in Prayer

Such answers from the LORD can manifest in several ways:

The peace of God (Philippians 4:6-7).
An “inner witness” or impression/revelation (Amos 4:13).
A gentle whisper, aka “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), or a clear audible voice (1 Samuel 3:1-14), Acts 8:29 & Acts 13:2).

Concerning that last one, for anyone who argues that Samuel wasn’t praying when the LORD spoke to him in 1 Samuel 3:1-14, ‘prayer’ simply means “communion with God” and so, if the LORD speaks to you, that’s communion with the Creator, aka prayer.

3. Through the Peace of Christ in Your Heart

We are instructed to let the peace of Christ rule (govern) within us (Colossians 3:15). In light of this, don’t do anything you don’t have a peace about doing (assuming you have a choice in the matter). For instance, if someone’s trying to sell or convince you of something using manipulation or pressure and you don’t have a peace about it, don’t buy it or accept it.

You might have noticed that this is somewhat relevant to the first point of the previous section.

4. Through the Wise Council of Others

The truths of Holy Scripture are able to make us wise (2 Timothy 3:15) and so you can receive God’s leading on a crucial matter through the wise council of worthy souls (Acts 27:31, Pro verbs 13:20, Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 20:18 & Proverbs 24:6).

By contrast, don’t listen to the council of fools — such as those who embrace & advocate LIEberal idiotology — for that is the path to destruction (Proverbs 14:7 & Pro verbs 13:20).

5. Through Dreams and Visions

Peter quoted Joel 2:28, saying:

“ ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.”

Acts 2:17

While this prophecy is referring to the New Covenant era, the LORD spoke to people through dreams and visions even in earliest times (Job 33:14-17).

6. Through a Prophetic Word

God spoke to people through genuine prophets in the past (Hebrews 1:1 & Amos 3:7), but still uses prophets in the New Covenant era. For instance, the prophet Agabus came to the assembly at Antioch and prophesied that a famine would hit Judea, which moved the believers to provide for their brothers & sisters down south; this was God’s will (Acts 11:27-30).

Please keep in mind, however, that it is the Holy Spirit’s job to guide believers in the New Testament era (John16:13 & Romans 8:14) so you don’t need the gift of prophecy for this function. If a prophet prophesies over you and says you’re to do this or that and go here or there, don’t receive it unless the Spirit has already been leading you in this direction and you have a peace about it. In other words, prophecies in the New Testament are to confirm what the Holy Spirit has already been leading you to do. You could say it’s an external source to confirm or compliment the believer’s internal source of direction from God.

This explains why Paul instructed believers to test prophecies and “hold on to the good,” which means to eat the meat and spit out the bones (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). Nowhere are we instructed to blindly accept a prophecy spoken over us, especially from a supposed prophet who’s arrogant and likes to throw his/her weight around in an obnoxious manner. Christ said “By their fruit you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-23). If a prophet or any minister is pompous and rude, head for the hills (Matthew 15:14).

You can read important details about New Testament prophets (and Old Testament prophets) here.

7. Through Circumstances and Events

This can be observed when Jonah tried to flee from the LORD’s instructions and so God had to get his attention through a life-threatening storm at sea to turn him around so he would fulfill his commission (Jonah 1:4-16).

This article is available in book form as chapter 6 of…