Knowing When God Is Speaking To You

“The more time you spend with God reading His Word, praying, and worshipping Him, and the more you obey Him, the more you will hear the Holy Spirit’s prompting in your spirit.” ~ Stormie Omartian.

The other night our daughter had a few girlfriends over for a slumber party. In the morning the Lord said to me, “Tweeny, do a devotional with them before they start their day.”

Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like I heard God’s voice audibly. It was more like a thought, or a sense that God said this to me. Over the years of companionship with Him, I’ve learned how to recognize His gentle promptings.

Knowing when God is speaking to you is learned over time.

I came downstairs to where the five girls were sipping their coffee, giggling and chatting away, and although I felt a little shy, I shared what God had impressed on my heart. I was relieved to hear their favorable response as they each said they would love for me to share a devotional with them.

Not having anything planned, I started with the question, “What would you say is the most challenging thing for you in your walk with Christ?”

After a pause one girl said, “I often struggle with knowing when it’s God speaking to me, or when it’s just my own thoughts.”  I assured her that she wasn’t alone in this predicament.

Many Christians have a hard time discerning the voice of God.

Being able to distinguish when God is speaking to you is directly connected to your level of intimacy with Him. God speaks to you through the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit lives inside of every follower of Jesus Christ (John 14:17). The closer you are to all parts of the trinity, God the Father, Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the more you will learn to discern His voice.

I love how Lysa TerKeurst explains it;

“There is no magic formula for being able to discern God’s voice. We can learn to recognize it the way we recognize the voices of those close to us: by knowing Him. And when we know Him, we can tell if what we’re feeling led to do is from Him or not.”

Our relationship with Jesus is very similar to other relationships in our life. We have to spend time nurturing them if they are going to grow.  We have to make time to get to know God.

Communication with God is equally, if not more, as important as it is with your earthly relationships.

For example, If you are in the house with your family, you communicate with them. You engage in conversation with your loved ones, sharing about your day and listening to them about theirs. You take the time to interact with them.

If you want to hear God’s voice, invest in your relationship with Him. Spend quality time daily getting to know Him. You will grow in relationship with Him through reading His Word, journaling, prayer, and being still in His presence. Also, talk to Him throughout your day, inviting Him to be an intricate part of your life (Psalm 37:23).

[Just a side note here; something that ought to be a part of every Christian’s daily life is confession. Many may not realize the importance of confession. The truth is that unconfessed sin puts distance within your relationship with the Lord. I encourage you to make confession part of your daily prayers.]

It’s especially critical to read the Scriptures because we hear from God through His Word.

The more you read your Bible, the more you will know God and His character. God often speaks to us through His Word (Psalm 119:105).

Your relationship with Jesus is a two way road. You will get out what you put into it.

You will be able to discern God’s voice after, and only after, you have cultivated a deep and personal relationship with Jesus.

You will recognize that the way He speaks to you is an impression on your heart that lines up with who He is and what His Word says.  Over time you will begin to trust the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit inside of you.

I wasn’t always confident hearing His voice. It took time as I learned to believe, by faith, that He was in fact speaking to me. I also gained confidence in discerning God’s voice, when a wise Christian woman told me, “trust the first thought that comes on your heart. Don’t allow your next thought talk you out of what God’s impressing upon you. Go ahead and take a risk in believing it is the Lord speaking to you.” Maybe her words can encourage you as much as they have me over the years.

The truth is if you are in an intimate relationship with Jesus, you hear from God more than you realize. You came to accept Jesus Christ as Lord by faith, and now by faith, trust that you hear Him.

God wants to communicate with you. He loves you and desires a personal and intimate relationship with you.

I encourage you not to think too hard about hearing God’s voice, but rather focus on nurturing your relationship with Him. Talk to Him like you would with your best friend, and tell Him that you want to learn how to discern His voice. Then, as your fellowship with Him grows,  learn to trust the sweet soft voice in your heart, and take a step of faith to believe that it is the Lord talking to you.

Please leave me a comment below on how you know that God is speaking to you?

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” ~ John 10:27

Photo 1 credit: Dingzeyu Li (Unsplash Images)

Photo 2 credit: Carli Jean (Unsplash Images)