ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

HEARING GOD’S VOICE

Q: A lot of people say God speaks. I have been praying earnestly for God to speak to me, but I have never heard Him. Does His speaking come as a thought, or is it in an audible voice that I should hear with my physical ears?

A: If you have established a personal connection with God by accepting Jesus as your Savior, and if you have asked God to speak to you, He will. Jesus promised, “Ask and it will be given you” (Matthew 7:7). In fact, God has probably already been speaking to you; you just need to learn to recognize His voice.

God speaks in a number of ways. As you read the Bible, He will often cause a particular passage to stand out to you and show you how it applies to your situation or how it answers a question you may have. He may speak to you through vivid dreams or visions. He may speak through godly counselors, people who are strong in faith and knowledge of God’s Word and ways, who He inspires with advice that He knows will benefit you.

God is also able to speak to you directly. Under special circumstances, some people hear God speak in an audible voice, like the child prophet Samuel did (1 Samuel chapter 3) and as appears to have been the case when He spoke to the prophet Elijah through a “gentle whisper” when Elijah was desperate for God’s guidance (1 Kings 19:11–12). Usually, however, He speaks in our minds at those times when we get quiet, clear our minds of other busy thoughts, ask Him to speak, and then wait for an answer. Sometimes He may not even use words; He may just give you an impression or inner conviction, a sort of intuitive knowledge about a particular situation.

David Brandt Berg explained hearing from Heaven this way: “It’s easy to hear from the Lord. When you ask the Lord for an answer to a question or problem, expect an answer and take the first thing that comes. If you want the Lord to answer and believe that He can and will, you won’t be disappointed. What you see or hear with the eyes or ears of your spirit, that’s the Lord answering.” 