God created you to know, enjoy, and follow after him. Before sin separated humanity, Adam and Eve were created with the capacity to communicate with God in a relationship. After Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, our ability to commune with God was restored. From its inception, the Church has believed that God speaks not only through the Bible and not only to special prophets but through the Holy Spirit to all his children. What a beautiful, personal, and powerful voice he has.

• The Psalmist says, “The voice of the Lord is majestic” (Psalm 29:4).
• Paul says that through God’s voice, “the secrets of (the) heart are laid bare” (1 Corinthians 14:25).
• Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

God’s Thoughts in My Head

One of the ways God speaks to us is through our minds and spirits. Listen to the Apostle Paul describe this phenomenon, “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us…we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12, 16).

God’s voice comes through our own thoughts, impressions, and intuitions. Some people may call this God’s still small voice. It isn’t an audible sound; it is a quiet impression deep within us that God is communicating with us.

How do we distinguish the difference between God’s thoughts and our own in the marketplace of our minds? Between God’s quiet impressions and my imagination? It takes practice and discernment. Below are some filters to help you learn to make the distinction.  

1. Bible – “Does it sound like God’s voice in God’s Word?”

Reading God’s Scriptures creates familiarity with the truth and tone that God communicates with. By being familiar with his truths, we learn to recognize his voice in other places. God often speaks using words or phrases from his already spoken Word in the Bible. Paul calls the Word the “Sword of the Spirit;” it is God’s divinely inspired arsenal against temptation, lies we may believe, or emotional discouragements.

Our small group once prayed over someone’s health—their esophagus—when a scripture verse arose in someone’s mind. They prayed the verse out loud: “The whispers of the wise are more to be headed than the shouts of the ruler of fools” (Ecclesiastes 9:17). Immediately, there was a palpable sense of God’s living presence in the room encouraging the sick person. God was affirming how pleased he was with this person’s faithful devotion in the midst of their suffering.

2. Truth - “Does this sound like the truth?”

Regardless of whether I want to hear the message or like what it says, does it sound like God speaking the truth? “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears” (John 16:13). The more we grow in the Spirit of Truth the easier it becomes to verify the Spirit’s truthful impressions.

3. Community – “Does the community of believers affirm this is true?”

Our faith is communal. So many of the impressions we receive are to pray for and encourage other people. We can also ask others to discern a message God is giving to us. The Apostle Paul talked extensively about the role of prophecy in the community. The community should take an active role in discerning words given, “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said” (1 Corinthians 14:29). There are a few people in my life who have shared prophetic pictures the Lord had given them for me. Their impressions haven’t always been what I’ve wanted to hear, and so they were hard to receive, but they proved to be highly accurate nonetheless. And they provided clarity and confidence that God was in charge. I’m grateful that, as a spiritual family, we hear God’s voice on behalf of one another.

4. Constructive – “Does it build people up and draw them closer to God?”

It’s not enough for something to be true. The Ministry of Accusation speaks the truth but condemns people. Jesus uses grace and truth to convict people and mature them. When Jesus had a conversation with the woman at the well, he clearly received knowledge from a supernatural source. Though it exposed her sin, Jesus didn’t use it to club her with shame but rather to draw her closer to God. Four or five times in 1 Corinthians 14, Paul mentions that speaking a word to others should build them up, “Everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3).

5. Fruit – “Does it produce the fruit of the Spirit?”

Every word that comes from the Father’s mouth comes from love. It should produce “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.” When we surrender to God’s words, we feel a sense of joy and peace. Even when his word challenges us, he provides strength to fulfill what we cannot in our own effort.

6. Trust – “Does this deepen people’s trust in Jesus or mislead people to trust in other things?”

Everything that usurps attention and glory from Jesus steals the honor due to him. Any word or ministry that calls attention to the minister or causes people to rely on something other than Jesus is a thief. Jesus warned, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.” Even when God speaks a personal message to my heart, it should still take my eyes off me and position me in a relationship of worshipful trust in God, my Life-Giver.

7. Body – “Does my body confirm this is God?”

It may surprise you, but sometimes God accompanies his messages with physical sensations in our bodies. The prophet Jeremiah described God’s Word as a “fire shut up in his bones.” Our five physical senses are the ways we receive information from the world. If we can carry anxiety on our shoulders or trauma in our stomachs, we can also experience the power of God in our bodies. Some people feel overwhelming peace or heat in their hands or begin to shake when the Holy Spirit speaks to them. These sensations aren’t the only test, but they often get our attention so that we know it is God delivering a message. In a previous article, How Do I Sense God, Mike Ingold discussed the use of these spiritual senses.

Conclusion: 

I’d encourage you to practice listening for God’s voice in your times of prayer. Ask him to give you a scripture, a mental picture, or a word of encouragement to share with others. It’s in the environment of worship and prayer that we grow familiar with the Holy Spirit’s ministry. God wants you to recognize his voice and know how to receive his words of life for yourself and to share them with others prayerfully. What a beautiful, personal, and powerful voice he has.

Tags: truth, trust, bible, holy spirit, fruit, god's word, edifying, impressions, fruit of the spirit, hearing, discernment, god's voice, building up, prophetic. whispers