God communicates in many ways, both with language and without language. He can speak through dreams, through circumstances, or through wisdom. He speaks through the revelation in nature as well as the revelation of Holy Scripture. God can speak through the conviction of our conscience and through a Spirit of prophecy. This should not surprise us. God gave us emotional, relational, and rational minds through which we engage with the physical and spiritual world around us.
God’s Voice Made Available to All Believers
When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples at Pentecost, he did so using prophecy and the ‘gift of language’—glossa. The disciples were literally proclaiming the great news of Jesus through the Holy Spirit within them using languages they had never learned. Peter excitedly observed that this outpouring was a fulfillment of the prophet Joel’s message,
'And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. Joel 2:28-29
Notice, because of the work of Jesus Christ, how the Holy Spirit and his ministry was made available to all believers. Ephesians 2:18 says that it’s through the Spirit we have been given ‘access’ to God. In 1 Corinthians 2, we learn that the ‘mind of God’ has been made available through the Holy Spirit. All who believe in Jesus now have the person of God living ‘inside’ of them (1 Corinthians 3:16). And in Joel 2 and 1 Corinthians 14, we observe that the Spirit of prophecy was made available to all believers: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
This is good news. We are no longer dependent upon one prophet; a temple; an intermediate leader: a bishop, pope, or pastor; or anyone else to hear God’s voice for us. God wants every one of his children to know his voice for themselves, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Now we have God’s Holy Scriptures, his Incarnate Word (Jesus), and the Counselor to guide us into all truth. The Catholic Church calls this inner voice of the Holy Spirit ‘private revelation.’ It is not intended to replace the Scriptures, nor is it intended to govern over the community. It is simply your Heavenly Father communing with you.
Distinguishing God’s Voice
It should not surprise us that God wants to speak to his children. He does that most often within our spirit/mind since that is his temple. Yes, there are many other voices within our minds, including the voice of the accuser, the culture we live in, our sinful nature, or the lies spoken over us. Father wants us to learn to distinguish his voice from the other voices. Our mothers used to tell us not to talk to strangers, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk to our mothers. We have to learn how to judge and discern our Father’s voice from the voices of strangers. See Kara Sensenig’s article on Discerning of Spirits.
God wants his children to know how loved we are by him. He wants his children to be warned of evil and temptation. He wants us to be encouraged by him. And the same Spirit of God that lives within you and speaks to you wants to speak through you to build others up as well.
Notice how the Apostle Paul describes prophecy’s function in 1 Corinthians 14:3-4, “everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort…the one who prophecies builds up the church.” The function of prophecy is for the edification of someone else. We become a servant of God’s voice to build up someone else, always to lift others up in their walk with God. Even when prophecy is truth-telling, it is always in “the way of love,” always full of redemption and grace to draw people to the Father.
Distinguishing God’s Voice Together
The Holy Spirit in the New Testament community makes the mind of God and the gift of prophecy available, not just to a few, but to the entire church. The church is the gathering of God’s people who each live under the authority of his Word and under the government of the Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 teaches us to share, discern, and test prophecy together as a community. “Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” Don’t you think God wants to use you to encourage, strengthen and comfort others in their faith? Here are a few final thoughts on how to nurture this gift.
How to Grow in Prophecy?
- Grow in God’s Word – Nothing can replace or substitute the depth, power, authority, and life that is contained within God’s Word. It is God-breathed and enables us to walk in the way of his Son, Jesus Christ.
- Be Baptized in the Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit lives within us but also ministers to us with his power. Jesus’ first disciples were baptized in the ministry of the Spirit and asked others if they had received the ministry of the Spirit as well.
- Talk to God as you would a Friend – God’s prophets in both testaments learned to talk to him as a person would talk to another person. We don’t need super-sophisticated rituals or ancient prayers from saints. We can learn to talk to God like a son talks to a Father (Romans 8:15). In the book, Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence teaches this very simple style of prayer.
- Quiet, Rest, Meditate –We need to learn to quiet our human energy and pause our inspirational ideas. Learn to listen first. Learn to pay attention to, and discern, what the Spirit is saying and what he is doing. Jesus said, “these words I speak to you are not my own, they come from the Father” (John 14:10).
- Purge Your Soul of Worldly Influence – Our memories and emotions are containers of the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the people we associate with, and the relational habits people have stamped us with. Fill your life with holy things. Cast out the lies and fear. Live in the truth. Live in God’s love. Then you’ll find that your soul starts to recognize the unique fingerprint of God’s voice.
- Learn to Receive from God – Many of us have difficulty receiving from God. It is a learning process to learn how to distinguish various spiritual impressions, mental images, phrases, and conversations all within our mind. The purified mind is a meeting space for God to speak and act creatively. I have to learn to discern and trust in his nourishing life there.
- Speak Life to Others – In the epistle, James he reminds the church to stop speaking death to each other. A stream can’t have fresh water and salt water. In the same way, we must become people whose tongues are used to speak life and Godly purpose. Turn off the valve of criticism, doubt, fear, and discouragement. Turn on the language of joy, honest speak, tenderness, and compassion. These are the words the Father uses.
Prayer
Father, thank you that you call me your child. I want to follow your ways and grow closer to your heart. I want to learn to hear your still, small voice inside my spirit. Give me the Spirit of discernment to distinguish your voice from my own and others.
Father, speak to me. I am listening. Speak through me. I want to be helpful in drawing others to you.
Thank you for sharing your heart and your mind with me.
Tags: truth, church, community, listen, scripture, word, holy spirit, prophecy, strength, gift, encourage, speak, equip, build, god's voice
