Hearing God's Voice

Have you ever heard someone speak out a Word from God that ministers to someone, either in prayer or in a service, and thought to yourself "Wow! I wish I could do that!"? If you are a saved born-again Christian baptized in the Holy Spirit -- YOU CAN DO THAT!!

All you need is for someone to show you how. That's it! John 3:5 tells us that if we are born again, we are born of the Spirit, so it should be a natural thing for you to hear God's voice with your Spiritual ears. Once you learn how, as you grow closer to Him, you will also grow in your ability to hear His voice. Practice, Practice, Practice.

God has different ways of communicating with His people. And you may hear Him in a different way than somebody else. That is okay. Find out by practicing how you hear Him best, and start there. As you get more confidence, you will start to hear Him in more than one way. We will now look at some of the ways that God speaks to us:

God speaks to us sometimes in an audible voice. This means that you can actually hear Him speaking, like you can hear your mom or dad talking to you. Some people hear God that way. He also speaks to us with strong thoughts in our minds that come from the Holy Spirit to our spirit. A still, small voice.

The Holy Spirit gives many of us mental pictures; like seeing in your mind a picture. And sometimes He will tell us what the picture means. Sometimes He doesn't, but the person the picture is for understands the meaning when you share it with them, or your picture fits perfectly with someone else's.

God also speaks to us through visions. This means that you could be looking out the window, and suddenly you don't see what you normally see when you look out the window. Instead, you see something totally different. Something God wants you to see. He opens your eyes so that they can see into the spiritual realm. When the vision is over, you will again see what you normally see when you look out the window. Pretty wild, huh? Serving God is exciting!

Another way God speaks to us is through dreams. While you sleep. Usually a dream will happen more than once, but not always. When God speaks to you in a dream, many times you will see symbols, shadows, and types (natural things that point to spiritual things).

Sometimes God speaks to us through impressions and sensations. You may feel the happiness or sadness of another person; or get a physical sensation, like your arm will suddenly become sore because the person you are praying with has an arm that is hurt. Or you may just have a deep, inward knowing in your spirit. You may be overcome with compassion…..feeling the deep love of God for someone, and wanting to take their hurt upon yourself to help them.

There are many ways in which God speaks to us. The first thing you do when you want to hear from God is make sure that there is no sin in your life to keep you from receiving what God has for you. Through prayer you confess your sin and ask for forgiveness, knowing that God is faithful to forgive you. Then you bind satan to keep him from interfering in your time with the Holy Spirit. After the way to the throne of God has been cleared through prayer, use your prayer language for a little while, to clear your mind of YOUR thoughts and prepare yourself to receive what God has for you. Then learn to trust the first things that enter your mind and heart. As you exercise and practice hearing from God, you will become more and more sure that you are hearing from Him. Don't worry: We will practice all of these things so that you know just what to do!

**Remember that in all the ways God speaks to us, He will NEVER tell you anything that goes against His written Word in the Bible.**