Many Christians still ask the question, “How do I hear from God?” because they want to connect with Him more deeply. Our busy schedules don’t leave much room to hear God’s voice, and we have to make adjustments if this is to happen. When you prioritize hearing God, and spend time learning how He speaks, you will know His voice. Before we get to the 4 main ways we hear God’s voice, let us look at where the journey of hearing God begins.

Where Does the Journey of Hearing God’s Voice Begin?

Hearing God’s voice starts with having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9-10 tells us that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. When you get saved, you are reconciled to God through Jesus and now have a relationship with Him (2 Corinthians 5:18). If you haven’t received God’s gift of salvation, do so today.

As a believer of Jesus, God puts His Spirit in you and you can hear His voice. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:16-17 that after He was gone, He would send the Spirit of Truth to be with them and in them. As a believer, you have the Holy Spirit in you and you hear God.

Is it True that as Believers We Already Hear God’s Voice?

Yes. Jesus said in John 10:3 that His sheep hear His voice, meaning that He is already speaking to us. He went on to say in John 10:4 that His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. They reject the voice of the stranger and do not follow him but flee from him (John 10:5). The question is: do we recognize God’s voice? When we are busy with many things on our to-do list, we can hardly hear God.

If God is already speaking to us, we are the ones who have to get quiet and identify His voice and differentiate it from the enemy’s and our fleshly thoughts. We have to learn how to discern the voice of God because we are hearing it everywhere we go. God speaks to us as we pray, worship, fellowship with others, run errands, etc.

How Do We Hear God’s Voice?

God speaks to us throughout the day, not just at specific times. There are many ways He does so but He will always confirm what He is saying to you by His written Word. Always confirm the voice you hear with what the Word says and you will learn to identify God’s voice clearly.

Still Small Voice

When God was getting ready to speak to Elijah, there was a strong wind, then an earthquake, afterward a fire, and finally a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13). Many times we are waiting to hear God speak to us loudly and with a lot of drama so that we will know it is Him. But the Lord speaks in a voice that is not forceful but firm and gentle. If you don’t take the time to be quiet, you may miss it. His voice does not complete with the loud ones in our mind or surroundings.

The best time to hear the Lord is in the morning before you start your day with all its craziness. You can take breaks during the day to listen to God if you find yourself in noisy surroundings.

A Strong Impression in Your Heart

You may be waiting to hear an audible voice but many times God gives us strong impressions in our hearts. He guides us on which direction to take or gives us the wisdom to make a decision. If we are not too busy trying to explain away His voice through logic, we will find that what He impresses upon our hearts is His way of speaking to us.

Think back to a time when you had a “strong feeling” to do or not do something and you ignored it and went in the opposite direction. Then later found out that you had made a mistake and the strong impression you ignored was leading you in the right direction. That is how we sometimes learn that it was God who was actually speaking to us.

Dreams

God speaks to us a lot through dreams and He confirms this in Joel 2:28, “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.” It is important to note that not all dreams are from God, some are from the devil.

When you have a dream, pray and find out if it is from God, and search the Scriptures related to it to find out what God is communicating to you as you sleep. Avoid rushing to dream symbol dictionaries on the internet as you may fall into deception. God’s Word should be the first place you go.

Let’s take an example. Supposing you dream about an actor, look for Bible verses that speak about actors or acting. An example would be Ezekiel 4 where God asked the prophet Ezekiel, to role-play a siege that was to take place in Jerusalem. He was acting out the siege before it took place. In this case, you would find out what the actor in your dream is role-playing.

Other Believers

God speaks to us through other believers. He uses those in the body of Christ, and especially prophetic people to pass on His message to us. We need to confirm that they are speaking by the Spirit of God and not a contrary spirit as there are false prophets infiltrating churches today.

1 John 4:1 tells us that we should not believe every spirit but test them to make sure they are of God. This simply means that you test the spirit by which a person speaks when they are prophesying to you. Pray over the words others give you and confirm them with the Scriptures. What others tell you should also line up with what God said to you concerning the issue at hand.

Other Ways We Hear God’s Voice

God uses many other ways to speak to us as individuals. You have a personal relationship with Him and He speaks to you in a way that you understand. He can use an analogy from nature, a message on someone’s T-shirt, a song, a sermon, a testimony, a vision, or Bible teaching, etc.

As you read the Bible more, you will find it easier to identify God’s voice in your everyday life. Where you are having a hard time knowing God, voice, ask Him for wisdom.

You can journal the thoughts, ideas, impressions that you get, and over time, you will identify a pattern that points to how God speaks to you. His voice will no longer be foreign to you.

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