How To Discern When God Is Speaking To You

God wants to speak to you. This may seem highly unlikely, but it is so. Anyone can hear from the Creator of the Universe, if they will learn how to listen to Him and how He communicates with us.

God has always wanted to communicate with man. It is for this very purpose that He made us. He desired that we have and enjoy intimate fellowship and closeness with Him. He is delighted when we speak to Him and He is allowed to intervene in our daily affairs. Prayer is really inviting God into our lives, circumstances and situations. It is communing with Him. But prayer is us speaking to God. And, just as we would give our family and friends opportunities to speak back to us, even so the Lord wants to share His heart, wisdom and purpose with us as well.

God does speak. He is not an idol of wood or stone. He is a Person, a very real Person. He is God. He is an Intelligent God, the Most Intelligent Person in existence.

It is because of His desire for us to have a relationship and fellowship with Him, that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. Because He wanted to be a part of our lives, He allowed His Son to suffer and die in our stead, raising Him from the dead, in order that through His blood, we can have access into His very Presence, His Throne Room, where we can enjoy rich, real and exciting communion with Him and He with us, without the blockage of sin.

This fellowship, of which I speak, is not one-sided. It is not just my speaking with Him. It is communing with Him, yes, my speaking with Him, but also, my listening as He speaks with me, imparting to me His Wisdom, understanding, knowledge and power, favor and blessing.

God wants to speak with man. And He has been attempting to do so for a long time. However, many have not yet learnt how to distinguish His Voice from the many other voices that clang for our attention.

I believe that many of us have heard God's leading and Voice before, but thought it was just s hunch or maybe just our minds. God is always speaking.

Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have heard His Voice. How do I know this, you may ask? Because Jesus Himself said that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws him.

John 6:44

"No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."

This settles it then. You have heard the Voice of God moving you to give your life to Jesus and you said yes. I know a preacher may have been preaching or someone may have shared Christ with you, or maybe you were watching Christian television or maybe you read a tract or a book about Jesus and your need of Him. Maybe you saw someone who claimed to be a Christian, living the life, and it brought you under conviction to the fact that you needed Jesus. But please listen to me and discern this truth. Regardless of who you heard the Gospel through, it was God Himself, by His Holy Spirit, Who actually showed and revealed to you your need of Jesus. He showed you your state before Him and He inspired you to give your heart to Christ. You came to Him because you heard that tender and sweet Voice, down in your spirit drawing you, prompting you, loving you.

Some of us may have even attempted to run away from the preacher, but even when we were alone or with friends, trying to drown out that indefinable something, His Voice was still there tugging at our hearts, showing us His love and our need for Jesus Christ, His Son. God drew us to Himself. So we heard His Voice and we responded.

Now that we are saved, we need to learn how to discern His Voice more and more, for He is always speaking with us, especially if we are acknowledging Him in all of our ways. He promised in His Word to direct our paths and He is ever faithful to His Word. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

If we are talking to Him, He is really answering us. But, how can we discern His answers? We must know His Voice.

The Voice of God is very discernible. We can know our His Voice with absolute certainty and, provided that we do our part, we will experience our His guidance and wisdom in continually, as He leads us more and more into His Divine Purpose for our lives.

First, let me make it absolutely clear when I say that the sure way to learn the Voice of God is through the Written Word of God. This vital point must be made over and over again, until we understand that God's Word, His Written Word, the BIBLE, is God speaking to us. It is His Word. So His Word is His Voice. And if I feed constantly upon His Word, I will have little or no problem discerning the Voice of God for His Word and His Voice are One.

Whatever God's Word, (the Bible) says, is what God is saying. God's main way of leading us is through His Word. He will never lead us contrary to His Word. And any other manner which He chooses to further lead us by will be in line with His Written and Revealed Word, The Bible, or it is not Jehovah God who is leading us. So any leadership of the Spirit that we claim to have receive, regardless of its avenue, whether by vision, dream, premonition, prophecy, or whatever, if it contradicts the Written Word of God, The Holy Scriptures, it is not God. Let this truth be settled in your consciousness and it will keep you from untold frustration and error. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth, leads and guides us with truth, into all truth. The Word of God is truth. (John 16:13, John 17:17, Psalms 119:105, 130)

God does use other means to guide us as well, but once again I must remind you that when He speaks, it will never contradict His Written Word, never.

In addition to visions and dreams, here is another way and probably the usual way that He leads us on a daily basis, if we learn to listen to Him.

According to the Written Word of God, we must also learn how the Spirit of God leads us through the inward witness of the Spirit.

Please look at the following passage of Scripture:

Romans 8: 14-17 (The Bible)

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself (Himself) beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together."

How do we know that we are the children of God? We cannot discern the fact that we are saved by our feelings, because feelings change, don't they? And to be real honest about it, I know I am saved, but I don't always feel like I am. Am I the only one?

Yet, even though I may not always feel saved, I know that I am. How, you may ask? Because of the inward witness of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit bearing witness with my born from above, recreated, regenerated spirit that I am a child of God.

Has anyone ever done something to upset you, and you wanted to react, or maybe you did react, and say things you should not have said or done some things you should not have done? What happened inside of you, when you got still? You sensed that something was wrong, did you not? Something within was troubling you, telling you that you are a child of God, you should not have said what you said or done what you did.

Of course your fleshly mind tried to convince you that you had every right to react in the manner that you did, because of what the other person did. You wanted to react, or maybe you did react, and say things you should not have said or done some things you should not have done? What happened inside of you, when you got still? You sensed that something was wrong, did you not? Something within was troubling you, telling you that you are a child of God, you should not have said what you said or done what you did.

Your mind said that they started it, and you had a right to defend yourself. Regardless, something on the inside, deep within was trying to point out to you that you did not respond the way a child of God is supposed to. This was the leadership of the Spirit. This was His Spirit bearing witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. And if you listened to His leading, you may have had to forgive the person who wronged you and ask them for forgiveness for reacting in the manner that you did.

Well, His Spirit bears witness with our spirits to lead us into all of the Will of God for our lives. He bears witness with our spirits concerning our inheritance in Christ Jesus. He deals with us in our spirits.

Proverbs 20:27

"The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly."

Our spirits, born of the Holy Spirit, then sends the leadership of the Spirit over into our minds, to our consciousness, through the voice of our spirits, which is our conscience.

The Apostle Paul spoke of our conscience bearing us witness in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 9:1) Our spirits are within. The spirit is the inward man. Therefore, we must learn to spend time in the Presence of God, being still and listening for His leadership and guidance.

But hear me once again child of God. The Voice and witness of The Holy Spirit will never violate the Written Word of God. And if we will give ourselves continually to His Word, we will find ourselves discerning His Voice and witness more and more and with more and more accuracy.