Mission Venture Ministries

The first thing we must understand is that to hear God’s voice we must belong to God. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). 

Those who hear God’s voice are those who belong to Him, those who have been saved by His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. His sheep are the ones that hear and recognize His voice, because they know Him as their Shepherd. 

So how can we hear the voice of God? We hear His voice when we spend time reading the Bible and studying His Word. The more time we dedicate to God and His Word, the easier it is to recognize His voice and His leading in our lives. We should be so familiar with God’s Word that when someone speaks error to us, we immediately know that it is not from God. 

Unlike in the Old Testament when God spoke audibly more often, today He speaks primarily through His written Word. God’s leading comes through the Holy Spirit; it can also come through our conscience, through circumstances, and through the wisdom of other Christians. Therefore, it is only by comparing what we hear to the truth of Scripture that we can learn to recognize God’s voice accurately. 

Samuel heard the voice of God, but did not recognize it until he was instructed by Eli (1 Samuel 3:1–10). Gideon had a physical revelation from God, and he still doubted what he had heard to the point of asking for a sign, not once, but three times (Judges 6:17–22, 36–40). 

So, when we are listening for God’s voice, how can we know that He is the one speaking? Today we have the complete Bible, the inspired Word of God, to read, study, and meditate on. And since the Bible tells us that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17), we have and instruction Book that we can always access when we have doubts or questions that need answers. It is the best source for any decision or questions that we might have since God will never lead us contrary to what He has taught in His Word (Titus 1:2). 

The more time believers spend in the Word, listening to God, and dialoguing with Him thru prayer, the easier it will be to recognize His voice and His leading in our lives. 

We should know God so well through the Scriptures that it will be obvious to us when He guides our conscience by the Holy Spirit to do something that we will know that it is He who is speaking to us. 

We should not hesitate to ask God to speak to us because, He cares about every detail of our life, so we need to pray about everything and expect Him to respond. We need to approach God through prayer with confidence, knowing that He wants to hear from us and will answer at the right time. 

We need to ask God to help us discern the difference between His voice, our own voice, other people’s voices, and the enemy’s voice speaking to us. Therefore we need to stay in touch with Him on a day to day basis to keep our relationship with Him alive and strong.

Listening to God and rightly identifying His voice is based on the solid basis of familiarity, established through constant and sustained interaction. Just as we are able to recognize a loved one’s voice from a distance the Lord provides the necessary tools to recognize His voice so that we can listen to and discern His will. And once we do, we must also be willing to obey Him when He speaks because Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28). 

If we find that God has stopped speaking to us regarding a certain issue, one of the possible reasons could be that He’s waiting for us to first obey Him on what He has already told us on the matter, before He tells us what the next step is to take. If we do not desire to obey God when He does speak, why would He keep speaking to us when we keep ignoring Him? 

However, when we experience the delight of recognizing His voice, our joy will be complete when we obey and follow Him in the way He calls us to walk. Therefore, whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). 

The prophet Jeremiah wrote: “Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3). 

Therefore, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

Remember that, if we expect God to hear us and guide us we must be completely humble as God has promised that He will listen to and guide those who are humble as they walk in holy and unbroken fellowship with Him. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6). 

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