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4 Ways to Know If You’re Hearing God’s
Voice
.
Kenneth
Copeland
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear . . . ”
Not sure if it’s you or God? Use these four easy ways to know if you’re hearing God’s voice, and enjoy the conversation!
Our lives can
sometimes feel like constant noise — voices from every side — influencing the
way we think and feel.
But, in the
midst of it all, there is one voice we need to hear the most — the voice of
God.
When you’re
seeking the answer to one of life’s challenges, do you ever wonder if you’re
hearing God’s voice, or if it’s just your own voice?
Do you need to
hear Him today about your finances, your children, your marriage or your
health?
There is good
news — God is speaking to you all the time.
In fact, A.W. Tozer said, “It’s the nature of
God to speak.”
He wants to
have fellowship with you, and He wants you to hear Him — all the time.
God has
promised to lead His children by His Spirit and enable them to know His voice.
That means you
can learn to know exactly what the Spirit of God is saying to you about every
situation.
You don’t have
to go through life blindly making decisions or relying on your own abilities.
When you learn
to tune in to God’s voice, it won’t be an occasional event but an everyday part
of life.
That’s why, in the New Testament, Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” 15
different times.
You can learn
to hear God!
If you’re
longing for certainty in your fellowship with God, here are four ways to know
if you’re hearing God’s voice:
1. Check Your Receiver
“And you will seek for Me and
find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” –Jeremiah 29:13
(NKJV)
Have you ever
tried to watch television or listen to the radio without turning it on? Of
course not!
So, how do you
check your spiritual receiver? The one way to know if your spiritual receiver
is turned on is to answer this question:
Do you expect
to hear from God?
Some people
say, Well, God just doesn’t talk to me. But, here is an
important truth: even if you don’t feel like God speaks to you — He does.
In fact, He’s
speaking to you right now. But, if you aren’t expecting to hear from Him, you
haven’t even turned on the receiver!
Now, let’s be
clear — He isn’t going to scream, yell and demand that you pay attention.
He is always speaking to you, but He speaks in “a still small
voice” (1 Kings 19:12, NKJV).
So, to hear
Him, you have to tune in and listen carefully.
Another way to
describe the way we hear God’s voice is through an inward witness.
What is an
inward witness?
God doesn’t
communicate with us the way we communicate with one another.
That is what we
call an inward witness. It is very similar to a thought or a prompting.
It’s very
subtle and requires a closeness with God and regular practice to hear it more
quickly and clearly.
That’s why the more time you spend with the Lord and the more
you practice tuning in to His voice, the more it will become a voice that “thunders
in marvelous ways” (Job 37:5, NIV).
How do you come
to a place where you know whether it’s you or the Lord?
Certainty in
knowing that you are hearing God’s voice comes to the person who is united with
Him (1 Corinthians 6:17, NIV).
United means
“joined,” or “in union.” It doesn’t apply to someone who is not living for
God.
It applies to
whomever seeks Him diligently, spends time fellowshiping with Him through
prayer, and obeys the commands in His Word.
A receiver who
is intact and ready to tune in to the voice of God is one who is expecting to
hear from Him, and is willing to learn to know His voice.
2. Find His Frequency
“They know his voice” – John 10:4 (NKJV)
There was once
a time when you had to work to tune in to a program on the radio or television
set. You had to find the right frequency.
You never
questioned if it was broadcasting — you knew it was — but you had to do your
part to find the frequency and tune in.
How do you
locate the frequency God uses to speak to you?
Most often, we
miss His frequency because we’re tuned in to hear some huge revelation; when,
in fact, He is giving simple instructions.
That’s what He
will do when you first begin to hear from Him — and He will continue to do this
for the rest of your life here on earth.
Obedience in
the simple things is very important to God — it reveals the willingness of you
heart.
So, if you’re
waiting for God to send you out to part the Red Sea, you may be missing what
He’s saying to you right now — which might be to clean out your closet or stop
watching certain television shows or spend more time with your children.
He will talk to
you about the small things in your life that you need to change — adjustments
you need to make.
He will begin
to deal with you where you are, which most often involves helping you walk in
God’s best by getting rid of things that are holding you back.
God wants
liberty and freedom for our lives, and that begins with training.
He teaches us
how to be led by the Spirit. But, if we disobey these promptings in the little
things, we won’t graduate to the bigger assignments.
But to reach a
level of intimacy with God where we hear His voice and are launched us into new
places in the spirit, obedience must become a non-negotiable in our lives.
That’s
why Matthew 18 tells us
to become like little children — which means not to be high-minded and think
we’re all-knowing.
To find God’s
frequency, you must be willing to hear His voice in the small things.
3. Learn to Discern His Voice
“My sheep hear my voice.” – John 10:27 (KJV)
If your spouse
or closest friend calls you on the telephone, do you know it’s them before they
tell you?
Most likely you
do! But how? Because you’ve spent so much time with them, the sound of their
voice and their way of saying things has become well-known to you — easy to
recognize.
The same is
true when it comes to our relationship with God.
If you want to
get to a place where you don’t have to wonder whose voice you’re hearing — yours,
the devil’s or God’s — you need to spend time with the Lord. A lot of time.
But, if you
keep your mind and your heart full of the things of this world, it will be
difficult for you to differentiate between the Spirit of God and your own
thoughts.
That is the
definition of a carnal mind — one that has not been renewed by the Word of God.
The more time
you spend with Him, the more certain you’ll become about hearing God’s voice.
It isn’t just
time talking to Him, though. We learn His voice when we listen to His voice.
That’s why in Matthew 17:5 (NASB) He said, “This
is My beloved Son… listen to Him!”
4. Line It Up With His Word — the Bible
“All Scripture is inspired by God.” – 2 Timothy
3:16 (NASB)
One sure way to
know if you’re hearing God’s voice is to line up what you hear against the Word
of God.
God will never
tell you to do, think or say anything contrary to His Word.
If you have a
thought and you don’t know if it’s God or not — you can look it up in the Bible
and settle it right away.
The Spirit of
God will only tell you to do things that will give you a more abundant
life.
Every change He
tells you to make is designed to bring blessing into your life and minister
grace to you.
So, He isn’t
going to tell you to refuse to forgive someone or spend money frivolously, or
anything else that doesn’t match His Word.
God always
agrees with His written Word, and His Word always agrees with Him.
In fact, Psalm
138:2 (NKJV) says He has magnified His Word even above His Name.
That means God
has put His Name on His written Word the way we would put our name at the
bottom of a contract.
He has given us
His Word as a covenant and signed it in the Name of Jesus, by the blood of
Jesus.
Since God
cannot lie, there is no way He will ever do or say anything contrary to that
Word. He has absolutely joined Himself to it forever.
God trains us
to recognize His voice through His written Word. He uses it to tune our
spiritual ears to what is real so that we can easily recognize a counterfeit.
When you’re
trained to hear God’s voice in His Word, the devil won’t be able to sneak
deceptions in on you.
When he tries to razzle-dazzle you with some religious-sounding
voice that says, “I love you, my son. But it’s just not my will to heal you
at this time,” you won’t buy it.
You’ll rise up and say, “That’s not the voice of God. That’s
a lie from hell because it doesn’t agree with the Word that says, ‘By His
stripes we are healed’” (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV).
To live in
confidence that you are hearing from Him, you need to have a knowledge of His
Word continually in your heart.
And you do this
by drawing near to God (James 4:8).
That’s your
part — to seek Him. God’s not going to run you down.
Your part is to
diligently seek Him. That involves spending time in the Word and in prayer.
And whatever
place you give Him in your life, the Spirit of God will fill it up for you.
The best part
about hearing God’s voice?
You won’t just
avoid counterfeit voices — you’ll be given access to secrets and revelation
knowledge that will make you the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy
28:13).
In Jeremiah 33:3, He says, “Call to Me and I will answer you,
and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NASB).
All you have to
do is pursue a life in which you hear the voice of God, heed it and walk into a
victory you never thought possible.
When you check
your receiver, find His frequency, learn to discern His voice, and line up what
you hear with His Word — hearing God’s voice won’t be an occasional event, but a
lifestyle.
And when someone asks you, “What is the Spirit of God telling
you today?” you won’t hesitate for a moment. You’ll know exactly what to
say.
Kenneth
Copeland
Ministries is dedicated to building up believers’ faith and deepening their
walk with Christ, so they can live the victorious life God promised.
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