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| Being still before God is a key to hearing Him speak. |
5 Ways to Know if It's God's Voice
Thoughts from our own minds are progressive, with one thought
leading to the next. Thoughts from the spirit world are spontaneous. True words
from the Lord will bubble up from our innermost being. God will never say
something to you personally that is contrary to His universal revelation as
expressed in the Scriptures. Anything God says to you will be in harmony with
His essential nature. Words from the Lord will quicken your faith and increase
your love, peace and joy - they will stimulate a sense of humility within you
as you become more aware of who God is and who you are
Mark Virkler
It can
be hard to differentiate between the voice of God and our own thoughts. Here
are five key tests to help you recognize which is which.
1) Test
the origin (1 John 4:1). Thoughts from our own minds are
progressive, with one thought leading to the next, however tangentially.
Thoughts
from the spirit world are spontaneous.
The
Hebrew word for true prophecy is naba, which literally means
"to bubble up," whereas false prophecy is ziyd,
meaning "to boil up."
True
words from the Lord will bubble up from our innermost being; we don't need to
cook them up ourselves
2) Compare
it to biblical principles. God will never say something to you
personally that is contrary to His universal revelation as expressed in the
Scriptures.
If
the Bible clearly states that something is a sin, no amount of journaling can
make it right.
Much
of what you journal about will not be specifically addressed in the Bible,
however, so an understanding of biblical principles is also needed.
3) Compare
it to the names and character of God as revealed in the Bible.
Anything
God says to you will be in harmony with His essential nature.
Journaling
will help you get to know God personally, but knowing what the Bible says about
Him will help you discern what words are from Him.
Make
sure the tenor of your journaling lines up with the character of God as
described in the Names of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
4) Test
the fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). What effect does
what you are hearing have on your soul and your spirit?
Words
from the Lord will quicken your faith and increase your love, peace and joy.
They
will stimulate a sense of humility within you as you become more aware of who
God is and who you are.
On
the other hand, any words you receive that elicit fear or doubt, that bring you
into confusion or anxiety or that stroke your ego (especially if you hear
something that is "just for you alone — no one else is worthy") must
be immediately rebuked and rejected as lies of the enemy.
5) Share
it with your spiritual counselors (Proverbs
11:14). We are members of the body of Christ.
We
weren't designed or called to walk alone. Nothing will increase your faith in
your ability to hear from God like having it confirmed by two or three other
people!
Share what you've
heard with your spouse, your parents, your friends, your elder, your group
leader or even your grown children.
They don't need to be
perfect or super-spiritual to be your sounding board; they just need to love
you, be committed to being available to you, have a solid biblical orientation
and, most important, they must also willingly and easily receive counsel.
Avoid the
authoritarian who insists that because of their standing in the church or with
God, they no longer need to listen to others.
Find two or three
people and let them confirm that you are hearing from God.
Mark and
Patti Virkler have
been married and active in ministry since 1972. Both received their Bachelor
degrees from Roberts Wesleyan College and have also earned Master and Doctoral
degrees. Together they have co-authored over 60 revelation based books in the
areas of hearing God's voice and Spirit-anointed living.
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