How To Know If God Is Speaking To You
LEARNING TO DISCERN
In part 1, we established God's truth: He does NOT change. Because He spoke to his people throughout the Bible we know that He still speaks to us today. Discover 8 ways God speaks to us.
GOD SPEAKS TO HIS CHILDREN
God speaks to us all the time but we have to train ourselves to listen. The way God chooses to communicate with each of us is purely up to his discretion. He knows what we need and the exact moment we need it.
Sometimes though, we get so wrapped up in hearing God one way that we completely miss him when he speaks to us in another way. If we are so focused on listening for his audible voice, we might miss him when He speaks to us through Scripture.
THE VARIETY OF WAYS GOD SPEAKS TO ME
The ways in which God speaks to us will often overlap. I have heard from God in most of the 8 ways mentioned in our last post and I know I am not unusual. When I began to get the seeds of faith for this blog ministry, I knew I had to be very careful. The enemy loves to sneak in and tickle our ears with whispers meant to deceive, cause confusion, and distract.
My husband calls this type of distraction, "crows disease". Crows are incredibly smart but get so focused on something bright and shiny that they completely miss everything else happening around them. We, humans, do that too.
Anyway, knowing "crow disease" is a favorite ploy of the enemy, I knew that I had to be careful to hear my father's voice and not the enemy’s close-but-not-quite-right imitation before jumping into a blog ministry.
I began by hearing God's audible voice telling me to write. If you've read my blog for long you know that I didn't exactly react all spiritual when I heard this command. But Father God confirmed by blessing me with a beautiful vision of Jesus. That vision was followed with godly dreams, then certain people spoke words of wisdom and knowledge to me that they had no way of knowing in the natural man. But during all this, God also gave me Scripture that practically jumped off the pages of my Bible and spoke right to the heart of what God had asked of me.
During the months and months that I was waiting and listening for God, He was in the process of changing my mindset and circumstances. It was an exciting time to receive revelation. But I still couldn't plow ahead.
See, I had already learned the hard way that regardless of how God chooses to speak to me, everything I believe I received from God had to be tested for Biblical truth. Neither God nor His Word ever changes and that alone had to be my measuring stick. Not my wants or desires, and certainly not public opinion.
HOW TO KNOW IF GOD IS SPEAKING
RUN IT PAST SCRIPTURE FOR BIBLICAL TRUTH
Whatever you believe you have received, it must never contradict scripture or it's not of God. If it’s even slightly off, it is not of God. This is non-negotiable.
For example, you have been praying and believing for a long time that God would send you a soulmate. God knows how lonely you are and how much you crave a spirit-filled life partner. One day you realize that man you've been crushing on is THE ONE.
In your opinion, you two are perfect together and something only that perfect could come from God. You would end your days falling asleep praying about it. You've even had dreams about your future life together. When you read your Bible this man kept popping in your head so you are sure those verses were confirmation that Mr. Dreamboat is your gift from God. You showed his picture to your girlfriend who agreed he would be perfect for you. You are SURE about this and now you have confirmation from God!
Except for one little problem. He's married.
Girlfriend, it doesn't matter how badly you want it, that is not of God. It doesn't matter if Mr. Married Dreamboat tells you he wasn't listening to God when he got married and has since realized his mistake. It doesn't matter that Mr. Married Dreamboat believes he is in God's will and that you are a part of God's plan for his life.
It's STILL not of God.
I know without a doubt it is not God's will because God will not contradict Scripture. Sister, get yourself into your Bible and see what God has to say about marriage. You will find a lot there if you are willing to repent and ask the Holy Spirit to show you His truths. To begin with, God tells us not to covet another person's spouse.
LEARNING TO DISCERN
Satan is famous for manipulating God's Word (just look at Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1). Always, always, always test everything against Scripture. Then test the Scripture against Scripture. We have to test Scripture against itself because sometimes we think if we find the “right” verse it is our confirmation. But did we take the verse out of context? If so, we can make that verse mean what we want it to mean.
If it contradicts the rest of Scripture, it isn’t true, right, or lovely.
The Bible will explain itself, we just have to be patient and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us as we study. Reading and studying God's word for yourself is the only way to know for sure if what you are hearing is of God and not misrepresented or twisted. None of the other ways we ask God for confirmation should ever surpass the authority of scripture.
WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION?
Ask yourself if what you are hearing is for you or to bless others. If it is of God, it will not take from someone but will provide a blessing. An idea might come to you about something that you would normally not have chosen to do, such as my example of starting this blog.
It's very easy to tell ourselves that we prayed for something so that we could bless others when secretly, we had ulterior motives. Because He knows your true motives, why not ask that the Holy Spirit reveal your motives to you?
For example, the Holy Spirit might gently whisper that you should write a note of encouragement to someone you have been in conflict with. That's not a thought your natural man would have. Confirm this with Scripture. What does God say about encouraging and blessing others? What does he say about the way we should treat our enemies?
GROWTH REQUIRES PATIENCE
The desire to do what you feel God has spoken to you, the urge to see it happen, and the longing to obey God are all part of the growth process and require patience. God will grow and prosper you from the inside out.
If you are going to throw a temper tantrum every time God tries to do something in your life He simply can't use you yet. Every step of the way you will have a choice to make.
For Additional Reading: Baby steps forward to grow your faith.
God warns us not to deceive ourselves so be sure to pray and ask God to show you if there is an area in your life that has not been growing. Ask God to open his doors and cultivate enthusiasm and desire for this thing to happen or to close the door and take the idea and desire away from you.
Trust God's pruning process to get rid of things that not of him.
WHAT NOT TO EXPECT
As you are learning to hear God’s voice, don't expect God to speak to you the way he speaks to someone else or even the way He has spoken to you in the past. Although he won't change his character or his message, God is creative and treats us as the unique individuals that He created us to be.
Don't expect God to function on your timetable. Time means something totally different to God than it does us. God might respond to you in seconds, a day, a month, or years later. But if He has spoken to you, you can absolutely believe it will happen.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Anything and everything you believe you receive from God must be tested for Biblical truth. God will not be offended nor will he contradict himself. Keep in mind Satan mimics God and talks to us too. He is an expert at deceiving us. Satan will do everything in his power to make us so busy chasing our own tails that we don't hear God's voice or his nudging.
If you think God is speaking to everyone but you, begin right now to pray about your hurting heart. You are a Christian, one of God's beloved children. God longs for you to hear him!
Give yourself permission to hear God speak to your spirit. There is nothing on the face of this earth that is more important to God than you. Get in his Word and let him tell you that for himself. I promise you He will.
YOUR TURN
How has God spoken to you today? Comment below and share with us how God has spoken to you.