Hearing From God

The prophetic mandate has gone out that this is a year of hearing God’s voice.  This is actually a mandate for all believers every year because faith comes by hearing God. (Romans 10:17) What the Holy Spirit is emphasizing this year is that it’s more important than ever that we are hearing in the realm of the Spirit.

There are at least ten ways recorded in Scripture that God speaks.   This includes the written word of God, through delegated authorities of God, dreams, visions, personal prophecy, nature and more.  The most common way God speaks is through what is called “His still small voice”.  An example of this is found in I Kings 19:12.  Elijah is on Mt. Horeb after fleeing from Jezebel.  God sends a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but the voice of God wasn’t in these.  It was the “gentle whisper” that God used, as He had many times before, to communicate to Elijah.

I began receiving and recognizing the still small voice of the Spirit shortly after being baptized in the Holy Spirit.  I remember it beginning after I had been praying for my unsaved friends and for Christians friends at the church I attended.   As I prayed for the believers a great compassion began welling up within me that drove me to tears.  As I prayed for the unbelievers, I could sense that God was listening but there wasn’t an intense emotional response like I had received while praying for believers.  This puzzled me.  I found myself silently asking God, “why is there such a compassionate and emotional response when I pray for those who are saved as compared to when I pray for the lost?”  The Holy Spirit immediately answered with His still small voice and said, “because these I know”.  Right after hearing this, spiritual impressions came into my mind which included the verse that says “depart from Me workers of iniquity, I never knew you”.    God was explaining why He said, “for these I know”. 

We are told that “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)  Jesus uses sheep in this verse to associate hearing God with a trait of this animal.  Sheep like to be near the shepherd.  When they are near, they are always watching and listening intently.  Notice that this verse also says, “and they follow me”.  Obedience is always joined to hearing God’s voice.  Obedience is what keeps the flow of God’s voice coming into your mind and heart.  Disobedience, unbelief, and neglect are what helps to cut off the flow.  When God speaks it is important that we do what He says.