Recently I’ve been preaching about how God speaks to us. But in talking with people, I realize that many do not know what I mean when I say “God speaks to me”. Does God speak to you, and if so, how? I look forward to hearing your thoughts, but one word of advice: KEEP IT BRIEF AND CLEAR!
If you have something you would like discussed, please email me.
Pastor Norm
I think this is where we need to be very careful about hearing God speaking to us.
It is one thing to know that God is speaking personally to me for me…
It is another thing to know that God is telling me something that is for someone else.
I have seen myself and other people really blessed by words that God has given them through another person.
I have been given words by God for other people on an individual basis, that ha been helpful to them.
I have also been hurt and seen other people hurt and seen a church damaged by someone who says they are speaking God’s word but it was not. Sometimes this is not apparent right away….
If a prophet wants to speak to someone or a group about what God is telling them to speak then he/she has to be careful.
On an individual basis I ask the person if I can speak and I always say that this could be what God is saying but if it does not fit for them then that is okay if they do not take it as from God.
On a group basis, which I have never done, the prophet should check with the leadership to see if they agree that he can tell the group what he thinks God is telling him. The leadership has the responsiblilty to say yes or no.
Particularly in the case where the church was damaged the person was absolutly convinced that he was right. But God was leading the leadership of that church (and had been for some time) in an entirly other direction. In the end good came from this for the church but the man is still convinced and is still harming other people.
A prophet needs to be careful to have good accountability and prayer support with other believers. We cannot stand on our own.
It is amazing when God speaks to us, the words convict, yet encourage, strengthen and uplift, give insight into an issue……
Prophets are merely natural human beings with a supernatural abilty to hear Gods voice and utterance in the Spirit. Some hear it aloud but its really the Spirit. God is Spirit, therefore He speaks to our spirit most of all. When He does, its as if your actually hearing Gods voice. If God speaks aloud then How come some hear it and some dont… like in the story of Samuel. We serve a God of order and peace… He will not confuse you or have you do something out of order when He speaks to you – His word is too valuable to be risked in that way. Therefore, when He speaks, you’ll feel the peace and conviction [spiritual confirmation] that undoubtedly The Lord, God of the Universe has spoken to you. If you have the calling of a prophet or the prophetic gift, then you know how that feels. The Lord fills us up with courage and an unmovable conviction that God has spoken and we must deliver… no matter what the outcome in the natural is – if people fall out of their seats or get slained in the Holy Spirit, go wild, cheer, or stay staring at you as if you came from mars and are speaking another languange. If found that when God gives me a prophetic insight, people usually are not ready for it because the church has been mislead as to how God speaks. One thing for sure though, when you deliver the Word full of the anointing of God, eventhough they may sit back with their arms crossed, they are being convicted on the inside. You’ll find that the biggest rival for a prophetic word is pride. We see this all throughout the bible aswell.
Isn’t it amazing how such a simple question can provoke the most intense feelings and inner seeking. How often do we hear God’s voice and how can we tell the difference. Well first we need to understand that God is always active and never passive – He is the Lord eternal who was, is and is to come – there is no beginning and no end with God – His words are true and creative power, and is still creating now days. We need to learn how to differentiate between a personal word (where God speaks to your situation) and a seasonal word (where God releases a prophetic word in the atmosphere apted for everyone). Ever question why the need for prophet now days when we all carry the same Holy Spirit?
To be continued…
I just came to this discussion today.
Does God speak to me, yes, often. not usually in an audible voice,… mostly in my spirit, like an urging, sometimes a picture in my mind, or through scripture, often during worship. How do I know; because it gives me understanding, or it gives me a thing to do which is confirmed when I do it, like to pray a specific thing for a certain person and then I find out later that that was what was needed.
If God did not speak to me how would I know what to do? There are so many choices and I want to do what HE calls me to do.
In the ministry we work in we are constanly seeking God in order to hear how to minister, what does God want to show that person…
We ask Jesus to enable the person to understand what He wants them to know or to do or to confess etc, and Jesus does ‘tell’ them. This is part of the healing process..
i could keep talking but I won’t say anymore for now….
Except that how could we have a relationship with anyone if we could not HEAR from the person as well as talk to them?
Good morning. We’re here enjoying a holiday in Myrtle Beach, and I am praying that I would be able to see/hear God here too. Well, not sure if this is what I was expecting, but this morning at the coffee shop (yes, even here) I saw a rough bunch of guys. One of them staggered (drunk) out of the coffee shop and proceeded to throw up – RIGHT BY THE FRONT TIRE OF MY CAR! OK, so how does God speak to me? At this point I am challenged to anger, judgment, racist slurs, etc… and God says to me, “he’s my child too!” God loves this guy, God cares about his story, his past, present and future. Can I care for him too? Can I pray for him?
God, I pray for this young man, and for whatever it is that has brought him to this point. Please do something in his life today that will help him find You! Please forgive me my judgmental spirit, more worried about my car than about his soul.
Yesterday I had lunch with a dear friend of mine. Over the years she has had many questions on organized religion and the Holy Spirit. She has been very ill lately with several serious ailments, the latest being a lung infection. She was having great difficulty breathing yesterday and while we waited for our lunch to be served God was prompting me to pray for her. At first I ignored Him but seconds later He prompted me again so I told her I was going to pray for God’s strength, peace, and wisdom for her doctor and then asked God to touch her with His healing hand. She called me last night to tell me that she felt something snap in her chest and that her breathing had returned to normal. God is our Great Physcian and I give Him all the Glory for His prompting. Thank you Lord for your healing touch. I am humbled before you.
Wow, thanks for sharing Alba. It sounds hard to say, but it sounds like He has been preparing you through your difficult journey for His glory, if He is calling you to sing His songs. You are not alone, God is with you, but many more have heard God and wondered whether they were wacky. May you continue to hear Him clearly, and may He whisper His love, peace and strength to you as you go through those tough, painful valleys!
In His Hands, Pastor Norm
I have been struggling with the way God has been speaking to me. Because it is so clear. I thought maybe I was getting a little wacky. I know now that it is our Lord Jesus. Everything he has said has been based on scripure. He has told me for instance that I will be singing his Holy songs. I have been a christian for over thirty
years. I have suffered a lot. I have been broken untill I could hardly bear it. I think God has broken my heart so I can hear him very clear. It took all this for me to completely give my life to him.
God, knowing full well that I have some major difficulties with organized religion, constantly finds ways of speaking to me outside the confines of Biblical teachings. He understands that I can best be reached through secular song lyrics or segments of novels I’m reading or during ordinary conversations while having coffee with friends. I just have to know enough to keep myself open to receiving his messages.
God speaks to me in several different ways such as His Word, answers to prayer (whether good or bad) other people, but one day I actually heard his voice and I even answered Him out loud. My answer was: “Lord please don’t ask me to do this”! So I know how Jonah felt. But I did do what the Lord asked me to do with fear and trembling. Five years later God revealed to me the purpose of his calling. This strengthened my faith tremendously. I do make sure that the message comes from God by making sure that it does not go against His Word.
I also hear God in my heart, and like Linda most times realize after the fact that God has spoken to me I have followed the nudges! God often speaks to me in the beauty of his creation! Seems true for me as well that the closer my walk is with God the clearer the signals/signs are!
Not being a Church goer with limited knowledge of the Bible I am interested in reading you comments.If nothing else,I have now read Samuel 3,then2 ,then 1.Now it looks as if Ibetter read Jonah 1.That is more Bible verses that I have read in 30 or 40 years.I keep coming back to this blog,Do you think that I am being spoken to?
Oh, sometimes I wish that God would speak to us as with Abraham:-) A direct connection. And we have that connection through prayer. His Spirit continues to encourage and work in and through His people to convict their hearts to serve Him where He leads.
Our focus needs to be the upward look and not the inward or downward look. We need to walk with Jesus every day and not get caught up with personal desires nor the world’s desires. Our purpose is to serve Hm and that brings us out of our comfort zone. It is great when our living for Jesus is confirmed by congregations or individuals.
Above all, in order to hear the Word of the Lord we need to diligently read/study that Word. As James states: the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. This is a Word and Deed ministry for all of God’s people.
Another thought, as I’ve reflected on the question (“how does God speak to us”), I realize that the question I am really wrestling with is “how do we HEAR God”. I believe that God is speaking everywhere, always, through the Bible, through experience, through the creation, through other people. God speaks to everyone, but not everyone HEARS it, or realizes that it is God speaking. Like Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-21), we do not realize that it is God speaking.
So please feel free to answer this question to, how do we know its God speaking? how do we “hear” Him, if not with our ears? How do we know its Him, and not just our conscience, or heartburn, or our own mind creating the message? Or maybe what we’re hearing is the devil, misleading us? Yikes, any thoughts?
I have not heard God’s voice with my ears. When I hear God, it is with my heart. That may sound corny, but its true – and its happened to all of us one time or another. Call it an inner sense, the voice in my head, a feeling, a prompting, an impression.
This inward dialogue with God is a life-changing experience for me. It is as I talk things through with God, and He guides me through my feelings, emotions, thoughts and decisions, that I have found my way through life this far. I do not always hear what God is saying, but He is always communicating to me. If I stop, listen and meditate, whether on the Bible or on any other aspect of life, His Spirit prompts, encourages, nudges, warns, etc. Call me a looney or whatever, but its real for me!
I am not done, there is so much more to be said. But this is a start… I need to talk through this with God some more….
How does God speak to me?
Thats a hard one to define since most times I don’t know whether or not it is God or it is my own ambitions speaking up.
All that I do know is, that when I go forward in those nudges, and I look back on them, they are either confirmed by His word, the Bible, or by others and the RESULTS usually show themselves as being beyond my actual ability. This always causes me to stand back in wonder and praise God! He had spoken to me (most times before I realize it) I responded and incredible results occur – that is always His signature!
Note: My ability to respond to God speaking to me, I believe, has a direct co-relation to my availibility to trust God. I find the seasons of my life that I am tender and close to the Lord in prayer and bible study are the times that I hear His voice more and are open to respond to it.