“Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.” – Jeremiah 32:8
In Part 1 of How to Hear from God we saw from scripture that God speaks to us in seven ways. He speaks to us through confirming circumstances. He speaks to us “in various ways” (Hebrews 1:1). God speaks to us through everyday life illustrations, through nature, through dreams, through visions, and even at times through an audible voice. There are five more ways God speaks to us which we will cover in Part 2. But most importantly, in Part 2 we will learn how to discern God’s voice from our voice or other voices. We need to remember that the devil is a liar and deceiver. We ourselves are inclined to interpret things in a way that is favorable to our predispositions or inclinations. We sometimes give ourselves the benefit of the doubt or read into interpretations what we want. That can lead to trouble, frustration, failures, and missing out on God’s desired best for us. So let’s see the other ways God speaks to us and how we can discern truth from falsehood.
Eighth, God Speaks Through Angels
As early as Abraham we see God communicating to people through angels (Genesis 18). In the New Testament God announced the birth of Jesus with Angels (Luke 1-2). In the book of Hebrews, we’re given the interesting words:
Hebrews 13:2 – “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”
One of the most popular TV shows a few years ago was Touched by An Angel, which depicts the intervention and sharing of God’s word with people in the dire straight of life. It is possible that God would choose to speak to you via an angel. God chose to use angels in the Bible. Apparently, He will continue to do so today.
Ninth, God Speaks Through Godly Spirit-filled People.
It may seem unexciting to us, but it is true, God speaks to us through the people He brings into our lives. God gives people within the church spiritual gifts to communicate His word to the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12,14). An example of God speaking through a person is found in the book of Acts where twice God used the prophet Agabus to warn the flock, once of a famine and later to warn Paul of the imprisonment that lay ahead of him (Acts 11:28; 21:10-11). God speaks through people so the next time you are seeking His will go to a godly Spirit-filled person and see what God has to say through them about your situation.
Tenth, God Speaks Through His Written Word
This is probably the most common means God uses to convey His word to us. The Bible is God-breathed, meaning the words written in the 66 books of the canon of the Old and New Testaments are straight from His heart, they are His words and are completely without error and dependable. Since these words are God-breathed by the Holy Spirit, God applies His word to our life situations in very practical and personal ways. As in my case above with my young son Stephen, as I was entering a trial, He spoke to me a word of assurance that got me through the trial.
You see God’s word is dynamic and alive; God speaks to us through His word just as much as He spoke to the people to whom He first spoke it. IN Hebrews it states:
Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The word of God is living in that the Holy spirit takes it and applies it to the lives of people throughout history to reveal God’s will to them. God’s word transcends time and is always relevant.
The Bible is unlike any other book because it’s Author is God. This is what the Bible states God is its Author in the following verses:
1 Thessalonians 2:13 – “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Peter 1:19-21 – “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
When my son Stephen was born, he was 10 pounds and 1 ounce (Dee delivered him by natural delivery too!). But during his first night of life out in this world it became apparent that there was something wrong with him. He wasn’t breathing normally and in fact he was blue in color. Immediately Dee called me to tell me of the problem and I rushed to the hospital to which Stephen was transferred for diagnosis. I arrived at the hospital and was unable to see Stephen or the doctor for about an hour during which time I prayed. As I prayed, I searched the Bible for a word from the LORD. The word of the LORD that came to me was, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15). I believed the LORD brought that verse to my sight particularly for my situation. (With Stephen, I had already learned firsthand in the earlier placental tear circumstance that God speaks and is true to His word.) To make a long story short in less than 48 hours my wife and I traveled with Stephen to four hospitals, two ambulance rides and one air ambulance ride from Long Island to Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts. Once in Boston we spent two weeks while Stephen had open-heart surgery and recovered. Open-heart surgery on an infant is serious business. But through all of our trial Dee and I clung to Psalm 50:15. During our trial God opened doors to minister to other parents whose children had similar problems. Stephen is now a strong, healthy boy and every chance I get I glorify God because of the way He delivered us through it all. God speaks through His word. What has He said to you lately? Why not dust off that Book and see what he has to say to you now?
Eleventh, God Speaks Through His Son Jesus
Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:1-5,14). In the Old Testament Jesus appeared to people in what are referred to as Theophanies or Christophanies, pre-incarnate manifestations of Jesus. We see this in the life of Abraham (Genesis 18); Jacob (Genesis 32); Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15); Ezekiel (Ezekiel 40:1-4); Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:25); and Daniel (Daniel 10:4-9) to site a few. In the New Testament we see that Jesus is incarnated in the gospels and beginning of the book of Acts and later gives the apostle John a full revelation of Himself and the Divine plan for the church and humankind (Revelation). In the book of Hebrews, it states:
Hebrews 1:1-3 – “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
Knowing Jesus is the key to hearing anything from God. God’s revealed will always serves to conform us to the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:29). We can determine God’s will by seeing how Jesus responded in situations similar to our own. We can discern God’s will by looking to Jesus’ words. If you don’t know Jesus, you won’t hear anything other than God’s word that you need to know Him in a saving way. Jesus is the living Word of God. If you want to know what God desires to say to you, look to Jesus.
Twelfth, God Speaks Through the Inner Presence of the Holy Spirit
Under the New Covenant when a person is saved from their sin, they become a new creation, and the Holy Spirit comes to reside within them (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). People are trichotomous creatures made up of body, mind, and spirit. Before salvation and regeneration, a person’s spirit compartment, so to speak, is dormant and dead and their body and mind govern the person. Fulfilling the lust of their flesh drives the unsaved person. Once saved by Christ a person is given spiritual life and the Spirit residing within becomes the Guide for life. Because of the makeup of humankind God conveys His word and will to us via the Holy Spirit Who communicates the will of God to us by implanting God’s thoughts in our mind.
In 1 Corinthians this role of the Spirit is explained as follows:
1 Corinthians 2:9-16 – “But as it is written: 1 “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
This passage tells us that the Holy Spirit conveys the mind of God to us and the last verse tells us that God’s thought conveyed to us by the Spirit constitute the “mind of Christ.”
Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit would guide believers into all truth and teach the believer from within what exactly the will of God is. We see this in the following verses:
John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
John 15:26 – “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”
John 16:13 – “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
It needs to be pointed out here that without the Holy Spirit residing within you, a person cannot know the heart of God. The Spirit will strive with the unbeliever to lead them to salvation, but the personal daily walk with God where He leads and guides and bears His heart, is only for those who have received Christ as their Savior and have experienced the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit within us that communicates the nature of the intimate personal relationship we have with the Father through Jesus (Romans 8:14-17). It is the Holy Spirit within us Who is the Agent Who writes the law of God on our hearts according to the New Covenant promise (Hebrews 8:10-12). It is the Holy Spirit with Whom we communicate when we pray as He translates our prayers according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).
But there is a problem. Obviously not all the thoughts we have are from the Holy Spirit even after we are saved. Therefore, how do we discern which thoughts are from the Spirit and which are not? How to we come to the point as Jeremiah did and say, “Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.”?
How Do I Discern or Distinguish God’s Will and Heart from My Will and Heart, or from the Devil’s Deceptions?
This is the million-dollar question. How do we know if a thought that comes into our head or heart is from the LORD or not? How can we discern truth from the falsehoods the devil often uses to try and mislead us? The Spirit is there and leads us into all truth, but sometimes we aren’t sure which way the LORD is directing. Sometimes it’s hard to discern what thoughts are form God and what thoughts are from me. So, what do we do?
There are basically three tests to determine whether or not a thought or word in your head is or is not from God. The three questions we need to ask to determine if a word is from God or not are: Is the word COMPLIANT? Is the word CONCLUSIVE? Is the word CONFIRMED?
First, IS THE WORD COMPLIANT?
God will never give us a word or steer us in a direction that contradicts or is out of compliance with His written word. God will never contradict Himself. Therefore, the first question and the predominant question we need to ask is, how does it jive with the Bible? In the book of Deuteronomy, the LORD states through Moses:
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 – “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,2 “and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’3 “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.4 “You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.5 “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.”
Notice the phrase, “and the sign or wonder comes to pass,” indicates that a confirming circumstance only confirms that a word is from God if and only if it complies with the written word of God. For example, say you are working overtime to pay some outstanding bills, and you have been praying for God to help you with your finances. One night while working late you find that the companies petty cash drawer filled with money is accidentally left unlocked, a word comes to you, “Go ahead, I left the drawer open for you. Take the money. No one will know. Go ahead take it.” In that situation there is a word and a confirming circumstance, you have prayed for financial help and now here is an opportunity to get some money, i.e. the unlocked and open petty cash drawer. BUT that would be stealing and that does not comply with the word of God. Therefore, it must be rejected as being the word of God. If it is not from the LORD where is it from? It could be a word originating from our fleshly desires, or it could be a word from Satan much the same as in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Remember, in the Garden of Eden Eve received a word. There was an opportunity to follow through on the word she received. But since that impression or word contradicted God’s word, she should have rejected it.
In the wilderness Satan came against Jesus to tempt Him. He brought some words to the mind of Jesus but if you examine that situation you see a perfect example of handling the temptations of Satan. Jesus viewed all things through the lens of scripture. We see this in the following portion of the Bible:
Matthew 4:1-11 – “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 1 ‘He shall give His angels charge over you and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”
Every time Satan struck out at Jesus, Jesus responded, “It is written.” We should do the same. We should note also that it is the right application of God’s word that is important. Satan misused scripture in his attempt to draw Jesus into sin. We should not twist scriptures to get by these criteria of determining if or if not a word is from the LORD.
We should apply the word rightly as Paul states to Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:15 – “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
We need to diligently study God’s word as a worker or student who is well trained in its true meaning. Paul was inspired to write to the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 5:21 – “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
The word of God is the instrument by which all things are to be tested. When I was a young man, I worked in a precision machine shop with my father. One of the instruments we used there was a micrometer which we used to measure the widths of pieces of metal to the ten-thousands of an inch. But if the micrometer was off, our work would be ruined. Therefore, we had to even test the micrometers with a special cylindrical tool that was exactly a certain width. That is what the Bible is like; it’s the one reliable gauge to which all other things must be compared.
The compliance with the word of God takes priority over the confirming circumstance. The primary determining factor as to whether a word in your head, heart or coming from someone else, is from the LORD is whether it complies with God’s written word. That is why in the New Testament it states of the Bible:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
In this verse from 2 Timothy, the term “reproof” is ELEGMOS, and literally means, “a reproof, a proof, proving, testing.” [1] One of the primary purposes of God’s word is to determine what is and what isn’t from God. So, know your Bible, it’s indispensable to discerning what is and isn’t from the LORD.
Second, IS THE WORD CONCLUSIVE?
Does the word you hear come to pass? A word might come to you saying, “Today is the day I am going to rapture you to heaven. Go shout the news in the streets.” Now if the day passes and you’re still here shouting the coming of the Lord in the streets, it wasn’t from the LORD and you’re going to look like a crazy fool, not to mention you will defame and dishonor the name of God. Many a false prophet has been exposed by this test. Does the word conclude as it purported to? In Deuteronomy God is preparing His people through Moses to ward off pagan false teachers and so He gives a very simple and clear test for determining if a word is from God:
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 – “‘But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’21 “And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’—22 “when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”
This test is not only for false prophets but is all encompassing in that if you receive what you think might be a word from the LORD, you will know it actually was from the LORD if and only if it comes to pass and conclusively fulfills all it claims.
Third, IS THE WORD CONFIRMED?
As we saw in Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah was able to discern that the thought was from the LORD because it was confirmed by circumstance. Sometimes it takes longer for a word to be confirmed than it did in the case of Jeremiah. When my wife first met me, she felt as though the LORD told her that she would marry me. I didn’t get that word at first, but she did. Well, three years later after we met, the word she heard was confirmed as from the LORD because we were married.
What do we do when we have a word that doesn’t contradict God’s word but has yet to be conclusively confirmed? We wait on the LORD. That’s what Jeremiah did and that’s what we need to do. We have to give the situation and ourselves to the LORD. That is what the word of God states in the following verses:
Psalm 27:13-14 – “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
Psalm 37:34 – “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.”
Isaiah 49:23b – “Then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
Lamentations 3:25 – “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.”
Habakkuk 2:3 – “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.”
Luke 12:35-36 – “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;36 “and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.”
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 – “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
2 Thessalonians 3:5 – “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.”
So, you see, if the confirmation does not come it may be that the word you received was not from God or that you need to wait longer for God to confirm the word. If you can’t wait, it may be an indication that the word was not from God. Let patience have its perfect effect in you (James 1:2-5).
God Really Does Have A Plan for Your Life
Sometimes we wonder if God even cares about our given situation. God always cares and we should always give our anxious concerns to Him (1 Peter 5:6-7). Even when things appear hopeless, God has a plan He is willing to carry out in your life. An example of this is found in God’s dealings with Israel. Because of their disobedience God allowed them to go into captivity. But even during this disciplinary action God was not giving up on them. Rather He was purifying them and preparing them for a higher purpose and teaching them to draw close to Him. Through Jeremiah God voices this truth when He inspires Jeremiah to say:
Jeremiah 29:10-14 – “For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.”
We can take this and apply it to our lives in that it shows us that God is always there for us. We may stray, but He remains imminent and faithful to His word. You can depend on God and He is all-wise and all-knowing and all-powerful. It is to Him that you should turn for direction in life. He has a plan for you. Give yourself to Him wholeheartedly and watch how He leads you into the abundant life Jesus promised (John 10:10). Yes, it is possible to hear from God today. He is speaking, are we listening? I pray we seek the Holy Spirit to help us tune in to the Lord and what He is directing us to do. I pray we stay on the straight and narrow and avoid the broad way of the devil and our own sinful selfish inclinations. I pray we all hear from God and accept His call to serve and live in the ways He desires for us because truly, He has a plan for us, and it is only in that plan that we will discover the abundantly life Jesus spoke about. Remember, Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). May God lead us. May God bless us, all for His glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
[1]W.E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Vine’s complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1996.