Hearing God's voice

While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you.”           Acts 10:19

Does God continue to speak to His own? If so, how do you know if it is His voice or the voice of your old nature telling you to do what feels good? Could that prompting you feel within be from Satan? Has God gone back to heaven, closed the door and shut us out?

There are times, no matter how difficult it may be to explain, when you know you have heard from God. Like a sharp blow to the stomach, or an elbow in your ribs, you know God got your attention and is trying to tell you something. How do you know when it is God who is speaking?

First, God often speaks through His Word. You have a situation that confronts you and as you read Scripture, your thinking becomes focused. You see something that leaps from the page and stares you in the face. It is obvious that you are to obey the principle of God’s Word.

At other times, God speaks to us through circumstances. Here the voice of God is less distinct and less obvious. When a door closes, instead of moaning and groaning, take Paul’s advice and give thanks, accepting this as the will of God.

Clearly your conscience, when you know right and wrong and understand God’s Word, can be considered as an echo of God’s voice, prompting you to do the right thing no matter what the consequences.

God’s voice is a quiet one. Though He could send bolts of lightening hurling across the skies, He speaks quietly and softly to His own, so softly that His voice is often drowned out by the confusion of life today. But be sure of this. He still speaks to His own. Listen to Him and follow His counsel.