God Speaks Through the Bible
When I say God speaks, I am referring to the different ways the Lord communicates with us. In the Bible, people actually did hear an audible voice from God sometimes, like when Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:17). In most places in the Bible, however, when God speaks we are simply told that “God said,” or that “the Lord responded,” or that “the Spirit told,” but we usually aren’t told exactly how God spoke.
The most obvious way God speaks is by communicating through the Scripture. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), so it is appropriate to think of the Bible as words God has spoken to us. Before we concern ourselves with hearing from God in other ways, we should always begin with listening well to what the Lord has already said to us in Scripture.
Beyond only reading the Bible to hear what God has said in the past, we should also realize that the Bible is a primary way God speaks to people in the present. God’s Word is not some dusty artifact we discover hidden in the ancient history of the Bible. Rather, “the word of God is alive and active” and “it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
On one occasion I was relaxing on my living room sofa reading through the parable of the lost sheep. In this story Jesus explains that if a shepherd loses a sheep, he will leave ninety-nine sheep to go and find the lost sheep and then rejoice with his friends when he finds the missing one (Luke 15:4–7).
God spoke to me through this passage of Scripture about how I needed to be more active in sharing the gospel with others. I wrote in my journal: “It says that the shepherd ‘goes after’ the lost sheep. He doesn’t just wait to run into it. He is not passive, but purposeful. Lord, help me to be more purposeful.” God has spoken to me through Scripture on many other occasions in similar ways.
Other Ways God Speaks
God speaks through the Bible, but the Lord’s voice is not limited to the Bible. Jesus made this clear when he responded to a group of Jewish leaders who were harassing him and planning to kill him. While he recognized that these leaders would “study the Scriptures diligently” (John 5:39), at the same time he scolded them for their lack of relationship with the Father: “You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you” (vv. 37–38). Jesus’ reprimand serves as a good reminder that our relationship is with God, not with the Bible.
In addition to speaking through Scripture, God also communicates with us through visions and dreams (Acts 2:17) as well as through other people by means of the gifts of the Spirit, such as prophecy. God could also speak to us through pictures or nature. My wife finds that God speaks to her especially through songs. There are many ways the Lord might speak to us.
Aside from the Bible, I find God usually speaks directly to my heart. You could describe it as a feeling, an impression, an intuition, or a thought in my conscience. Before Jesus was crucified, he sat down with his disciples and told them he would send the Holy Spirit to guide his followers (John 16:13). The apostle Paul explained that God “put his Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22), so it makes sense that the Holy Spirit would guide us by speaking to our hearts. In scriptures about the Spirit speaking to people, this was most likely what was happening. Because “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts” (Galatians 4:6), we, too—to use the words of Gordon Smith—have the “possibility of intimacy with Christ” and a “kind of immediacy to our relationship with God.”1
Do I Need to Listen?
While I came to recognize that God does speak to people today, one thing that began to annoy me was when I heard people say that I have to listen more closely to hear God’s voice. Preachers would often emphasize that God has “a still small voice.” I thought, Can’t God speak loudly enough? When I looked in the Bible, it seemed to me that people were not unsure of when the Lord spoke to them. For example, leading up to Paul’s conversion to Christianity, he was walking on the road to Damascus, and he heard a voice plainly say, “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4). Couldn’t God speak to me like that? Experiences like Paul’s would remove any sense of uncertainty I might have about when God is speaking.
As I read my Bible, I was happy to find that God could and sometimes does speak loudly. David wrote,
The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of
Lebanon.
(PSALM 29:3–5)
That is the kind of God I wanted to experience. A powerful God—a God who speaks out of fire on mountains (Deuteronomy 5:4) and whose voice scares the living daylights out of sinners.
Nevertheless, in spite of God’s ability to speak loudly, the Lord can and does sometimes speak quietly. God told Elijah to go stand on a mountain so God could address him. There was a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but the Lord instead chose to speak through “a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). And so, all those pastors who told me that God generally communicates with “a still small voice” were right. In fact, “gentle whisper” is translated as “a still small voice” in the King James Version. And more often than not, it seems God chooses to speak quietly, in our hearts.
While it might seem really spiritual to hear God speak loudly (it’s always nice to have a fascinating story to tell other people), I eventually realized that sometimes the reason God speaks loudly to people is that they haven’t been listening. Again, Paul provides a good example. Paul had no doubt heard the gospel before he had a vision of Christ on the road to Damascus and his subsequent conversion experience, because if he hadn’t heard the gospel Christians were teaching, he wouldn’t have been trying to arrest them. Until his encounter with Jesus, however, Paul resisted God’s call to repentance and faith in Christ. As a result, the Lord spoke more clearly to Paul as he walked on the road to Damascus.
Similarly, I have listened to some Christians tell captivating stories of their call to engage in some particular type of ministry and how God made it abundantly clear through some miraculous event what they were supposed to do. In many cases, though, even before the miraculous event, the Lord had already spoken to these people about engaging in ministry, but because they were resisting God’s guidance, God spoke loudly. Therefore, if God does choose to speak loudly to someone, it doesn’t necessarily mean that person is more spiritual or more in tune with the Spirit than the next person.
God Is Speaking
Because God often speaks quietly, we don’t always hear. Or perhaps the issue isn’t so much that we don’t hear God, but that we aren’t always aware God is speaking. On numerous occasions I have listened to Christians ask, “Why isn’t God talking to me? Why didn’t the Lord answer me? Why can’t I hear the Spirit right now? Why doesn’t God answer me when I pray?” In the Bible, Job had similar questions. He suffered the loss of his family, wealth, health, possessions, and friends. And, like so many people in the midst of suffering, Job challenged God: “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me” (Job 30:20). Job also lamented, “Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me” (Job 31:35). Finally a response came:
Why do you complain to him [God] that he responds to no one’s words? For God does speak—now one way, now another—though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings. (Job 33:13–16)
Like Job, sometimes we are not aware of the ways God is speaking to us.2 But if we learn to listen, we will hear them—or, better stated, we will be more aware of what we are hearing.
You’ve Already Heard God
The first time I remember hearing the Spirit speak to me was when I was nine years old. I s
at in my hard pew one Sunday morning, listening to the guest preacher end his message. From behind the pulpit he asked if anyone would like to dedicate their lives to following Jesus. My heart thumped like the foot of a nervous rabbit. My Sunday-school teachers had asked my class the same thing on more than one occasion. But until that morning, I had determined that I would wait until I was older and had the chance to enjoy life awhile longer, that is, sin a little, before I would become a believer—maybe in my twenties, when it was time to get married.
That Sunday morning, however, the Spirit was urging me not to wait any longer. And so I bowed my head and prayed, “God, I want to live my life for Jesus.” If you had a conversion experience similar in any way to mine, you have heard God speak. You might have even heard God speak by calling you to faith numerous times before you became a believer.
The biblical parable about a shepherd and his sheep illustrates the ability of believers to know the voice of God. Jesus said,
Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. (John 10:1–5)
Jesus then explained the story: “I am the good shepherd. . . . My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (vv. 11, 27). Jesus didn’t say that his sheep might know his voice, but that they do “know his voice” (v. 4). In this story Jesus is first and foremost talking about salvation (vv. 9, 28). Therefore, if you are saved today, you have already responded to the Savior’s voice. But the story doesn’t only apply to salvation. Jesus didn’t merely say that his sheep knew (past) his voice, but that they know (present) his voice.
Even though you might not think of yourself as someone who knows the Lord’s voice, I suspect you have heard God in many ways.3 Have you ever heard the Spirit speak through the Bible? Maybe a verse jumped out at you. When we read the Bible, we don’t just ponder the things the Lord said “once upon a time,” but we are confronted with the very voice of God speaking to us today. In times like this, the Scripture not only teaches about God and how we should live, but it also becomes a place where we encounter the living God.
Have you ever heard God speak to you through a sermon or during a time of worship? Have you ever felt a strong urge to pray for someone? Perhaps the Spirit has prompted you to encourage someone by sending them a note or phoning them. Has the Lord ever spoken to you about something you’ve done wrong or were about to do wrong? I am usually pretty good at hearing from God about my sin. Quite likely you have already heard the Spirit speak to you many times. You can even ask God right now: When is the last time you spoke to me?
Not What You Expect
One reason we aren’t aware of the times God speaks to us is that when it happens, it isn’t always what we might expect. Many students who come into my office only desire to hear the Lord’s voice so God will help them make difficult life decisions, like what job to take or where to live, but they usually aren’t so thrilled with hearing from the Spirit about the ways they need to stop sinning. God, however, doesn’t want to be our free psychic hotline—God wants a close and personal relationship with us.
God may direct you regarding your future, but I’ve noticed that when God told a person in the Bible to go somewhere, they usually weren’t seeking divine direction. Rather, the Lord just gave them direction. For example, Abraham (called Abram at the time) lived with his family in Harran for decades and likely anticipated living there for a long time. He didn’t seem to have any reason to wonder about where to move next. And then, out of the blue, God told him, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). But God spoke to Abraham about more than just where to live. For example, God told Abraham, “Do not be afraid” (Genesis 15:1).
God speaks for all kinds of reasons. A couple of days after we buried our stillborn baby, God spoke to encourage my wife. It was Krista’s first time returning to the grave after we buried Avery. As the van rolled up to the cemetery gate, a song started playing on the radio. Krista listened as the singer declared how God does not abandon us in our sorrow. And as the tears slid down her cheeks, the song assured her that God holds our tears.4
Krista then stood by Avery’s grave, reflecting and praying. When she got back in the van, another song immediately began to play. It held her captive to that spot near the grave. Through that song, God reassured her again: even though we might feel alone, God holds us in our moments of suffering. And because God even cares for the flowers (Matthew 6:28– 30) and the sparrows (Matthew 10:29–31), we can be sure that God will hold our tomorrows.5 More than she needed direction for her future, that day Krista needed to hear the words she had heard so many times in Sunday school as a child: “He’s got the whole world in his hands.”
Sometimes the Lord may speak because you need correction. One time I was thinking about how ignorant somebody sounded, and God spoke to me by warning me not to be self-righteous about knowledge. Sometimes “the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16). At times God may speak to assure you that even though God isn’t going to change the difficult situation you are in, God’s “grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Other times, you may ask God a question, and God won’t answer you. The Lord is not obliged to answer you or respond in the way you want.
Silence
Some people experience silence from God because they actually don’t want to hear from God (Deuteronomy 18:16). Most Christians I come across who find God silent, however, truly do long to hear from God, yet for some reason they just aren’t hearing anything. They are sometimes left feeling unspiritual and asking many questions. The problem is, we can’t force the Lord to speak. If you are struggling and not hearing God speak for whatever reason, please know you are not alone. Many biblical authors struggled with times of silence from God too. David lamented, “Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief” (Psalm 22:2, author’s paraphrase). At times like this, it is important that we continue to declare our faith and trust to God, as David did in the next verse: “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” (v. 3 NLT).
Even when we don’t hear from God, we can be assured that the Lord is still at work in our lives, because “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). If you are in a place where you are not currently hearing from God, consider asking God if there is a reason and what you can do about it. Perhaps God is using silence to get your attention.
Testing Content
Hopefully you are not experiencing silence from God. Hopefully you realize that you have heard and have been hearing the Spirit speak. Nevertheless, when you do hear from God, it won’t always be clear that it is God speaking to you. Pretty much everyone I talk to about hearing from God agrees that you will sometimes need to discern if you are hearing from God or not, no matter how long you have been a Christian.
Some Christians get anxious about discerning whether they are hearing from God or the Devil. No believer wants to follow the Devil’s voice. The negative result is that some people decide discerning the Spirit’s voice is too difficult and, therefore, they choose to stop listening to God altogether. Not listening to the Lord, however, may be just as dangerous for our lives as listening to the Devil. We must remind ourselves that God does speak. And we need to have more confidence in God’s ability to address us than in Satan’s ability to deceive us.6 Rather than giving up on hearing from God, we should “test everything; hold
fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21 NRSV).
Whenever we believe we are hearing from God, we should test the content of the message. This starts by comparing what we are hearing in our hearts to how God has spoken in the Bible. If what you have heard contradicts the Scripture, you obviously have not heard from God. For example, the Spirit would not tell a person that because their spouse is ignoring them, it is okay to commit adultery; the Lord has already unambiguously condemned adultery in the Bible (Mark 10:19).
Group Discernment
Sometimes what you think you hear from God does not contradict anything from the Bible, but it still might not be from God. A story from the pastor of a church near Chicago, illustrates this point:
In the early 1990s, I was in the process of recuperating from a time of burnout and over-commitment. At my lowest point during that season of extreme exhaustion—when I was emotionally fried—a business friend of mine from out of state made an offer for me to join his company. It was an exciting and lucrative offer, and I truly thought that God might be calling me to leave church work and re-enter the marketplace.
I was quite confident that I had heard God’s voice . . . Nothing in Scripture would prohibit me from going back to my original career in the marketplace. . . .
Somewhat begrudgingly, I called together a few spiritual mentors and other people whose opinions and perspectives I genuinely trust, and who understood my current state of exhaustion. I described the offer I was considering, then sat back and listened to their response. To a person, they said, “ . . . you are in no condition right now to make such a sweeping decision about your future. Even if you believe that God is steering you in this direction, we implore you to wait three months and then reevaluate at that time.”
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