I will forever be grateful that I heeded their wise advice. Within a couple of months I did get healthier, and I began to see things more clearly. As I fell in love with my ministry role once more, I realized how much I would have missed if I had gotten that one decision wrong.7
This story illustrates another important way to test the content of a message: discuss what you have heard with other people you trust within the Christian community. Often when people hear from God, they are reluctant to share it with others because they fear they are wrong. When you discuss with others, however, you can find encouragement, particularly if you conclude you have indeed heard from the Lord. Furthermore, it can save you heartache, if you discern that you haven’t heard from God.
We see the principle of group discernment practiced in the Bible. Before Paul and Barnabas embarked on their first missionary journey, the Holy Spirit spoke to the church and told them to set Barnabas and Paul apart for their mission journey. Only after “they had fasted and prayed” did the church commission Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:3). Paul and Barnabas did not make the decision to go out as missionaries by themselves. Rather, “they”—the church—concluded this was the right thing to do. Group discernment took place again during Paul’s second missionary journey. Only Paul had a vision of a man in Macedonia calling to him for help, but it was the whole group of people traveling with him who concluded that God called them to go and preach in Macedonia (Acts 16:9–10).
Wisdom and Waiting
Friends can also help you discern if what you think you have heard from God is wise. Proverbs 12:15 teaches us that “the way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” Even though the Bible often affirms the value of wisdom and seeking wise counsel (Proverbs 4:7; James 1:5), some people think one way to confirm that a message is from God is if it is not wise “from a human perspective.” They usually quote Isaiah 55:8, where the Lord says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” as though this scripture indicates a general rule about God’s plans for us. The previous verse, however, clarifies that the manner in which the Lord’s ways differ from human ways is that if “the wicked forsake their ways and . . . turn to the LORD,” God “will have mercy on them” and even “freely pardon” them. In other words, the Lord’s ways differ from people’s ways because God will forgive freely. Therefore, when God says, “My ways are not your ways,” it does not mean that God only desires things for us that seem unwise from a human perspective. It is possible that in some instances God may ask you to do something that seems unwise from some human perspectives, but this is not a general rule about how God works.
If God does ask you to do something that doesn’t immediately seem wise, wait and see if God confirms it in another way. For example, one day I peered out my window through the blinds and found that an ambulance was parked across the road at my neighbor’s house. Right then, God directed me to walk across the road and offer to pray for my neighbor. I didn’t think it was wise. I thought I might just be getting in the way of the paramedics or my neighbor might think I was being nosy. Still, I sensed the Spirit telling me I should hike over and offer to pray. Nevertheless, I closed the blinds and went back to preparing supper. Of course, my young and curious children kept peeking out the living room window to see what was going on across the street. I kept thinking about what God had said and was even debating with God about it. Then, one of my daughters said, “You should go pray for them.” I smiled. I put on my flip flops and walked across the street ready to pray because I knew God was gently confirming for me what the Spirit had already spoken to my heart.
Another important way to test the content of a message you believe you have heard from the Lord is to wait and see if the prompting from God lasts. Taking this time will allow you to discern if it was really God speaking to you, or if you just had a temporary desire or whim.
Recognizing God’s Voice
To summarize the last few sections of this chapter, first, when you think you are hearing from God, you should test the content of the message against the Scripture. Second, you can ask trusted friends in the Christian community what they think about what you heard, including their thoughts about the wisdom of the idea. Third, you can wait to see if the prompting from God remains, being confirmed in other ways as well. Unfortunately, sometimes these tests regarding the content of the message don’t always work—that is, they don’t always help clarify things for you, or they aren’t practical. For example, what if you are in a church service and you believe God is telling you to go pray for an individual right then and there? You know it is biblical to pray for other people, but it isn’t practical to ask someone what they think about the idea, and you probably don’t have the time to wait to see if the prompting from God lasts. Situations like this show the importance of not only testing the content of the message you think you hear but also learning to discern what God’s voice sounds like when God speaks to you so you can recognize it in the future.
You might be frustrated with the suggestion that you need to learn to recognize God’s voice, just as I was once frustrated with the idea that I need to listen better to hear God speak, as though God can’t speak loudly. The problem, if we can call it a problem, is that when the Spirit speaks to your heart and mind, God doesn’t promise to give you big, special, profound thoughts that will stand out radically from other thoughts you might have. You might expect that if God is going to communicate to you through a dream, for example, it won’t be like a normal dream—it will be a dream-dream—that is, an out-of-the-ordinary, super-spectacular dream. But God’s voice doesn’t always stand out in a majestic way. It is encouraging, though, that just as you learn to recognize the voice of your friends on the phone, you can also learn to better recognize the voice of God.
When God does speak to people, they often write it off as something else. They might think, That is just me, or, It must be what I ate last night. When God spoke to Samuel, he didn’t immediately recognize God’s voice either. The Lord had called for Samuel, but Samuel figured it was Eli the priest calling him. After Samuel had made this mistake three times, Eli told him to respond to God: “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). You might think Samuel should have recognized God’s voice, especially since it seems Samuel heard a literal, audible voice. But, like many people today, Samuel came up with another explanation for what he heard.
Is It God?
I have found that God speaks differently to different people, so you will have to discern how the Lord communicates with you. The primary way you can learn to recognize God’s voice is by getting used to recognizing it over time as you confirm times when the Lord has indeed been speaking to you.
One way to do this is by considering the fruit or outcome of the particular voice or prompting you have followed. Does the voice lead you in a generally disruptive or peaceful direction? How does the voice affect your relationship with God? If the voice consistently leads you to hurt people or to bad outcomes, there is a good chance the voice you heard was not from God.
This is not to say God will only ask you to do things that will make your life better or easier. When the Israelites were in slavery in Egypt, the Lord directed Moses to confront Pharaoh and tell him to free the Israelites. Moses eventually obeyed, but Pharaoh responded by telling the Egyptian slave drivers to push the Israelites harder in their work of making bricks. Things got harder for Moses, too, because the Israelites blamed Moses for their hardship (Exodus 5:21–23). Despite this hardship, Moses was confident he had heard from God because God confirmed it to Moses through miraculous signs (Exodus 4:2–7). Moreover, the Lord’s direction ultimately saved Moses and the Israelites through their mass exodus out of Egypt (Exodus 12:31–34).
In addition to considering the outcomes of following the voice you hear, when you think you are hearing from the Lord, it can also be beneficial to ask God who is speaking. If God can talk to you about other things, then God can certainly clarify for you
if it is really God speaking. I remember asking God once, “Is that really you, God?” and the Lord responded quite plainly, “No way!”
Another helpful way to recognize God’s voice is to begin by identifying ways you have already heard the Spirit speaking to you. I have found I am really good at hearing the Lord when God talks to me about sin in my life. Because I can recognize God’s voice when God communicates to me in that way, I can also hear the Lord speaking to me in the same way, but about other things.
Practice Listening
If we are going to hear from God and recognize God’s voice, we need to practice listening to God. Perhaps it would be better to say we need to take more time for our relationship with God. The Lord wants to have a relationship with us, not just to tell us fascinating things. And as we build our relationship with God, we recognize God’s voice more. But listening means more than just spending time praying, if by praying we only mean talking to God. To hear God and grow in relationship with God, we must make room for a two-way conversation. We might even ask the Lord some questions.
Many Christians find that the main way they hear from God is through the Bible, so one way to practice listening to God is by starting there. As you read the Bible, don’t just study it or read a devotional about it, but also ask if God has anything to tell you through it. And then take some time to listen to God. Sometimes I hear the Lord speaking to me as I am reading the Bible, and other times not until after I have finished reading and am praying about what I read.
We can also practice listening to the Lord for the sake of ministering to other people. God often speaks to us when we are already following God’s will, and we know God desires us to “serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13). When I read the Bible, especially in the New Testament, I see that most of the times God speaks is for the purpose of directing people to minister to others. I’m not saying God will tell us everything we should do in ministry—God has already made clear much of what we are supposed to do, like giving to those in need—but sometimes God will give us more specific direction.
One day I had a layover in a big international airport. I already knew God is pleased when we share the gospel with people, but as I wandered around the airport, I invited God to direct me to someone. I sensed the Lord telling me to stroll over to where a young man was sitting in a row of seats, leafing through a book. I didn’t want to be rude and disrupt him, but I sat down beside him anyhow. I noticed he was holding a book on the religions of the world. The fact that this young man was already thinking about religion and spirituality confirmed for me that it was indeed God speaking to me. I asked him where he was from and about the book he was reading, and we ended up having a lengthy conversation. By the time I walked away, he said he was going to give the church he grew up in another try.
Reengage
If you’ve given up on hearing from God because you have been turned off by others who have made false claims about hearing God’s voice, I encourage you to reengage God. No doubt you will also sometimes be wrong about hearing from God. I have been. But that is okay. We make all kinds of mistakes while learning math, and, while those mistakes can be frustrating, sometimes very frustrating, they are just part of the learning process. In the same way, over time you can learn to recognize God’s voice better. I believe the Lord would say to some of you today what God said to Jeremiah: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).
Thank you, Lord, that you are not silent, but you speak to us by the Holy Spirit. Please help us become more aware of when you are speaking to us. Help us also obey when we do hear your voice. Forgive us for any times we have turned you into a psychic hotline. Help us aim for intimacy with you instead.
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
1.Do you get more frustrated or excited at the prospect of hearing the Spirit speak?
2.Has anything in this chapter led you to change your thinking about how God speaks or what God might speak to you about?
3.What are some ways and reasons God has spoken to you in the past?
4.Has God ever spoken to you at a time when you weren’t asking God anything?
5.If someone came to you and said, “I think God might be speaking to me about something,” how would you help that person discern whether they were hearing from God?
CHAPTER 4
CRAZY TALK?
Praying in Tongues
We leaned against the wall in the bathroom, trying to sort out the new experience my friend had just had in the service. He had a what just happened? look on his face and a twinkle in his eye. And he was grinning like he’d just found a twenty-dollar bill on the ground. He was asking the kinds of questions most people ponder when they first speak in tongues. Is it just me? Can I speak in tongues again? Am I crazy? It makes sense that he was asking such questions because the experience can seem peculiar. For those who aren’t from a Pentecostal or Charismatic background, tongues are sometimes viewed as nothing more than unintelligent noises those “crazy” charismatics make because they don’t know any better. At least this is a little more charitable than accusing people who speak in tongues of being demon possessed! Even those who speak in tongues can feel strange and nervous about it. And they might not want others to hear them doing it. After all, some weird Christians speak in tongues, and we certainly don’t want to be like them.
Many people from back in the days of the New Testament also experienced a sense of uncertainty when they heard others speaking in tongues. On the day of Pentecost, a group of believers was baptized in the Holy Spirit and they “began to speak in other tongues” (Acts 2:4). Some who heard them were “amazed and perplexed” (Acts 2:12). Others made fun of them and accused them of being drunk, saying, “They have had too much wine” (Acts 2:13). It seems the apostle Paul also encountered adverse reactions to speaking in tongues because he warned the Corinthians that when people are doing this, others might accuse them of being “out of [their] mind” (1 Corinthians 14:23).
A Bad Reputation
Beyond the adverse reaction people might have when other people speak in tongues, some Christians have become antagonistic to the practice because of the way certain Christians have treated those who haven’t spoken tongues. A friend of mind told me about his grandparents who were required to sit in the back pew at their Pentecostal church because they didn’t speak in tongues. Another friend of mine explained how she was pressured to speak in tongues when she attended church camp as a child. As some leaders were praying for her to be filled with the Spirit and to speak in tongues, they encouraged her by declaring that they were willing to stay in the chapel to pray all day and all night until she was filled with the Spirit. She wasn’t too thrilled with this prospect—she wanted to get out of the chapel service and back to the rest of the campers before it was time to go to the canteen. So she faked it. And then she skipped away from the chapel service with the camp counselors praising God behind her. Such experiences don’t inspire people to be open to the practice of praying in tongues.
The practice has also developed a bit of a bad reputation because of some seemingly critical comments the apostle Paul made regarding it. In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul warned that when people speak in tongues, “no one understands them” (v. 2) and that, as a result, no one can say, “Amen,” in response (v. 16). He also emphasized that he would rather have the Corinthians prophesy than speak in tongues (v. 5), because when a person speaks in tongues, others are not encouraged or strengthened (v. 17). Beyond this, Paul described speaking in tongues as “speaking into the air” (v. 9), and he stressed, “In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (v. 19).
When we read all the cautions Paul gave regarding speaking in tongues, we have to remember that he wrote 1 Corinthians as a letter to a dysfunctional church. When I remember this, I realize the New Testament years were not always “the good old days.” Besides the sexua
l immorality present in the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 5:1–5 and chapter 6), believers there were arguing with each other (1:11). To encourage church unity, Paul emphasized that the church was gathered together by the Spirit to function as the body of Christ (12:12–27). And Paul reminded them that they—the church—were a temple of the Holy Spirit that must not be destroyed (3:16–17). The Corinthian church was divided over the use of spiritual gifts, and speaking in tongues in particular. So Paul tried to encourage church unity among the Corinthians by writing to them about the correct use of spiritual gifts. We read about this in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14.
Once we understand that Paul was writing to correct and even rebuke certain abuses among the Corinthians, it becomes easy to understand why he said so many things that seem critical about speaking in tongues. Nevertheless, in the midst of this, he also expressed a sense of joy about the practice, when it happens appropriately: “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:5), he declared; and also, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (v. 18). Beyond just speaking in tongues, Paul also practiced the joy of singing in tongues (v. 15). This might be what he had in mind when he wrote about “spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19 ESV).
Praying in Tongues
In this chapter I focus specifically on praying in tongues, but people can speak in tongues in another way: namely, the gift of tongues accompanied by interpretation, which sometimes happens in a congregational worship setting. Paul himself made a distinction between a person praying in tongues and a person giving a message in tongues for a congregation: “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:18–19). We see in these two verses a contrast between his practice of praying in tongues and his speaking “in the church.” Earlier in the chapter, Paul explicitly referred to praying in tongues when he said, “If I pray in a tongue . . .” (v. 14). We also find numerous instances of praying in tongues throughout the book of Acts, times where there was no expectation that tongues needed interpretation.1 This experience of praying in tongues—what some people refer to as a prayer language or spiritual language—is my focus in this chapter.
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