7 Strong Biblical Ways to Hear God’s Voice

7 Strong Biblical Ways to Hear God’s Voice

Something that I have been working on lately is understanding how to hear God’s voice. I have been saved for over 10 years now and honestly, it hasn’t been until recently that I had this strong desire to really hear from the Lord. 

I mean, yes I have heard from God many times throughout my life as a born-again Christian, but I want to hear from Him even more. We have this relationship with God but we do most of the talking. Don’t you want to have that balance in the relationship where God is able to speak more to you? Our lives are so busy and we get bombarded by so many distractions and obstacles that we often forget to give God the time to respond to us. We say a quick prayer then we are on our way. We open the Bible, read a few chapters, close it, then life goes on.

Why is it Important to Hear God’s Voice

It is important for us to hear God’s voice because He wants us to have a relationship with Him, and so we want to hear from Him as much as He enjoys hearing from us. When you have a relationship with someone, it is a two-way street. We often find ourselves doing most of the talking when we are praying to God, but we need to learn how to be still and listen to Him respond to us.

God is our Heavenly Father and He created us in His image and for His glory in this world. We are all created with a unique purpose and plan for our lives.

If you want to actively grow and mature in the faith, you will want to hear from God. 

If you want to submit to God and do His Will in your life, rather than taking control, you will want to hear God’s voice.

If you want to actively walk in the spirit each day, denying the desires of the flesh, and putting on the new man, you will want to hear what God has to say. 

He is the one who knows every single thing about you. God is the only one who knows what is and isn’t best for you. Allowing God to guide you and direct your steps in your life requires you to pay attention to Him and what He has to say. 

Want to spiritually grow in the faith? Check out my devotionals here!

How to Decipher Between Hearing from God vs the Devil

There are many different ways that we can hear from God, and one of them is through the thoughts we have in our mind. For example, I was praying about this blog of mine and whether or not I should keep working on it. I had some time off and I prayed to God about what to do. I was walking into the kitchen one day and in my mind a thought randomly popped up which was “continue with your blog”. Now I believe that that was God talking to me and answering a prayer of mine.

But do note that not all thoughts that we have are from God. The devil loves to put negative thoughts and feelings into our mind. This can become a weakness for us and a weapon for the enemy to bring you down. He will constantly belittle you and ridicule you and put all sorts of mean and nasty thoughts into your head to make you anxiety, depressed, miserable and discouraged in your faith. 

This is why you need to know the difference between hearing from God and the devil. God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. He does not belittle us or discourage us. God lifts us up through His Word. God loves us and cares about us so much. 

Anything that you are thinking or feeling that is negative, worrisome, and so on, is from the devil. 

Examples of God’s Voice Versus the Devil’s

I will give you a few examples of what I mean by the difference between God’s voice and the devil’s. 

God will encourage you. He will answer your prayers that brings peace and confirmation. There are no negative or discouraging thoughts or feelings. God is love and He is a very kind, graceful, loving God who deeply cares about you, wants to bless you and wants to have a relationship with you. 

The devil, on the other hand, will put negative thoughts and feelings into your mind to bring you confusion, anger, sadness, depression, anxiety and so forth. He will belittle you – saying things like you are worthless, you are ugly, you are useless, you are no good. 

7 Biblical Ways to Hear God’s Voice

Here are 7 Biblical ways to hear God’s voice. 

1. Reading the Bible

2 Timothy 3:16 – “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

God IS the Word. When you are reading through the scriptures, you are hearing from God. The Bible was written by man, but inspired and authored from God. Before you read your Bible each day, say a prayer to God asking Him to help you understand the scriptures, and to hear from Him in His Word. Ask Him to show you what you need to hear that day. You will find that there will be some scriptures that will pop out and you might think to yourself, I needed to hear that, or I understand that more, or that relates to my current situation. That is God speaking to you through the Word. 

2. Practice Being Still

Psalm 46:10(a) – “Be still, and know that I am God:”

After you read the Bible, or after you pray, practice being still in the presence of the Lord. Just sit there for 10 minutes or something and close your eyes and ask for God to speak to you. Get away from any distractions and find a quiet place to stop and be still. See what God has to say. He might put something on your mind or heart, or you might be able to hear from Him audibly. Ask for God to speak to you. Quiet your mind so that you can hear what He has to say.

3. Fasting

Joel 2:12 – “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:”

When we fast, we are denying our flesh and wanting to grow closer in the spirit. We often fast because we want to seek an answer to prayer from God. I believe that during this time you can hear from God and see what He has to say about a situation or prayer that you have been asking God for help with. 

4. Prayer

John 15:7 – ” If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”

Philippians 4:6 – “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God”

When we pray to God, it is a direct form of communication between us and Him. We often do all of the talking when we are praying, but at the end, if you stop and ask for God to speak back to you, give yourself time and space to listen to Him. 

5. Thoughts in the Mind

2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”

Romans 12:2 – “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”

Like I had shared before, God can put certain thoughts on our minds that can be an answer to prayer. But make sure that you understand how to tell the difference between God’s voice and the devil’s. 

6. Sermons at Church

Acts 20:28 – “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood”

Matthew 18:20 – “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”

Make sure that you are going to a Bible-believing Church that preaches the truth of the Word. The Pastor should be on fire for Christ and you should be able to KNOW that he hears from God. One way of knowing is when you are listening to the sermon and it just completely relates to you. You are thinking to yourself, I really needed to hear that, or I am going through that right now and that was so encouraging to hear. God speaks to us through the Pastor at Church in his sermons BECAUSE the Pastor is guided by the Holy Spirit on what to say. 

7. Messages from Others

1 John 4:1 – “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world”

Sometimes we can receive messages from God through others. In the Bible we often see messengers delivering messages to others. There were also prophets and preachers giving warnings to the people about repentance and making things right with God. In the New Testament, Paul wrote many letters to different Churches correcting them on their behavior, encouraging them in the faith, and so on. I believe that people can hear from God and have a message from others, but I would still pray about it and bring it to God to make sure that it is legitimate first. 

Seek God First

I pray that this encourages you to grow closer to God and actively be still and want to listen to Him. We need to do our best to not get carried away with our busy lives and give as much time in the day as we can to spending it with the Lord. Put God first in your life. He is always there for you.