How do I know if God is speaking?
God constantly spoke to His people in the Old and New Testaments, and He continues to do so today since He is the same today as He was yesterday. It's just a matter of figuring out how to know if God is speaking to me.
I once found it annoying when people would say, "God told me this, or God told me that,". It seems that every thought they have is a revelation from God. I learned that God wants to speak to His children and that He speaks to us only when we need Him or when He wants to guide us on the right path. Let me share my personal experience with you on how I know If God is speaking?
“We often aren’t hearing God’s voice simply because we are not paying attention1”
How do I know if God is Speaking?-My Experience
Let’s get straight to the point. I used to go to a Pentecostal church. Pentecostal churches strongly believe in the gifts of the spirit, specifically the gift of speaking in tongues. The gifts I’m referencing are found in 1st Corinthians 12. Because Pentecostal churches embraced the gifts of the spirit, we were taught that anyone that has been baptized in the Holy Spirit can operate in any of the gifts of the Spirit. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for someone to tell you something that the Lord told them to say. They would prophesy over your life, proclaiming what thus sayth the Lord.
Because this was such a regular occurrence, it became incredibly important to know if what they proclaimed was coming from God. People get “moved” in the spirit and think that because they may know something about your current situation, they are proclaiming the Word of God. In my experience most people mean no harm but just because it's encouraging news, doesn’t mean it is from God.
So How Do I Know if a “Word” is from God or Not?
The question is: How do I determine if someone's "word" comes from God or their perspective? This question is very interesting! Let’s explore what do Bible says about this.
The Bible says “…In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established”. I’ve found that when a Word has come from the Lord, I heard it first in my prayer time. The person is merely confirming something I already heard in the Spirit. I’ve had instances where I’ve been in my prayer and study time and God spoke to me, but I felt that I needed confirmation or even clarification.
I’ll pray for God to confirm and in a conversation or even a commercial on tv will speak to the matter of concern. It first came to me then from another; two people establishing the word. When God has already spoken something in your spirit and a person gives you “what thus sayth the Lord” you can be assured that God is speaking to you using that individual.
Another accurate way to determine if a “word” is from God or not, is to confirm it in scripture. The Bible is the infallible Word of God. It's how we get to know His love for us, His voice, character, and instructions for living a life pleasing to Him. So, if a word comes to you from someone claiming thus sayth the Lord, find out if it contradicts the Word of God! The Lord will never go against His Word. God is not a man that He shall lie to nor the son of man that He should repent. Hold tight to that Word! It's incredibly important to study your Bible so that you know when something is in contradiction or not.
If the Word is Leading You to the Righteous Path, it’s the Word of God
The prophets of old were all about correction and driving the people to repentance, so if the Word of the Lord is coming to you bringing righteous correction and convicting you to do right according to the Word of God, then you can also bet that it came from the Lord. Don’t be deceived into thinking that just because something is morally right, it's Biblically right. There is a difference. You’ll only know the difference by spending time with God in His Word.
So What is the Number One Way You May Ask?
Ultimately, the best way to know if a Word is from the Lord is to be in a relationship with the Lord. Think about it. If someone came up to you and said your mother or someone very close to you said, “this and that” but you know your mother would never speak in that way, how could you be so sure? It's because we have spent time learning with those close to us. Some of us can even hear their responses to a matter before we even brought it to them.
Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I knew you were gonna say that!”, that’s because you KNOW that person. No one can lie to that person in front of you because you know their character, even their mannerisms. That’s how deeply we need to know God! The Bible says, “my sheep know my voice…” We know His voice because we know Him. If you’re unfamiliar with the voice of God, fear not! You can get to know Him through His Word! The Bible is there for you to get to know Him.
Epilogue
You might be asking God for guidance regarding changing professions, but you sense that He is advising you to stay. Perhaps you are praying for a loved one's health, and you read a passage in Scripture about healing, and you feel a sense of peace overtake you. That’s how God speaks to you.
I want you to be able to know God as much as you possibly can! Remember, there is one that seeks to deceive you! We must be able to discern God from the deceiver! We do that by getting into a relationship with God and that’s also how we gonna know whether God is speaking to us or Not.
By: Janese B. Williams