Discerning God's Voice

Recently I just read a book by Priscilla Shirer called 'Discerning the Voice of God'. I was very ministered by what she shared in the book and I thought of sharing it with you. This book came at a point of time when God has been reminding me of John 10:27 'My sheep listen to My voice' just as I stepped up to be the care leader of a group. I knew that He was giving me an assurance that I was not alone in under-shepherding His sheep. I cannot underestimate the importance of hearing His voice as I took on this responsibility.

When I read this book, I was heartened to know that many of God's messages for the past few years, especially the past year was mentioned by the author. What I had been through, others had been through it too. It confirmed what I heard from God all along was correct, though sometimes the message might be bizarre, mostly going against the grain of this world.

In a world where we hear so many different voices, it can be hard to discern which is God's voice. Yet the bible promises us that we, His sheep listen to His voice, just like a newborn baby naturally listen to his dad's voice. Over the years, I learnt how to discern Jesus' voice from others as I got to know Him more intimately and responded to His voice. Eventually I come to know Him well enough to discern if He was speaking simply by asking 'Does this sound like God's voice? Is it in line with the character of a loving Father?' Over time I found out the characteristics of His voice and the resulting effects on me.

Firstly, I know that His voice will never cause me to be afraid for He has given me a spirit of power, not timidity. Many times we find Jesus telling his disciples and the people 'Don't be afraid.' His message will never cause fear in my heart for perfect love drives out fear. Fear has to do with punishment. His message always bring good news eventually for we, believers, will forever have hope because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross.

Secondly, I have never found myself being condemned by His voice. Even if I did something out of wrong motives, He will convict me of that but He always do it lovingly. Then He will remind me that I am washed clean by the blood of Jesus and convict me of righteousness in Christ, not my sin. As I repented, He would often provide a solution and give me another chance to respond rightly. That is the grace of God.

Thirdly, I know God is speaking when what He tells me to do is challenging and I cannot do it without His anointing and His help. I have noticed that most times His instructions are either absurd or strange but when I obeyed anyway, I saw His plan and His purpose. I have also come to understand the importance of obeying immediately when He speaks. For example, if He tells me to witness to a stranger, and if I missed the opportunity, I might never see the person again.

Fourthly, we can separate God's voice from the enemy by the effect it has on us and our circumstances. His word always bring peace, joy and life in our spirit. We can feel a quickening in our spirit as it comes alive and then we experience an undescribable joy after He speaks. The feeling is as if our hearts jumped a beat. We will also feel very loved by God as He addresses our personal situation showing that He cares for us and we are always on His mind.

God's word always produces clear results. One of the evidences that God has spoken is when things in our lives change dramatically. Many times the effect of His voice is immediate. When you see things changing quickly without any help from you, you will know that the Lord has spoken and He is up to something. When He begins to move, the results will be immediate and obvious. Sometimes, His moves are very sudden, so when He tells you to prepare, it is best to obey quickly because you might not have the time to do so when He moves. By then, you will know without a doubt that God is performing what He has spoken. And often the first change you will see won't be in your circumstances...it will be in you!

Lastly, we can recognise that God has spoken when there is an obvious change that leads us and others to focus our attention on Jesus, learn more about Jesus and sing praises about Him. Hearing from God is so exciting because you can be totally sure that when God speaks, things change! God is bound by what He speaks and He speaks primarily through the Word of God. The closer you are in communion with God, the clearer you hear His voice!