Hearing God’s voice | Orientation in the confusion of voices
Series: Simple. Quiet. Present. | Bible text: Hebrews 5:12–14; Romans 12:2
Recognising God’s voice is similar to recognising familiar voices: It takes relationship, experience and practice. God’s Spirit speaks to the spirit of man, but this message is filtered through personality, fears and desires. That is why impressions need to be tested – against the Bible, against the nature of Jesus and in dialogue with others. Mistakes are part of this. It is crucial to spend time with God and get to know his voice better and better.
At the thanksgiving party, we pastors were invited to play «Want to bet that…?» to recognise people based on their voice alone. We had five attempts. In the end, we struggled to recognise four voices correctly. Not perfect – but still successful. Although we got it wrong once, we still passed the bet. Afterwards, I resolved to talk more in future to the people whose voices we hadn’t recognised straight away. My hearing obviously still needs some training.
It is actually similar with the voice of God. Recognising it is often not easy either. Sometimes it takes us a while to understand that God is speaking to us. And sometimes we are wrong. But that is no reason to give up. We are allowed to make mistakes and still pass the «bet». It is not crucial that we never make mistakes. What matters is that we keep at it and learn to recognise God’s voice better and better.
Signal processing susceptible to interference
How does an electronic signal actually become an audible voice? The technical process looks something like this Signal / data → speech synthesis → digital-to-analogue conversion → loudspeaker → audible speech. It takes several processing steps for an electronic signal to become intelligible to us. Only then do we hear a voice.
Interestingly, there is also a kind of «signal processing» when God speaks. The Bible describes it as follows: «For you have not received a spirit of slavery, that you should fear again; but you have received a spirit of adoption, by which we cry out: Abba, dear Father! The spirit itself bears witness our spiritthat we are God’s children» (Romans 8:15f LUT).
Two spirits are mentioned here: the Spirit of God and our spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit. He is not simply an impersonal force, but Christ in us – His love, His power, His light and His thoughts. The spirit of man is not simply our mind. It is deeper than our thoughts – our innermost core, our spiritual identity. When God speaks, His message first reaches this innermost part of our being. There it arrives clear and unadulterated. A woman once told me that she sometimes experiences this like a «fire in the belly». An inner sense that God has spoken.
But then the real challenge begins. The impression has to pass through our soul and our mind. And that is exactly where it is interpreted. Everything God says passes through the filter of our personality – through our experiences, our culture, our fears, our desires and our knowledge. This is why this «signal processing» is susceptible to interference.
There are even situations in which God’s speech can be severely blocked. Luke 13:10ff tells of a woman who had been demonically afflicted for eighteen years. As a result, she was completely bent over and could no longer stand upright. The enemy had actually managed to bend a person away from the light. Burdens can also arise in the life of a Christian – emotional attachments, injuries or inner fixations – that impair our perception of God’s words. If you have the impression that such things are weighing on your life, it is good to accept pastoral help. God also uses other people to lift us up again.
In addition to such deeper stresses, there are also everyday interference signals.
One such interference signal for me, for example, is the fear of man. Sometimes I clearly feel inside that I should say or do something. But in order not to disappoint or offend anyone, I prefer to keep quiet. I often look back later and think: God had actually already pointed something out to me.
Another interference signal is a Excessive trust in one’s own gut feeling. Some people automatically think their intuition is God’s voice. But this can also be deceptive.
It is therefore important that we constantly check and adjust our «signal processing».
Shared experiences
When I’m in a room with lots of people, I can hear my wife’s voice among all the other voices – even when she’s sitting at the furthest table. A quick glance at her is often enough for me to realise immediately whether she might want to go home slowly. After thirty-four years of marriage, you know each other pretty well. This skill is not a technique. It is the result of relationship, time and shared experience.
It is very similar with the voice of God. Recognising it also requires familiarity, experience and spiritual maturity. The letter to the Hebrews describes it like this: «You have been Christians for so long now and should actually be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you the basics of God’s Word once again. You are like infants who can only drink milk but cannot eat solid food. But a person who feeds on milk is not yet very advanced in life and does not understand much about what it means to do what is right according to God’s Word. Solid food, on the other hand, is for people who are grown up and mature, who have learnt through experience to distinguish between good and evil» (Hebrews 5:12–14 NLB).
Here it becomes clear: Discernment grows through experience. You don’t get to know God’s voice overnight. It is a journey. We gain this experience when we regularly visit the «Tent of Meeting» and spend time with God. Not only with a prayer list, but also simply without a purpose – time with God because we seek his presence. And then we also have to take impressions seriously, scrutinise them, dare to take steps and sometimes make mistakes. Listening to God is not a technique, but a relationship. When we understand that the «Tent of Meeting» is about spending time with a friend, a sacred serenity comes into this topic.
Helpful criteria
The Bible gives a clear criterion for determining whether a message comes from God. «Now you may ask yourselves: «How can we recognise whether a message is from the LORD or not? If a prophet prophesies something in the name of the LORD and it does not come to pass, then his message is not from the LORD. That prophet has acted on his own authority and you should not listen to him» (Deuteronomy 18:21f NLB).
Interestingly, this criterion shows that it is often only in retrospect that we recognise whether something was really from God. This has two consequences.
Firstly, we should never claim that our opinion is one-to-one God’s voice. This would put pressure on others. Secondly, we can take courageous steps, even without absolute certainty. Listening to God’s voice is not an exact science. It also requires a certain willingness to experiment. If you have the impression that you should do something good for someone – call or visit them – then just do it. You may only realise afterwards whether this impulse came from God.
In addition to this basic principle, a few criteria help with testing:
- Does what you have heard correspond to the Bible? God does not contradict himself. I have already experienced a married person feeling attracted to someone else and saying that this was God’s guidance. But butterflies in the stomach are not the same as the fire of the Holy Spirit.
- Does it taste like Jesus? Everything that comes from God carries the flavour of faith, love and hope. Even when God corrects, there is something uplifting about his words.
- Does it fit my vocation or purpose? God usually leads us deeper into our calling step by step. If an impression suddenly demands a complete change of direction, we should examine it particularly carefully. As a young man, I had clear impressions that God was calling me into pastoral ministry. Later, I sometimes thought that I would rather retire to the driver’s cab of a locomotive. At such times, it helps to examine impressions carefully.
- Does it make me more like Jesus? Our life of faith is not simply about becoming a little more decent, but about being transformed into the original, which is Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
- Does it make Jesus great? The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus. If an impression puts myself in the spotlight, I should be careful.
- Do other people confirm it? Especially when strong emotions are involved, the advice of others is very important. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said: «The Christ in my brother is often stronger than the Christ in me.»
- Can I rejoice in the face of my finiteness? «Teach us to remember that we must die so that we may become wise» (Psalm 90:12 LUT). Sometimes it helps to look to eternity in order to recognise what really counts.
- Does it correspond to my thinking, which has been changed by co-evolution? «Therefore, do not orient yourselves to the behaviour and habits of this world, but allow God to transform you into new people by changing your way of thinking. Then you will know what God wants from you: it is what is good and pleases him and is completely in line with his will» (Romans 12:2 NLB). The more God shapes our thinking, the better we can use our common sense as a testing tool.
Our balance sheet at the game «Want to bet that…?«Three voices were recognised immediately, one only after some thought – and one was completely mixed up. Nevertheless, the bet was won. And perhaps this is a nice image for our life with God. We will not always recognise his voice perfectly. Sometimes we understand it immediately, sometimes only later, and sometimes we are wrong. But God does not expect perfection. If our mistakes lead us to make the resolution to spend more time with him, then we have actually already won. Because hearing God’s voice is ultimately not a question of the right technique. It is the fruit of a living relationship with Him.
Possible questions for the small groups
Read the Bible text: Hebrews 5:12–14
- What experiences have you had with hearing God’s voice or having an inner impression? What helped you to recognise whether it was really from God?
- What «interference signals» do you recognise from your own lifethat sometimes make it difficult for you to hear God’s voice (e.g. fear, other people’s expectations, your own desires, hectic pace)?
- What specifically helps you to spend time with God in the «Tent of Meeting»? Are there any habits or forms of silence that help you in particular?
- Which of the test criteria mentioned appeals to you personally the most? Why this one in particular?
- Is there an impression or thought that you have been asking yourself for a long time: «God, is it you?» What could be the next small step to test this impression?
