Can God have a Conversation with You?
Some might say not anymore. They would say that if you want to hear from God, read your Bible. Everything He has to say to mankind is written in the Book. I beg to differ. The infallibility of the Bible has been established for hundreds of years. That is not in question here. The question is, “Does He still speak to us today?”
I believe He does. Although we can be mistaken about whose voice we are hearing, with the help of the Bible we can check what we are hearing against His Word in the Bible.
In John 10:27 we read Jesus saying to His disciples, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me.”
In Isaiah 30:21 we read, “You will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’”
In Psalms we often read of people crying out to God, expecting an answer. In view of these and many more scriptures on the subject, we have a Biblical standard of hearing God’s voice. Based on that, I believe it is safe to say we can hear God’s voice.
What does His voice sound like?
In the many years of experience listening in on conversations people have had with God, I can tell you that there are a few ways He chooses to speak to us. It is rarely an audible voice. More often than not it is a voice that you hear in your head. Yet sometimes it isn’t a voice at all.
In some cases it is a “knowing”. That is, you suddenly are aware of something you never knew before. As in my Healing from Sexual Assault, I suddenly knew that I was not injured from the trauma as much as I should have been given the circumstances. In that article, I also wrote about seeing Jesus, whom I did not see with my physical eyes at the time of the incident. I saw what He did to help me in my memory when I asked Him where He was. I also mentioned the words I heard in the incident.
Some people get colours and ask for an understanding, some get a song running through their head. Yet others get a verse from the Bible that just stands out to them, makes sense and they apply to the situation they are facing.
When I am in prayer with someone for their healing, I ask them to report to me whatever seems to becoming to mind, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense or apply to what we are praying about. Then we look at it and ask the Lord for clarity. I will often ask for a Bible verse that applies to what they are seeing or hearing or to whatever they may seem to be receiving.
A Few Checkpoints
There are a few things you can check to see if God is talking or not.
- Does it agree with the Bible? It is most helpful if you are familiar with the Scriptures or receive a Bible passage to check what you hear.
- Does it agree with God’s character? God loves us. He is not mean and condemning. He corrects us and offers us good things according to His loving character.
- Does the result end in peace? The truth will bring us peace. We may need truth on several issues, but each truth will bring us closer to complete peace.
There are many more things we could say about this, but that is not within the scope of this blog.
I encourage you to take a risk and try to hear God’s voice. Write it down. Then you can analyze it with the help of the Bible and a mature friend who is familiar with His Word.