Hearing God
By Ryan Bridgeo
Avery County
We learn in school and life in general through our five senses. We don’t learn anything about reality except through our five senses seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Now, imagine a blind man who has never seen anything in his life. He also had never met anyone else who could see. He would believe through his four active senses that he had a true picture of reality. But sadly, he would never know about light, color, and the beauty of a rainbow or a sunset. Or imagine a man who never possessed the ability to hear, and never encountered anyone else who could hear. He would believe that he had an accurate view of reality through his four working senses. But sadly, he would never know that the world is full of sounds and beautiful music.
God is different than we are. We don’t perceive Him the same way we do our family and friends. Job 9:11 says, “When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.” We typically cannot perceive God through our natural senses. Our natural senses help us interact with people and things around us. John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” God is Spirit, so we must interact with God through our spirit. This is not one of our natural five senses but a spiritual sixth sense.
There are several ways that God speaks to us today. One of the main ways is through the Word of God. The Bible is not a normal book, it is a spiritual book. One that He wrote with the help of His children. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” This spiritual book can help teach and train us in every season of our lives.
Another way that God speaks with us is from His still small voice. 1 Kings 19:12 says, “And after the earthquake, a fire; [but] the LORD [was] not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” We see this in the New Testament as well. Acts 11:12 Peter says, “The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them.”
There is also the audible voice of God. John 12:28, “Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
Angels can give us messages from God. We know angels spoke to Mary and Joseph. They also spoke with Paul as recorded in Acts 27:23-24, “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”
God speaks through dreams & visions. Matthew 1:20 says, “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
God also often speaks to us through his servants, like pastors, and prophets. Or through ministry gifts like prophecy, tongues, and interpretation.
Another way that God speaks to us is through inner unrest or inner peace. When you are making decisions make sure you check how you are feeling. The sons of God are led by the Spirit of God. You might feel a check or an uneasiness in your spirit. Kenneth Hagin used to say, that it felt like something was scratching down there in his belly. He just didn’t have peace about it. If you do not have peace about something do not proceed until you do. We can be led by our peace or our lack thereof.
The ways that I hear God the most are through the Word of God, His still small voice, and inner unrest vs. inner peace. All of these ways are good, but the Bible should always be the number one way. That way, if someone gives us a bad council or a bad prophecy, we will know it is bad, from the wisdom we have learned from God’s Word.
Learning to hear God’s voice takes time and practice. We need to learn how He speaks and how to discern if we are hearing God, ourselves, or the devil. The best way that I have learned to practice hearing the still small voice of God is by, first, quieting yourself down. Get quiet, and if responsibilities come to mind write them down. God is trying to help you. Peaceful music or praying in tongues may help you quiet down. Second, write down what you hear God say. I started a prayer journal in 1999. Since then, I have journaled some amazing things. Some of the things that I have journaled my wife said could be in a book. Other things I have journaled have been way off. I look back at them sometimes and I am embarrassed to read them. But it was part of the process. Over the years, I noticed that when I missed it the most was when I was praying about something that I really wanted. Later I found scriptures that showed me why. Ezekiel 14:4 (NAS) “Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and [then] comes to the prophet, I the LORD will be brought to give him an answer in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols.” This is saying that God will allow us to hear what we want to hear when we are praying through an idol. This is what happened to Balaam in Numbers 22:4-33. If you read the story, you will see that his idol was money. So, it is important when you are praying and journaling about something that you really desire, to be patient and not rush into anything. It is also helpful to have others read what you have written and see if it bears witness to their spirit. Two are better than one. “And a three-strand cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Over the years, I have improved a lot in hearing God’s voice, but it took time and practice. Be patient with yourself and try not to get discouraged when you miss it. It is part of the process.
Mark Virkler has a great book called, How to Hear God’s Voice. In his book, he gives four keys for hearing God. They are, 1) quieting yourself down, 2) fix your eyes on Jesus, 3) tune to spontaneous thoughts, 4) and journaling. This is an excellent resource to help you develop further in hearing God for yourself.
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Ryan Bridgeo is the Pastor of Plumtree Church in Avery County, NC. If you would like to know more or how you might become involved in this ministry please reach out to Pastor Ryan at pastor@plumtreechurch.com or call 828-765-6919.
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