Recently, and not for the first time, someone asked me how to recognize when God is speaking to them, how to know if it is a sign or just a coincidence. This is a hard thing to explain for me because oftentimes it's just a deep inner knowing, a very strong thought or feeling that something is right or wrong, or that I need to do or say something for/to a certain person whether I know them or not. Often when it is from God my soul won't rest until I do what I was supposed to do, like I am compelled to do it and if I resist because of fear or doubt it creates inner chaos.
One case in which this happened was very early on in my walk, truly when I was still just more or less going through the motions of Christianity and had yet to surrender completely. In church that morning we prayed for a family who was having an extremely difficult pregnancy, the doctors didn't think the mother would be able to go full-term, or that the baby would survive at all. The wife was placed on bed rest, and her husband looked tortured as he told us what was happening and asked for our prayers. As we prayed together, I suddenly knew that the Lord had heard our prayers, and not only that but an inner voice told me that the baby would be okay and to tell the family not to worry. I will admit, I thought I was crazy and tried to ignore the voice, I didn't know how to know if it was really God or just me, and I didn't want to embarrass myself at a church I just started to attend. After service I took my little sister home (we lived across the street from the church) but I couldn't stay there, that inner voice kept pushing me to speak to them before they left, suddenly before I really even knew what I was doing I had walked back to church and was standing in front of the husband telling him what I knew. I don't know if he believed me then, but his mother did and a few months later after we welcomed their son into this world I was invited to his baby shower.
But other times it is nothing like this, other times it is two or more people saying or putting up a post with the same message, sometimes the exact same words and it is like a response to my prayers. And I have also had occasions where other Christians will actually just say to me 'the Lord is laying it on my heart to tell...' and then they say things that blow my mind! So that brings me back to the first question how do you know it is the Lord speaking? How do you discern that?
First, I highly suggest praying for discernment to know the Lord's voice, this discernment will come from the Holy Spirit, He is the inner witness and will guide you and teach you just as Jesus promises in John 14:16-17&26; and John 16:13, sometimes it is by reminding you of verses that have to do with the situation you are in or could be applied to it. But we are told to test all spirits (1 John 4:1), so other confirmation is good too. This other confirmation may come from people and things that come into our path to speak to us as well, as I mentioned earlier with what I said about people putting up post or saying something that seems like answers to my prayers. This testing of the thought or idea that sprang up will either prove it to be from God by the confirmation of others, or will prove it to be false by there being no second witness or incident to confirm it.
That is probably the best way I know to explain it, but what about the situation I described, what about being told to do something or say something crazy, how do you check that to see if it is God when you have to act immediately? And honestly the best answer I can give here is what Jesus said in John 10:27 "my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." My heart knew that day I described above that it was God speaking to me, I just knew, but I was still afraid and doubted myself because of other circumstances in the past. As I have gone deeper in my relationship and deeper into the word this fear of acting because of what others may think is dissipating. I also think a good indication that it is God acting through you, is when you feel compelled to obey, I had to speak the words that I heard that day to them, I couldn't stop myself, and trust me the flesh tried to talk me out of it, but my spirit knew I must obey.
Then, there is the most obvious way in which He speaks to us, His word, the Bible. This text is not only our instruction manual for surviving earth and escaping hell fire, but also His love letter to us. In His word you find God's promises to us and comforting words from Him for our days of sorrow. In the Bible there are words of praise, joy, and encouragement, but also knowledge of His heart which will help you in discerning His voice. I hope this helped someone and I really hope that if you have more to add you do, I don't know if someone else has more scripture to help clarify or can hit on something I missed, or correct me if I'm wrong but it's always great to hear from others. Be blessed today and always in Jesus, name.
Job 33:14
For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.
Ezekiel 36:27
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
John 14:15-17
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
1 Corinthians 2:11-15
11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
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