Hearing God’s Voice

Have you ever wondered if God still talks to us today, or wondered if you even can hear Him if He does?

My simple answer to these questions is “Yes!”

I am confident in this because I have asked these same questions and searched for answers that have provided me with a life-giving freedom that is unmatched to anything else in this world.

But before I share my story I want you to know one thing:

The Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict the Bible. He will ALWAYS point back to Jesus!

This was the best advice I was given and it has held true in EVERY situation.

Let me explain.

When I began to discern what the voice of the Lord sounds like, I really struggled to know if what I was hearing was me, the Lord, or the enemy. I had a negative narrative going on in my head that would cause me to worry and this cycle of negative talk was constant. I really struggled to look on the bright side of any situation.

Then one evening my dog was throwing up. I was scared that if we didn’t take her to the vet she wasn’t going to make it through the night. My husband kept saying she would be fine and if we needed to take her to the vet we could do so in the morning.

As I lay in bed, the negative talk in my head wasn’t there. I heard, “She will be okay.”

Wait, what?!?!?

For someone that has so many negative thoughts, where did this come from?

I then remembered the scripture verse I had prayed. John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Was this really the voice of the Lord? Could He really be telling me that she was going to be okay?

I fell asleep that night still fearful, but curious to see what would happen.

The next morning I woke up and our dog was fine. She was laying on her bed next to me sleeping. She had not thrown up all night and continued to be okay.

This voice helped me understand what was happening. This happened three more times with our dog and by the fourth time I decided to listen to the voice and go to sleep.

It was AMAZING!

My fear was pushed aside. His “Perfect love drives out ALL fear” (1 John 4:18). When I trusted in His voice and wouldn’t consider the lie from the enemy, fear disappeared!

Little did I know at the time, but I had just won my first spiritual battle. I experienced the Lord’s victory and the enemy defeated. It was something that rocked my world and had me wanting more of the Lord. The first part of John 10:27 had become real in my life.

What does His voice sound like?

For me, this voice is like a thought or a voice in my spirit that is speaking to me. Most of the time, it is not an audible voice that is loud or overbearing, it basically sounds like my own self talk, my own thoughts that bring comfort and an awareness of what is happening around me.

However, that inner voice that I heard in my spirit sometimes brought massive amounts of anxiety. I would question if it was the Lord or the enemy.

The first time this happened I was on vacation with the Miller side of the family. My husband Kevin was going to hike a mountain that is over 14,000 feet above sea level, and in Colorado they call these Fourteeners. Up until this point in his life he has hiked 37 of the 53. On this trip he had decided to hike the Maroon Bell with his dad, brother-in-law and one of my nephews.

I was freaking out a bit because the mountain’s nickname is “The Deadly Bell” due to how many people die on it. I am sure you can imagine my fear as it became somewhat paralyzing on this trip.

The day before they left, I was driving to a grocery store and I heard in my spirit over and over again, “Kevin is going to die on a Fourteener.”

I was shaking in fear. I wondered if the Lord was telling me what was about to happen because it sounded just like the same voice that I had been listening to, but it did NOT match His character.

What I know about God’s character is that HE drives out all fear because HE is LOVE (1 John 4:18, 1 John 4:8). He does not cause it. He wants us to cast all our anxieties on Him (1 Peter 5:7) as He is not the author of them. 

So, I decided to try something I had been reading about. If this was the enemy I was hearing, I could command him to stop talking. I said out loud, “Stop talking.” The voice did not stop, it kept speaking, “Kevin is going to die on a Fourteener.”

I then remembered that the name of the Lord carries a lot of weight with the enemy so I said, “In God’s name, stop talking.”

Again, the voice did not stop, “Kevin is going to die on a Fourteener.”

Then, I remembered that the name of Jesus is more powerful than any other name, so with the authority Jesus gave His disciples AND that which is passed on to me, I said, “In Jesus name, STOP talking!”  The voice stopped mid sentence. “Kevin is going to…”

The feeling of vindication was exploding inside of me! The courage and confidence that rose up in me at that moment was incredible. I then said, “In Jesus name, leave my car and never return.”

It completely stopped! I have never heard that phrase again. 

I began thanking Jesus for teaching me that I have power over the enemy.

Kevin didn’t die on that Fourteener. (While they were gone, I was completely at peace all because I had an amazing God encounter before Kevin left. I will share that story in next week’s post. Find it here.)

I am so thankful that God loves me and wants to teach me about who He is and the authority I have as His daughter, as I listen to HIS voice.

Now What?

God has many names that all reveal a part of His character and one of His names is “The Word” (John 1:1). With that kind of name, you know He is talking all the time. However, we may not be listening.

• What would happen if each of us listened to Him?
• How would your life be different?
• How would the lives of those around you be different?

My prayer for you is that you would discover the Lord’s unique ways of speaking to you. I suggest praying the prayer like I did, asking John 10:27 to become real in your life.

Lord, I want to hear your voice. Teach me to know what it sounds like. I am one of your sheep, just like you talked about in John 10:27, ‘My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me.’ YOU know me and I want to follow your voice. Help me to listen.

May your life forever be changed as you discover for yourself what His voice sounds like in your life.

I would love to hear from you and read your stories of how you are listening the Lord. Send me a quick note through my CONTACT page.