How can I hear God's Voice?

Welcome to the C3 Church podcast.

Our vision as a church is to practice the way of Jesus so that we experience the fame and deeds of God in our time.

My name is Colton Seegers.

I'm on Ray Seagers.

And over the next couple of episodes, we wanted to do a question and response for the people in our church community.

And so what we did is we asked our church to submit questions, and these are our responses to a handful of questions that we just love y'all.

Enjoy the podcast.

All right.

Our next question comes from Bryce Hahn.

I see you, Bryce.

Bryce Hahn.

How do I tell when God is speaking to me versus when I'm talking to myself?

Great question.

I often default to what God wants is the opposite of what I want, but that doesn't sound right.

How can I be sure that I'm not convincing myself of what God wants rather than truly knowing what he wants for me?

Great question, Bryce.

Well, and I do think that sometimes what God says, it it actually might be something that you don't want to do.

Um there are plenty of times where I feel like what he calls me to do is to ask for forgiveness or confess my sin or humble myself and lay down my pride.

And it's like I don't want to do that.

Um and so I don't know that that's how I know that it's his voice.

Um I think I know that that's what he wants me to do because his word, which is his voice, I mean, if if every all the scriptures are God breathed, and so you can't speak without breathing, um, and so he is speaking those words to humble myself, to confess my sin, to um forgive others.

And so there's a I know that that's what he's asked me to do because it's written.

Um it's his word.

Um and so yeah, sometimes it is.

Um Bryce, sorry.

But like if there is a space where you're going, I I don't want that to be my only reason to know or way to know that that's God speaking to me, I agree with you.

That's not the only way to know, but it is very likely that what he will ask you to do sometimes will be something that you don't want to do that he's calling you into.

Um if I may, I would I would also say though, I agree with Bryce that just to say what God wants is the opposite of what I desire.

I've heard that too.

Um the longer we walk with Jesus, our desires should become more holy.

We should be praying, and the presence of the Holy Spirit should be transforming our desires so that they are more and more and more and more similar to God's desires.

And so it shouldn't permanently be.

I I agree with Bryce, I don't love that because I should desire the Holy Spirit desires for me to be free of sin.

He's killing me.

I should start to desire for myself to be free of sin more and more and more.

Well, and I also think that God speaks plenty of times in the scriptures wonderful things.

Like to Abraham.

Yeah, he's not saying.

Yeah, he's not saying something he disagrees with, or something like, was that God's voice?

Abraham's like, awesome.

I'm gonna make you into an incredible nation.

It's like that's not, I don't disagree.

I'm actually thrilled.

Um Noah didn't hear God speak and go, like, I that's not really what I want to do.

I don't want my family to be saved.

I don't want to really build a boat.

Like he just, and so it's not always what, anyways, I think that's a fine metric every now and then, but that is not the primary way to know God is speaking to you.

Um you don't like it.

Yeah, you know it's him if you don't like it.

Like, what a terrible relationship to have with a person.

And so I do think it can be a metric, but not the the only metric.

Um, Bryce, I would say, and I obviously to everybody, um, Jesus says that we are we are supposed to hear his voice.

He says, My sheep will hear my voice.

Like that is something you're supposed to be able to live in without questioning.

There's supposed to be a space in our our journey with Jesus where he says, The people who know me, my sheep, they will hear my voice, they will obey my voice, they they will hear me.

And then one of the the uh Ezekiel or Jeremiah, maybe both of them, say that when the Spirit of God, when Jesus does this thing eventually, when the Spirit of God comes into our lives and into our hearts and our souls, that we will hear him speaking.

This is the way, walk in it.

And so there's supposed to be a reality where for Christians, where we are actively hearing his voice and not wondering, is that the Lord?

But like knowing, no, I he is my shepherd, therefore I know his voice, uh, in the way that sheep know the shepherd's voice.

He is living within me, speaking, telling me which way to go, and I know which way to go because he is directing the course of my steps.

And so I know there are some um spaces out there where people wonder, uh, or maybe like uh different denominations that would say God doesn't speak anymore, he spoke in his word, but he doesn't speak to us anymore.

I I really oppose that and really disagree with that um because Jesus says my sheep will hear my voice, and so we're supposed to actually continue to hear his voice.

Um, for um me, the way I have some cliche ones to where you can know for a fact that God is speaking to you.

One, he will never contradict his written word.

Yeah um it will what he says to you.

This is this is where people get into trouble, and they're like, God told me to, you know, divorce my wife, and it's like, well, he would never tell you to do that because of what he has already said in his word.

He's not gonna contradict himself.

Who he is is or who he was is who he is, and what he has spoken is still true for us today, and so he'll never contradict his word.

And so if you feel like God is speaking to you, you need to run it through the canon of scripture and just make sure um that this is something I feel like he's calling me to do this, and run it through the life and wisdom of scripture.

Um his whispered word will not oppose or contradict his rejection.

It will not contradict.

And then I'd also say um if you are wondering what God is speaking to you, many times he wants to speak through trusted friends.

Um for for children, parents are the authority that he has placed in their lives.

And so if you're wondering what God wants you to do, he is like, I have given you parents for that reason.

Um now somebody could argue, well, what if my parents aren't Christians and that's a different conversation?

But um, asking for what does Solomon say?

He's like uh in a number of uh there's wisdom found in a multitude of counselors, and so asking the Lord likes us to be dependent not only on him but on those around us who also know him.

Yes, and it builds community and we we learn that way.

And so to me, asking for advice from trusted individuals who know and follow Jesus and not just random friends and stuff like that, yes, running anything that you hear uh through scriptures um and just making sure that that's um in line, whatever you you seem to be hearing is in line.

And so it's not always I just I don't want to do this, therefore that's God speaking.

It's like he might be saying this wonderful thing to you.

Um you just need to check it with scripture.

What about you?

What do you think?

Um I think Bryce's question is great because this is something I personally struggle with a lot.

What is the voice of the spirit?

What is just my own natural, these are just my thoughts, it's just my internal monologue, it's my own anxiety.

And then what is whispered condemnation of the enemy to discern which of those is God and which is not?

Is I Bryce, I want you to know.

Me and you both, pal.

I that is a that is a very tricky journey for me as well.

Um I agree with what you said.

Jesus says, not just my sheep will hear my voice, my sheep will recognize my voice.

He says, My sheep will be able to recognize my voice.

Social media has a voice, your girlfriend has a voice, your parents have a voice, the scale has a voice, your grades have a voice, voice, voice, voice is a in an ocean of voices.

He says, My sheep will be able to recognize God's voice.

Um, I think that is spirit given, and I think that we should pray for that.

Teach me, if that's true, teach me to recognize your voice.

Fill me with the spirit, teach me to recognize your voice every day.

I think that, you know, I like to, you know, I like a breath prayer.

So big inhale, teach me, big exhale to recognize your voice 50 times.

You know, just I don't think we could ask it too much, and I think that he he will.

Um I think the the seeking him in that way, he if anybody wants to hear his voice and wants to hear, wants to get to know his voice, I think that prayer is probably a very rare prayer that he hears.

I imagine so.

And to me, if my son, if Teddy wanted wisdom on a decision that he's making or comfort, you wouldn't be cagey.

No, but him seeking it from me would feel so wonderful and so honoring.

Um and I think the Lord feels the exact same way.

He's a father that is primarily rejected by his kids.

And so to have some of his children go, Hey, I really want to hear your voice, I really want to uh know what you think, I really want to be comforted, comforted by you, I think that would I think it blesses him in that way.

Um and I also think that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Those who will do that, pray that prayer that you're just talking about, I think they will experience something far different than those that are like, I don't hear it, who cares?

Yes.

I think most people's expression is I prayed one time for guidance or I wanted to hear his voice, I didn't hear anything in the first five seconds.

I'm out.

It's like, how bad do you want it?

Like, do you actually want to?

Uh I do think it requires seeking.

Um, and that's been my experience.

Like, uh just I said this to somebody the other day.

I was like, I I do not wonder about that.

If I'm asking for guidance, um, I have a very strong confidence that like I might not get it that day in my time of scripture reading or my time in prayer or worshiping or whatever.

Um, but it's coming, and I know that he will give that to me.

And it's been sometimes it comes right right now.

Yeah, sometimes it's right away.

Sometimes it's months later, you're like, oh my hot day.

Yeah, it's I mean, sometimes it's you answered that prayer alright.

Yeah, I'm listening to a worship song or whatever, or like a week later, and I'm like, this thing happened, or I'm talking to somebody and they say something, I'm like, that's it.

Like, and so he he loves to be sought after and he responds to those who seek him.

Um I'd also really say that like most people think of hearing God like if you if you and I were trying to learn a new language and understand a new language, at first, like we do this when we're in Mexico, the language sounds completely jumbled.

It just sounds like noise.

It's not yeah, that one.

But the longer you're in that space listening to those words, pick stuff out.

Yeah, you can pick some stuff out, and all of a sudden what sounded like noise before now sounds like language.

Now I can actually hear words in the midst of it.

Pick up patterns.

And and if I told somebody um, go learn Spanish who knows Spanish, they would know this is going to take time to understand the language, to learn the language, and to be able to hear the language.

I think God is speaking to us all the time.

The psalms say that he's constantly, the heavens are declaring the glory of God.

Everything is speaking to us.

And so, just in the same way that it takes a long time to learn a new language, I do think it's very likely that we it it will take time to learn what God's voice does sound like.

What are his uh motivations in speaking?

What does his voice sound like?

And so, to me, to spend a ton of time in the scriptures, as you read his word, you get to know his heart, you get to know what he's saying.

Not just Bible verses, but what do you sound like?

Right.

How do you talk to other people?

Yeah, and then all of a sudden it's like I this used to sound like noise, and now I'm able to pick out your still small voice among all these different things because it's no longer a language that I didn't know anymore.

I have been in your word and saturated myself in it.

This language that sounded like noise before now sounds like words to me, and I think it takes something very similar to that.

I can hear God's voice better now as a 39-year-old than I could as a 19-year-old.

Certainly.

But I've just been with him, I've gotten to know him for 20 years.

If you live in Spain for 20 years, you're gonna speak a little Spanish.

Yeah.

Um and so, Bryce, I would say saturating yourselves in the scriptures, reading the gospels and reading Jesus' words, but but also reading what God says in the Old Testament, how he speaks to people, and just having a constant diet of that.

If you were trying to learn a new language, they would say you need to go into the culture and be in a immerse yourself in the culture, immerse yourself in the scriptures to learn God's voice, and you will begin to be able to discern it and hear it better when you're asking for things in prayer and doing doing that kind of stuff.

You got other thoughts on that?

The only thing I would add is uh I agree with what you said before, we are supposed to discern God's voice in a body of believers.

Yeah.

I think this is a place that the hyper-individualism of the 21st century is harming our faith.

We think your faith is personal, and it it kind of that's true.

Um but the I can't, other than the Apostle John being exiled to the island of Patmos, I can't think of one person in the New Testament who practices their faith alone.

Oh, I this is something me and God out on my bicycle.

No, we are supposed to hear God's words and discern God's words as a body of believers.

And so maybe it's your parents, maybe it's your friends, maybe it's your pastor, whoever.

You need multiple people, all of us, we need multiple people who we know to be filled with the spirit, God-loving, Bible-believing, Jesus-following believers.

Yeah, who that who we can because I say this, Colton, I say this to you all the time.

I'm hearing something, I'm thinking something, I can't tell if this is true or not.

Let me run by you the thought I'm having.

Help me discern if this is, is this the Lord?

Is this not?

Yeah.

Um, we need people, even in the spiritual gifts, is he's like, I'm gonna give one person the gift of tongues, and then I'm gonna give somebody else the ability to interpret that.

You're supposed to do the people.

Yeah, absolutely.

Um, and so I think we perhaps in the 21st century, perhaps in the West, we've got this expectation of uh if I'm a believer or if I'm hearing God successfully, that will all be done solo.

I don't think that's biblical at all.

Right.

Um, and then we'll say, like, oh, well, I had a church heard of my old pastor, and I'm I'm so sorry about that, that's valid.

Don't ask him.

Go find you there are God-loving, Jesus-following, spirit-filled, Bible-believing Christians who will love you and help you.

Go find some and ask them if what you're hearing is is real um or is of the Lord.

The only other thing I want to say is um I also think that we are not quiet doing nothing.

Hardly ever.

Um, you you've heard me say this before, but John, they I've heard that Jonathan Edwards would go visit all of his the people in his church, but he had to go on horseback, like on to all these farms by himself an hour or two, and they say he would he'd spend two hours on his horse get to your farm, and he would show up with all these pieces of paper pinned to his jacket because he wrote his sermons.

Well, you sit in the silence in the woods by yourself for two hours, yeah, you're gonna hear some stuff.

How often?

We're too busy scrolling.

We're on Amazon, we're on Instagram, we're on TikTok.

Look, how often are we just quiet?

And so I find that if I'm having trouble with you know writing a sermon or something, if I go on a walk by myself on the green line, no podcast, and just walk about 20, 30 minutes in, I start thinking stuff.

I start having good ideas.

I start, oh, that, you know, this, this, this.

Um I don't think we're quiet.

Yeah, no podcast, no music, no headphones, no phone, just quiet.

Yeah.

Very nearly as much as the generations before us have been quiet.

Um, so we might have to make a go take you a walk around a lake with no headphones, nobody, no podcast, no music.

Yeah.

Bryce, there's a great book um called How to Hear God.

I'll put it in the notes at the bottom of the podcast.

Um, but it's by Pete Gregg.

It's wonderful.

Um, it addresses this.

I mean, the whole book is on what you're asking.

And so I would really highly recommend How to Hear God by Pete Gregg.

Uh, it really is incredible.

And I agree with the um silence thing.

There's a reason Jesus had to get away from the crowds.

Yes.

Um, he wanted to be with the there's a reasonable.

Elijah heard a whisper, and I I'm like, I do like if God wants to whisper, part of that is I think he enjoys being close to us.

He wants to be close enough to us so that he can't he can whisper.

And I think sometimes we want to be really far away from him and just shout it down like from the stairs or something.

He's like, actually, that's not how I want to, I don't want to do it that way.

I want to be, I want to be with you always.

I want to be so close with you, and you want to be so close close to me that I can whisper to you.

I think with him, we might be like those tragic families in restaurants where like there's a grandparent and a grandkid at a Chick-fil-A, and the grandpa's trying to talk to the kid and the kid's on an iPad and won't look up.

And like, are we the kid on the iPad who won't look up?

Yeah.

And like there actually is someone who loves us who's near, who's trying to speak, and we won't we won't put the dang thing down.

Yeah, okay.

So to sum up again, uh a longer one here.

Yeah, sorry.

Sorry, Bryce.

Um, I would saturate yourself in the scriptures.

You will get to know his voice the longer you are um hearing his voice.

You get to learn someone's voice.

Teddy learned our voice as a kid, and he learned how to speak by being spoken to and listening to us speak to him.

Um, and so be in the scriptures, you will learn to hear his voice.

What Rainey said, ask.

Ask him.

What I want to hear your voice, I want to know your voice.

Yes.

Uh he enjoys being sought after, he responds to those who earnestly seek him.

Um, he will never contradict his word.

He wants you to need a community of believers.

Yeah, and so many times what his his lack of speaking actually is um trying to lead you back into community.

Trying to force you back into community.

I'm not not speaking to you.

I've just spoken what you need from that person because I need you to be in community, and so he'll speak to you through uh counselors and friends and all those different things.

Um and then I would say he speaks in a bunch of different ways.

David heard from God differently than Solomon, and Mary had an angel come to her, and Joseph had a dream of an angel, and other people Philip just heard the spirit.

Like, there's all these different ways that God moves and speaks, and so um, yeah, I think learning to listen well, uh, I think is something that's really important.

I I want you to walk away from this going, this isn't a long-shot pipe dream of hearing God.

That is supposed to be our normal everyday uh experience with Him.

We walk with God and hear His voice.

Um, and so I want you to feel the confidence of knowing that like this is you're asking a question that's very good, and this is something that is very, very real and a reality that you can live in.

And so keep pressing into that.