Am I Really Hearing From God?

Am I Really Hearing from God – Or are these just my own thoughts?

Forward: When I’m not providing oversight for CalledTogether, I pastor a church in Pittsburgh PA, where I’m often asked great questions. I was recently asked this doozy—how can I know with confidence that I’m really hearing from God in prayer? I think many (if not most) of us struggle with this question, and I don’t have all the answers. I’ll post a modified version of my own answer here, but please use the comments below to add your thoughts. I want to learn from you and your experience listening to God.

What a great question! First, I love the heart behind it—the desire to hear from God is honoring to him.

How Does God’s Voice Work

Scripture is the words of God, but also (and equally true) the words of men. When we read Scripture, we are really reading the writings of Peter, Paul, and John. They did not enter a trance and author their books as remotely controlled robots! Their personalities, perceptions, and motives are richly displayed in the text. But as we read their letters, we are reading words from God. How can that be? When God speaks, He somehow still uses the disciple’s own thoughts in the process. 2 Peter 1:21 describes, “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”, so the Holy Spirit somehow directed them, yet they were still the ones writing.

When God speaks to us, I don’t think it usually comes in the form of a thought that is obviously distinct from your own thoughts. God’s voice is not a foreign voice in our heads. God can speak in a distinct voice, as when Abraham heard him speaking from the bush, but this isn’t the normal experience. Sometimes God dictated Scripture to the prophets word for word, and they quote him, but sometimes they also wrote from their own perspective, yet still they wrote carried along by him. Most often, God worked in partnership with their thoughts.

A Helpful Metaphor

I have young kids, and sometimes in an emergency, I need to forcefully move their bodies away from danger—I will grab them by the shoulders and move them from one place to another. My hands move their little bodies away from danger. I move them without their voluntary participation. God can do that to our thoughts—that’s called a vision, a dream, a word of knowledge, or a voice from heaven.

Generally, though, I lead my kids by gently nudging them very gently in the direction I want them to go—I will brush the back of their head with my hand, or put my hand behind their shoulders to gently direct them. I do not always want to move them forcefully. I would rather teach them to cooperate in the gentle dance of being directed to safety. These gentle touches don’t override their own will—they still decide to step forward, where to place each foot, how fast to walk, and they balance on their own, BUT they are doing so in response to my gentle direction. I think hearing from God often works like this. God’s Spirit leads us with a still small voice, a gentle whisper, a cool breeze, and groans too deep for words. If we are listening—if we are submitted and responsive—then His gentle direction and nudges lead us exactly where God wants our thoughts and imaginations to go. As John 16:13 describes, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth”

Test Everything

We should never elevate impressions in prayer to the level of Scripture. We are instructed to test them by Scripture. The book of 1 John provides tests by which we can discern if a spirit is really the Holy Spirit. We aren’t perfect listeners and sometimes our own thoughts still pop up. We have a deceptive enemy who seeks to mislead us. I may gently direct my three-year-old toward the table, and he will be too distracted to feel my nudge, or he will trip, or even mistake that I’m trying to direct him toward the sink. In the same way, we don’t always hear God perfectly. Scripture is the sure access we have to God’s voice, heart, and character, and the way by which we test everything.

If you’ve been struggling with this question, I would encourage you not to worry too much about whether a thought is from God or your mind. That is the wrong question. It may be both at once. It’s like being led in a dance—when dancing, does a woman spin, or does her partner spin her? It is usually both—at least, that is, if they know how to dance. He leads, she follows—they act together. Submit your thoughts to God. Invite him to speak with you. Then when you listen and have a thought, test whether it’s true and good. Is it God-glorifying? Does it fit with Scripture and honor Christ? “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”.

Why We Listen

We don’t listen to God primarily to get our questions answered. That didn’t even work very well for the people who spoke to Jesus directly. No, we listen to God to get God. We listen to him to abide with him. His sheep know his voice. God’s voice is marked by peace and love. Just as an ocean breeze is marked by cool refreshment, God’s Spirit is compared to a wind or breeze, only marked by peace and love. When you have a thought marked by accusation, stress, or anxiety, it’s probably not from the Spirit. When you submit to God, invite him to speak, and feel your thoughts gently nudged to a passage of Scripture or to a reminder of truth, and you feel the peace and love that mark his presence, step forward with humble confidence.

As Paul writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus… And the God of peace will be with you.