{"id":262,"date":"2017-05-04T10:52:40","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T10:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=262"},"modified":"2018-01-25T17:22:47","modified_gmt":"2018-01-25T17:22:47","slug":"4-ways-hear-voice-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2017\/05\/4-ways-hear-voice-god.html","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways to Hear the Voice of God"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When it comes to knowing the will of God and hearing God\u2019s voice, there are four primary ways that the Holy Spirit speaks to us today. These aren\u2019t the only four. God can speak to us however He wants. But these are the four primary ways he speaks to us today through his Holy Spirit.<\/span>And the key is, when there\u2019s a big decision or a big step of faith, God will speak to you in multiple ways, so that if God\u2019s asking you to take a step of faith, you can know it\u2019s God telling you to do it and not just the bad burrito you ate last night.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. The first primary way that God speaks to you is through His Word<\/strong>, which is why getting into God\u2019s Word is so important. One of the great things about God\u2019s Word is that he clears up a lot of things we might wonder about. For instance, if you wonder whether or not it\u2019s God\u2019s will that you tithe and trust him with the first 10% of your income, you don\u2019t have to wonder. It\u2019s in God\u2019s word. That question has already been answered. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re wondering whether or not it\u2019s okay to seek revenge on someone who hurt you, the answer is no. You don\u2019t have to wonder that. It\u2019s already in Scripture. God\u2019s already told you. If you\u2019re wondering whether or not it\u2019s okay to do something that will harm you or hurt other people, you don\u2019t have to wonder. Your body is a temple and you\u2019re supposed to love your neighbor as yourself.\u00a0<\/span>One of the many reasons we have the Bible is so that we can know what God\u2019s will is. And God will never ask you to do something contrary to his Word. God doesn\u2019t contradict himself. So, get in the Word.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The second primary way God speaks to us is through prayer.<\/strong> When we pray, it\u2019s designed to be a dialogue, not a monologue. When you practice the discipline of not just asking God for a bunch of stuff, but listening, interceding for others, the Holy Spirit will lay on your heart and bring to mind his will for you. It will always line up with what his Word says, it will never contradict it. But for instance, you might be praying that God would forgive you as you forgive others, which is part of the Lord\u2019s Prayer, and God may bring to your mind a situation where you haven\u2019t forgiven something. That\u2019s God telling you: you need to make things right. You need to forgive.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. The third primary way God speaks to you is through circumstances.<\/strong> Gideon is an example of this in the Old Testament, and the Bible mentions several times in the book of Acts where the Holy Spirit used circumstances to speak to the believers.\u00a0<\/span>Many Christians\u00a0have experienced this. You\u2019re praying about a job position perhaps, and you know there would have to be several things that worked out, and one thing lined up one after another in such a way where you thought, \u201cHey, there\u2019s something bigger going on here, God may be speaking to me.\u201d Or maybe there\u2019s an opportunity that you really want to pursue, but it seems like one thing after another keeps getting in the way. God may be warning you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another way is when you go through a season where everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Where it seems like the world is out to get you. We\u2019ve all gone through that. It may be God trying to get your attention through circumstances. Again, w<\/span>hen God speaks he usually does so in multiple ways and they\u2019ll all line up, so be sure what you\u2019re reading in the Word and what you\u2019re hearing in prayer lines up with the circumstances around you.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. The fourth primary way that God speaks to you is through other believers.<\/strong>\u00a0The amazing thing about the Holy Spirit is that He doesn\u2019t just live in you, he lives in all believers. Wisdom isn\u2019t just available to you, it\u2019s available to all believers. So, if you\u2019ve got a big decision, and you think God may be telling you to take a step of faith but you\u2019re not sure, find a Christian mentor that you respect, someone that you know talks to God, and ask them. \u201cI think God may be telling me to do this, am I crazy?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you know that God gives some Christians the spiritual gift of wisdom and others the spiritual gift of discernment? Some Christians have a supernatural ability to help others make wise decisions. God speaks through them! Take advantage of it!<\/span><\/p>\n

So, if you want to know what the will of God is, or if you\u2019ve got a really big decision and you\u2019re just not sure, get in the Word. Pray continually and listen to God. Watch for God in your circumstances and seek wisdom from the mature Christians around you. And before you know it, you\u2019ll know what the will of God is. And the amazing this is, when you do, you\u2019ll discover the courage needed to take that step of faith and change your world.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to knowing the will of God and hearing God\u2019s voice, there are four primary ways that the Holy Spirit speaks to us today. These aren\u2019t the only four. God can speak to us however He wants. But these are the four primary ways he speaks to us today through his Holy Spirit.And…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[31,27,141,140,138,139],"class_list":["post-262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-next-steps","tag-bible","tag-god","tag-gods-will","tag-hear","tag-listen","tag-voice"],"yoast_head":"\n4 Ways to Hear the Voice of God - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hearing the voice of God doesn't have to be a fog or a mystery. 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