One of my grandmas used to say, “I never hear God speak.” It wasn’t as if I heard His voice all of the time, so I didn’t know what to say. But that was many years ago and I have learned some things.
One way we “hear” God is reading the Bible. God did not put the Bible together just because He had nothing better to do with His time. The Bible is His voice to us. Without the Bible, we simply do not know God.
Many times while reading the Bible, God shows me an answer to a question I have. I’m amazed when I find myself reading exactly what I need at that moment. God knows how to lead us.
We can also “hear” God’s voice inside of us. It may seem like a thought pops into our mind; it is an inner knowing.
Other times I will be talking and I will say something I hadn’t thought of before; it is God speaking through me and to me at the same time. I am always amused when this happens because it comes as a sweet surprise.
As a caution, when these types of things occur, we must make sure our impressions and thoughts agree with the Bible. If we “hear” something that goes against the Bible, we can be certain it wasn’t God speaking to us. Everything He tells us will agree with the Bible.
We must have quiet times if we want to hear God speaking to us. If we are always surrounded by noise we cannot hear His voice.
Peace is another way to “hear” God, in a sense. He leads us by the peace in our hearts. If we feel unsettled about doing something, it might be His way of saying, “Don’t do it.” On the flip side, if we are full of peace about something, it may be His way of giving us “the go.”
God can also use people to give us direction. They may say exactly what we need to hear, or give us good advice. Again, it must agree with the Bible, and we also should have peace about it.
God is not silent. He is always speaking to us, through the Bible, through our spirits, and sometimes through people. We must be reading and we must be listening.