How does God speak?
This is is the most difficult question to answer. No one has a definite answer to this question; but I can only share my perspective based on my experience with Him.
I believe we can hear from God consistently and clearer; when we read the Bible with the help of the Holy spirit. Now, I’m not talking about just reading the bible like every other book neither am I talking about reading it to free yourself from the guilt of not reading the bible. I mean; digesting the word!.
While growing up, I remember how the church always told us to read the bible. So the first time I took my bible to read, I was 16 years old. I took this bible, and opened to the book of Genesis; hoping to read all the books in the bible. Then, I didn’t have a relationship with the Holy spirit neither was I doing it from my heart.
And as I began to read, I was cramming every name I came across and even the stories too; just to prove to people I knew the bible. I felt intimidated whenever I saw kids my age and even the ones younger raising their hands whenever questions from the bible were asked. But unfortunately for me then, after the whole cramming, I wouldn’t remember a thing few weeks after. So I stopped reading the bible. It wasn’t like my intention for reading the bible was genuine.
But there is one thing I wish churches had told us then, and it is the bible speaks! Well God speaks through His Word.
In this present time, I genuinely wanted to get closer to God. So the Holy spirit led me to reading the bible with the purpose of getting to know God better. Unknowing to me, that the bible reveals who I am in Christ.
In this journey of reading the Word, there’s this thing that happens to me most of the time; and it’s that all of a sudden, it’s not about these characters(subjects) anymore, it’s about me, and the hidden wisdom of God in it. Little by little I began to understand God’s ways.
Now, this is where I’m going. After reading the bible, at night when I sleep, God speaks to me. He reveals things to me.
Another point I want you to note is that, you will never hear from God, if you’re not burning with this thirst and hunger for Him. I was only able to hear God clearly when I desired to know Him more.
How do I trust that Indistinct and Quiet voice?
I remember for a while during these time, day-to-day, I would cry to God “aside from reading the bible, I want to know it’s you who is speaking to me. I hear things, but I don’t know if it’s you”.
It was only this one time, when I was going through something and I needed someone to comfort me, but I had no one to talk to. So in the middle of the night, I woke up and cried to God “Lord I need you, where are you?” and this voice replied “I DWELL IN YOU ”. My heart stopped because I felt it within my spirit that it was God who had spoken. This voice was so comforting.
As each day passed by, I kept crying to God that I want to be able to hear Him, I want to be able to discern. But things were still the same. Until this faithful day, I said something different to Him. Since, after all my prayers nothing changed, I decided to be precised with my words. I said this to Him “God in the days of Abraham and the likes, whenever You spoke to them, your voice was like the sound of thunder. Please give me that special grace to also hear your voice like the sound of thunder; so I know it’s You”. I know you’re smiling or even laughing at these these words, but I was really serious with tears in my eyes.
Later that night, as I slept, indeed He spoke with that voice of thunder; telling me to pass a message to someone. So subconsciously, I wrote down what He said in my journal. But ever since that day, no voice like the sound of thunder came. And later on, I stopped expecting that thunder voice, but put my faith in God and trusted that voice and every word that came to me. Why? Because I know God would never lead me astray. He has given me the Holy spirit that has guided me and still is guiding me in knowing when He speaks.
We can’t discern God’s voice by our own wisdom. It takes grace and the help of the Holy spirit. So beloved, there’s one thing I’d like you to know; and it’s that, I have never heard God’s voice wrongly when I diligently seek Him through His Word(Bible).
May God grant you the grace to be able to discern!!
GOD BLESS YOU
