Hearing and Recognizing God’s Voice

“He who is of God hears God’s words;” John 8:47

We know God’s voice because we know Him. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” The better we get to know God the more clearly we will recognize His voice. God’s voice is His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love, so the voice of God is the sound of Love.

Jesus cries out seven times to the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The Holy Spirit is speaking to God’s people. For those who listen and obey, they are about to move forward into the greatest outpouring of God’s Spirit that the world has ever known.

As we stand at the edge of the horizon of God’s glory being revealed upon the earth the greatest need continues to be workers in the harvest. It is through hearing and obeying the voice of God that we gather the harvest and expand the kingdom of God. Each saint has a mission and a ministry ordained by God to walk in. There is only one head in the body of Christ, as we listen and obey His voice, the Holy Spirit; the body of Christ will come together in complete unity and function in perfect harmony.

All saints have heard God’s voice. Jesus says, “no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught by God. Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” (John 6:44-45) It was God’s voice that drew you to Him. In your inner most being you heard God saying, I have chosen you and ordained you, come unto me.

So the beginning of your recognition of communication from God was when He was calling you to salvation. But your salvation was only the beginning of your calling; God never stops calling you. When a person receives God’s salvation the Lord immediately calls them into ministry for Him.

God will speak to us in many ways; one of the main ways is through the written scriptures. God will never contradict Himself so the scriptures help to confirm what the Spirit is speaking inside of us. Because the same voice that wrote the scriptures speaks directly to us who are the new covenant. But it is through the Holy Spirit that we are given the knowledge of how and when to apply which scriptures to which situation.

God sometimes speaks to people through dreams, visions, and even an audible voice. God also speaks through other people; sometimes He speaks through people that may not even be Christians. God sometimes speaks through circumstances, opening and closing doors of opportunity. But we are not to be led by people or by circumstances but only by the Holy Spirit. The key is to recognize God’s voice when you hear it in whatever way that He chooses to communicate to you. We are to walk by faith not by sight, and faith comes by hearing the spoken words of God and recognizing His voice.

                                                                                                                                                                          Pastor Maurice D. Carter