Ever felt moved to do something or thought you heard a voice telling you to make a certain decision, and then you had to stop and think: was that God? If so, is there a way to know for sure? You don’t want to do something crazy in the name of God only to come to the realization you’ve embarrassed yourself (and God) by mistaking his voice. You also don’t want to ignore God if he’s trying to push you to do something that could bring a lot of good into the world.   

So how do you know God’s voice? It may be a simple question, but the answer is far from easy. One of the first things to consider is our own spirituality. God is a spirit, and if we are going to tune our ears to God, we have to be sensitive to the move of his spirit. This means one of the things we need to do to better identify God’s voice is to develop our spirituality. 

God’s Voice is Learned

The first thing to remember is that just because you hear a voice in your head, doesn’t mean it’s God (just ask any schizophrenic). But how do we distinguish between the prompts of the Holy Spirit and the whispers of our own subconscious? That’s where it gets tricky. Thankfully, there is a litmus test we can use.

The biggest indicator is to make sure it lines up with God’s Word. God won’t contradict himself. He wouldn’t tell people, “Thou shall not murder,” and then ask someone to go do that very thing. Anyone who is killing in the name of God is doing so disconnected from God. It’s why the revelation of Jesus was so eye-opening. All the years of God’s name being associated with people who put him in compromising situations made it difficult for others to understand what it was God actually wanted. Too many people did things saying God told them to, and it corrupted people’s understanding of God. However, through Jesus, we learn what God wanted all along. This serves as a litmus test as to whether or not it was actually from God. If it doesn’t line up with God’s Word and the life of Jesus, then it wasn’t from him. 

If you have not spent the time entrenched in his Word you won’t really know whether it is actually God speaking to you or just what you think your understanding of God wants you to do. This is why learning the Bible on a deeper level becomes essential to your walk with God. Our understanding of God is informed by the Bible, and thus our relationship with him is dependent on our knowledge of his Word. 

However, it becomes tricky when people think they understand God’s word, when they actually don’t. They’ll find a passage, take it out of context, interpret it to their liking, and then say it lines up with what God told them. This is why becoming a serious student of God’s Word is essential to your walk with God. The world has so many voices that they can drown out God’s if we are not anchoring our minds in his Word. We have to subject ourselves to the authority of Scripture, by becoming students who are willing to put in the time to know God through his Word. We commonly engage our hearts while singing worship songs, but there are other forms of worship where we can engage our minds,  such as meditating on his word, dialoguing about God’s word, attending Bible studies, considering how to apply Biblical concepts, or even writing theological papers. 

President Gregg Garner once described the process of learning God’s voice using a piano analogy. The number of keys you have on your piano is the extent to which you can be utilized by God. If you only have one or two keys, there are only a few things he can play or ways he can use you. However, the more keys you have on your piano, the more God can play. If you don’t take the time to study his Word where he has revealed himself, then how can we expect to know his voice? 

The Need for Spirituality

Too often, people equate spirituality with muttering indiscernible noises during prayer times, fainting during worship sessions, succumbing to uncontrollable emotions, or participating in long bouts of fasting or silence. We’re not saying such activity is unspiritual, but if spirituality is limited to specific behavior that is appropriate only in certain venues, then it can undermine what it means to be a spiritual person. Too often it is restricted to religious activity in a religious setting, rather than allowing spirituality to permeate every aspect of our lives. 

There are activities that are easily discernible as spiritual, such as singing worship songs, praying, or meditating on God’s Word. However, there are other decisions that we make and attitudes we display which could be spiritual as well, if we choose to interact with it as such. Life’s storms will control us with their tossing waves if we do not anchor ourselves in God. This is why we should approach situations with an enhanced sense of spirituality rather than give in to our natural, often flesh-filled responses. We should engage our spirit, not just in religious settings, but in our everyday lives, as we need to be people who are full of God’s spirit. 

But how do we know we are full of the spirit? You’ll display the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and so on (Gal. 5:22)--even in challenging moments. Is your life characterized by these traits? Not just in the times it’s easy, but even in the difficult times? If you’re struggling to think of examples from your life, then maybe ask a close friend for some honest feedback. As people who strive to be close to God, we have to engage our spirits in every aspect of our lives, because our natural, flesh-filled reactions to life’s chaos will not reveal God’s goodness to a watching world. By engaging our spirit in our everyday choices we can be generous even when it hurts, we can have joy amid suffering, we can love those who are difficult to love, and we can make decisions in faith even when we don’t know what’s to come. 

However, to be filled with the Spirit, you have to be filled with the Word. You cannot have one without the other. If you neglect the Bible, you are desensitizing yourself to his Spirit. Those who want to be filled with the spirit must put in the mental energy to truly grasp the lessons found in His Word. If you or someone you know is interested in diving deeper into God’s Word, then have them check out some of the classes the Institute has to offer. Studying the Bible academically is a great way to begin learning God more intimately.