How Do I Know When God Is Speaking to Me?

Isaiah 30:21 - Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

One of my Sunday School children asked a really good question: "How do I know when God is speaking to me?" The following is how I personally know when it's God. If you have other ways, please let me know.

1. His Voice Is Distinctive
   I can recogize my family and friends by their different voices. The same goes for God. To me His voice is generally calm and soft, therefore easy to miss if I am preoccupied or in a hurry. But in an emergency He can be loud!



2. It Never Contradicts His Written Word
   Anything that contradicts His Word is either from the Devil or my own imagination. So is anything that brings fear, condemnation, guilt, or shame.



3. It's Not Something I Would Come Up With On My Own
   God says that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaish 55:9). His thoughts and perspective on situations are different from mine. When I am fearful, worried, or anxious .... or maybe when I feel like a failure . . . He is calm and reassuring.



4. It Rings My Heart Like a Bell!
   God's timing, wording, and tone of voice are perfectly tuned to who I am! Nobody else communicates this clearly to me.



5. It Is Short and to the Point
   He is never wordy with me. Nodody else can pack so much meaning and emotion in so few words.



6. It's Not All "Warm Fuzzies"
   The Bible says that God disciplines His children. Consequently, sometimes I get "zapped." I don't trust people who say that all they hear from God is "warm fuzzies."



7. He's Not Into "Small-Talk."
   I know people who say that they chat with God all the time, like He was their next-door neighbor. But since their walk doesn't match their talk, I suspect that they are just listening to their own imagination. I might hear spoken words from God maybe once or twice a month, depending on what I'm going through. But I sense little nudges throughout every day.



8. Pure Motives
   God's words are full of truth and love. They are never tainted by fear, selfish gain, or any other sinful attitude.



9. Confirmation
   I love love love it when what God says is confirmed by what happens later!



10. Words vs. Presence
    It's not specifically words that I am hungry for. I'm hungry for God's Presence. Spoken words are just one of several ways through which He makes me aware of His Presence. The primary way is through His Word. I also sense His Presence during Praise and Worship, while I'm praying alone, when I'm hiking on the mountain, when I'm helping in church, when I visit my daughter's grave at the start of each new day, when I see the starry night sky, when I'm doing my household chores on a peaceful Saturday morning, every time I see a happy loving family, and every time I see a newborn baby!