Our desire for communication, to know and be known, is more apparent now than it has ever been. From the moment we leave our beds in the morning, we are hearing, processing, and consuming information. From phones to televisions, websites, apps, newspapers, and face-to-face conversations, a normal day is filled with dialogue. In the midst of this constant stream of communication and information, the question becomes, how do we hear the voice of God?
Does God speak internally? Through our thoughts and feelings? Or maybe through a spiritual guru he has chosen to deliver his words to us? Does he even speak at all? Maybe God is more like a distant and powerful force, somewhat disinterested about each individual person's life.
God Said
The opening chapter of Genesis records the phrase "God said" roughly ten times. One of the first truths God wants us to know about him is the fact that he speaks. He both reveals himself and creates using words. Since we are made in God's image, we have been given the ability to hear him when he speaks. Our desire to communicate with others and the world is a direct result of God enabling us to communicate and develop a relationship with him. When we receive what God speaks, it leads to a joyous relationship with him, a desire to know his people, and a commitment to proclaim his words to the world.
How Goes God Speak?
The Bible shows that God speaks in a multitude of ways, to a multitude of people, for one purpose--to reveal his glory. One of the easiest ways to understand how God speaks is to divide God's chosen methods of communication into two different categories: general and special revelation.
General revelation. God speaks to all people, in all places, and throughout all times, in a general way. God speaks this way through creation, common grace, and our consciences. All three reveal that there is a Creator and shed light on God's nature and character.
As we live in the created world, it is easy to notice the grandeur, beauty, and intricacies involved with life on this planet. The presence of mountains, animals, oceans, flowers, and clouds says something. All of creation communicates and reveals God's power, majesty, creativity, and wisdom. Think of how astounding the human body is. Doctors and scientists have marveled at it for centuries. Just the fact that you are, at this very moment, reading words with your eyes and understanding them with your mind, is enough to inspire awe and worship.
Common grace refers to the love that God shows all people. It reveals God's care and affection for all human beings, though not in a saving way. It includes things like the food we eat, the water we drink, the medicine that is available to take, the sun that warms us, and the rain that makes crops grow. A person does not need to worship Jesus to experience God's love and provision in this way. When considering the ways we experience God's common grace, the examples are almost innumerable. Anything that we could consider good and beneficial to human life is a result of God's common grace. It makes life much better than it would be if sinful humanity were left to themselves.
Internally, God reveals himself through the conscience he gave us. There are certain actions and attitudes that almost everyone generally accepts as wrong (even if they would argue differently). This is because God has written his law on our hearts. Humans are made in the image of God and our conscience acts as a moral compass. Some ignore and violate their conscience, and others are very aware of how it informs their life. Through our conscience, God communicates that he is holy and just.
Tragically, general revelation is all that some people care to hear from God. They wrongly assume that believing there is a Creator, experiencing some degree of goodness in their life, and knowing right from wrong is sufficient enough to have a relationship with God. They fail to understand that God's general revelation does not have a saving effect, but rather serves to communicate God's existence and goodness so humanity calls upon him in a deeper way. God speaking through general revelation is meant to push us towards hearing God's voice in a more personal way.
Special revelation. For someone to have a saving knowledge of God, general revelation is not enough. It does not reveal how God came to earth in the person of Jesus, lived a sinless life, died a horrendous death as a substitute for our sin, and rose from the dead for our salvation. In addition to believing what God has revealed about himself in a general sense, we must believe what God reveals about salvation and life through special revelation. He reveals these truths through the Bible, other people, and supernatural means.
Although the Bible is written to all people throughout all times, it is a deeply personal book. When we open it and begin to read, we hear the voice of our Savior. Not just to mankind in general, but to us personally. He reveals his nature, character, and redeeming plan throughout the pages of Scripture. He whispers affirmations, and issues warnings, as we take in the Word of God. It is in Scripture where we are introduced to Jesus, our only hope and the only door leading to salvation. The Bible is completely sufficient in guiding us to know and serve God. It speaks authoritatively and perfectly about hundreds of issues. The Bible is what we use to measure all other special revelations. Quite simply, if something does not line up with the Word of God, it is not from God. If your Bible is open, God is never silent.
The second way God speaks concerning special revelation is through other people. God raises up preachers to publicly proclaim the person and work of Christ, he uses believers to edify and encourage, and calls all of his followers to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. God does not have to include humans in revealing himself to the world, but chooses to so we are able to share in the joy of glorifying God. If you are a Christian, chances are God used someone else to begin to speak to you about who he is, his plan of salvation, and how much he cares about your life.
In addition to using others to reveal himself through the gospel, God uses people to speak to others in very specific and personal ways. As the Holy Spirit enables them, believers are able to share with others specific words of instruction, wisdom, and knowledge that let the recipient know God is speaking and paying close attention to their life. A believer may feel the need to pray for someone, write an encouraging letter, or give someone a phone call. More often than not, this happens at a time when that person needs encouragement or direction. We could simply dismiss all this as coincidence, but the Bible is clear that God uses other believers to speak to us.
Corporately, God uses people to speak his word through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When believers gather to celebrate Jesus, we can be assured that God is going to speak to his people in a dynamic way. God may have a specific word for a congregation, or to a single person that is present. 1 Corinthians 14 details the manner in which these gifts are to operate, and gives us an inside look at the only recorded "church service" in the New Testament. It is clear that God uses others to speak his word, reveal his truth, and encourage the saints when we gather together in worship.
The Bible also describes God speaking supernaturally. God talked to Moses through a burning bush, the shadow of Peter healed the sick, Mary spoke to an angel, Joseph had a dream, and Samuel had a vision. Both the Old and New Testaments record God speaking to his people in extraordinary and supernatural ways. God speaking in this manner still happens today, just not frequently. When considering how often it happens throughout the sixty-six books in the Bible, we can see that it has never been something that God does flippantly or routinely. When it does happen, the Biblical context lets us know that what is happening is extremely important and could quite possibly change the world. Therefore, it seems as if God speaking supernaturally is not something that is going to happen on a daily basis in our lives.
This is important to understand because humanity has a tendency to elevate God speaking these ways to a place that is above and beyond the Bible. Our desire for the supernatural becomes unhealthy, and we lose sight of the fact of how God has spoken through the Bible first and foremost. Any supernatural revelation, including our individual thoughts and impressions, should be examined using the Bible. When we find that they do not contradict each other, we can begin to consider and pray about if the revelation is really from the Lord.
For Eternal Purposes
Often we feel frustrated trying to discern what God is saying to us in any given season of our lives. God would say to many of his children, "Relax." The voice and will of God is not something we can miss if we truly desire to hear and know it. We may experience some frustration as we wait and listen for the voice of God, but eventually it will come.
And God has a purpose for the waiting--we develop a more robust and satisfying relationship with our Heavenly Father. Seeking to discern what God is speaking to us often causes us to study the Bible more intently, pray more frequently, and seek wise counsel from other believers. Before we know it, we find that all the waiting has produced spiritual growth and deepened our trust in the Lord. In eternity, there is a good chance this will matter more than the specific answer we were seeking the Lord for in the first place!