In the Old Testament, the prophets were the hearers of God’s voice and the sole custodians of God’s spoken word and intentions. (Heb 1:1)
Now, because of what Jesus has done on the cross, sin no longer separates us from God.
Through faith in Christ, we become God’s children—able to live and walk in relationship with God and to hear His voice.
How can you hear God’s voice on a personal basis? Here are some examples of different ways that God communicates, taken from my prophetic training:
1. Jesus
‘In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…’ (Heb 1:1-2a)
Take a long look. And look again.
In Jesus Christ, you will find the context for every word God speaks. And that context is grace, forgiveness, mercy, and outrageous sacrificial love. Who Jesus is, and what He has done, can speak to you every day of your life.
Your Father’s motives and intentions are revealed in Jesus for all to see.
2. The Bible
‘Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.’ (Ps 119:105)
The Bible is not only the primary source in which you hear God’s voice speaking to you personally; it is also how you weigh up every other communication you believe is from God.
God can speak to you through the Bible when you are directly engaging with it (such as reading or listening), or through recalling something to your mind. A Bible story, Scripture verse, a passage, a theme, a promise, a warning, or exhortation—the variety of ways God speaks through His Word is endless.
3. Prophecy
“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17-18)
One of the ways God speaks to us today is through the giving and receiving of prophecy. Prophecy is simply the sharing of a message from God, of the Father’s intended purpose, from one person to another individual or group of people. There are many different ways that a prophecy can be conveyed.
4. Impressions
An impression is the effect of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts and minds. (John 14:26)
The Holy Spirit often speaks through light, fleeting, and spontaneous impressions, such as an urge or a prompt to take an action. It may come through a check or warning. An impression can also be physical, such as a word of knowledge for healing.
5. A Picture or Vision
God sometimes speaks through visions. These occur mostly as a simple picture coming to mind—the Holy Spirit’s fleeting imprint upon our imagination.
In addition to this, the New Testament (NT) also records a ‘trance’ vision. (Acts 10:9-17) During these types of vision, awareness of physical surroundings remains, but the vision also appears real to the senses. A third type of vision is an ‘open vision’, where a person experiences the vision as a physical reality. (Acts 10:3-4)
6. Divine Appointments and Circumstances
God can communicate to us through Divine appointments. These are meetings that He has set up for a purpose. (Acts 8:27) A Divine appointment is often unplanned on our part. It may also be pursued intentionally, but it is not until during or afterward that we recognise our Father intended the meeting for a significant purpose.
God can also speak to us through circumstances, such as open and closed doors.
7. Leaders
In the New Testament, we see that God speaks to and through His leaders—His gift of oversight to us in the church and in ministry. (Acts 13:2, Acts 15:13, 28, Acts 16:10) Whilst leaders are not the only way God speaks to us, we are called to honour them and highly value God’s word of instruction through them.
God also gives us oversight to help weigh up prophecies and spiritual guidance as a safety net in church life and our personal lives today. (Acts 14:29, Heb 13:17)
8. Prophetic Dreams
There are many instances of prophetic dreams throughout the Bible. God continues to speak to us on occasion through prophetic dreams in our sleep. (Matt 2:12, Acts 2:17)
9. Something Spoken
Beyond prophecy, there are other spiritual gifts through which God can speak to us through each other, including words of wisdom, exhortation, and knowledge.
These can take place in a time and place set aside for that purpose. However, the Holy Spirit is not limited in the way He can communicate to us, for example, we can hear the voice of God speaking to us personally in moments of ordinary conversation.
10. Unusual Ways You Can Hear God’s Voice
In addition to the above, there are many ways, situations, and times that God can speak to us personally. We use human terms, such as ‘speak’ and ‘voice’, to describe a spiritual reality. However, the Holy Spirit has endless creative ways to speak to us. God spoke to Philip through an angel (Acts 8:26) and to John through an audible voice. (Rev 4:1) He spoke to Paul through a symbolic vision. (Acts 16:9) The OT records many more unusual ways that God communicated to His people.
There is no hierarchy of ways that you can hear God’s voice. Any way that God speaks is significant when sourced in the Holy Spirit. And very importantly, all need to be weighed up and tested. During the next posts, we will look at the question, ‘How Can I Tell If God Is Really Speaking To Me?’
Leave a Comment:
In which of these ways have you heard God speaking to you personally?
More recently (I wrote this original post in 2015), we can relate to hearing God’s voice in unusual ways, and I believe “Prophetic Signs” can be added to this list. Here’s one of my more recent posts on this topic: Prophetic Signs: How to Make the Most of Them
Related Posts:
How to Recover the Wonder of Hearing God’s Voice
3 Simple Keys to Hearing God’s Voice
4 Barriers to Hearing God’s Voice
© Helen Calder
Enliven Ministries: Prophetic Ministry for a Revival Generation
Helen Calder is a prophetic minister and writer, and founder of Enliven Ministries. Helen has a unique gift of equipping in prophetic ministry and prayer. She is known for Enliven Blog (est. 2009), an online resource that reaches thousands of people globally.
I am inspired Helen. This is another totally life-changing read. Thank you!!!
Hi Helen,
Thanks for this blog. What struck me when reading this is God’s ways are infinite. My wife gets dreams, I get very clear visions, then God even explains what my visions mean. This is just how God communicates to us, differently.
What also struck me is that well meaning people helping others could potentially limit what people can receive from God.
This has taught me that my advice should not be limited to my experience but by what God says.
Thanks again.
That’s such a good insight, Steve. You’re right, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to hearing from God and relationship with Him. How blessed you and your wife are to receive dreams and visions from the Holy Spirit!
I’m very inspired by your writing about prophecy. Recently I have been feeling a strong chill through my body and my hair stands up on my hands when I feel that there is something that God is telling me to tell someone. I’m 100% sure that it is God because I have a beautiful relationship with him and it’s a good feeling it’s not a bad feeling it is comfortable and peaceful. Today for example, on the bus there was a girl I was talking to who was working 10 to 12 hour shifts at McDonald’s. You can tell that she was a very hard worker by how she was speaking about her job and her morals. When I was about to get off the bus God said go back in the bus and let her know that she should be a baker and own a bake shop one day. Basically just that she should bake and own a business. So I went back in and asked her do you like baking and she said yes 100%.. she looked almost as if she was a deer with headlights on her and her eyes opened up really big. I said to her God is telling me to tell you that you should bake and open up a shop. What’s your name I asked her and she said TT and I said it should be called TT’s bake shop. I don’t know why he wants me to tell you that but I feel it strongly and I really do think that that was what he wanted me to let her know and that’s why I was on that bus at that particular time. This has been happening to me more often lately but my relationship with God is also getting stronger. It was also happening because as I was walking out of the bus I was praying for her in my mind talking to God through my spirit. Because she seemed to be working very hard and was very tired and I can tell that she was a highly moralistic young lady with high ambitions but needed guidance. That’s when God said the bake shop that’s what she needs. Please help me understand this more what do you think about this insight have been feeling?
Unusual ways…. agreed! Listened to a talk by Chuck Swindoll a few months back in which he said that any genuine prophecy sent from God has an element of “the irrational” about it. I know this has been true for me in my journey of sanctification – but sometimes this aspect alone can be sufficient justification for others to voice their dislike/offendedness with it, and the prophet can be left feeling isolated and discouraged. All par for the course, I suppose ?!
Yes Susan that’s a very good thought – often a prophetic insight does not make sense at the time it is received, we need to journey with it over a longer period of time. And then there are dreams… :-)
God is using better than before because of understanding i got for you brethren continue be a blessing to many. Um Pastor Phenyo Mompati Theleni in Botswana mahalapye. Love you lot and may God bless you
Great stuff
Am really blessed with this teachings and very thoughtful and deep insight.Am learning so much and I appreciate it so much.God bless you woman of God.