If you want God to speak, remain open and willing to respond faithfully. Ask Him for confirmation that what He says is indeed accurate; this could happen while reading Scripture or listening to a teaching from an anointed source.
Keep in mind that God never contradicts Scripture – His voice will always remain consistent.
Table of Contents
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God’s presence within your life who guides and leads you towards truth. He also helps interpret Scripture. Have you ever noticed that Scripture verses you read or memorized years ago are suddenly popping into your head to provide comfort in a difficult situation? That’s likely God speaking through Him!
The Bible teaches us that we can rely on the Holy Spirit as our guiding light throughout life. He will help you comprehend Scripture, guide you toward truthful beliefs, convict of sins and provide spiritual gifts. You may hear His voice speak to you through Scripture reading, conversations or even your thoughts – bringing comfort when times get tough or sadness hits!
Your mind should be fully integrated with the Holy Spirit for optimal living. Achieve this is by regularly inspecting it as much like checking oil in a car so He can remove stumbling blocks from it.
One effective method for doing so is worship and praise God, as this will allow your mind to focus on Him more easily. Additionally, spending time praying and reading the Bible are excellent ways of hearing His voice and following his guidance. In order to hear Him clearly and open yourself up to His leading, be willing to let go and surrender yourself completely to him and accept whatever leads He provides you with.
The Holy Spirit is a real, living force who can be grieved (Isa. 63:10), insulted and belittled by others, and tested (1 Cor 12:4-11). If you trust him and allow yourself to be guided by him, He can become your greatest ally for bringing others to Christ; giving strength during trials while equipping you spiritually; even helping to share the gospel message to those who do not yet believe.
Confirmation
God can sometimes confirm His impressions and guidance by sending you a very clear message from Him. It could take the form of Scripture or teaching from an anointed teacher, visions or dreams; whatever form it takes it will carry an immense sense of authority as well as conveying peace, confidence, joy and reasonableness – always aligned with biblical moral principles.
Note: God does not speak in ways which contradict His written Word (the Bible). If any thoughts you’re having run counter to what’s stated therein, they likely do not come from Him and must be prayed over in order to discern if they come from God or not. Therefore it’s essential that prayer be undertaken regarding anything you think or feel to establish its authenticity or otherwise.
God often speaks through our minds in the form of messages urging us to change how we live or do something different. While it can be easy to ignore this type of advice if it seems scary or impossible, or you dismiss it as “the devil trying to scare you”, if we take time to listen and act upon these messages we will find that God helps us succeed.
Visions and dreams aside, God may speak through your thoughts as well. Sometimes a sudden thought will come into your head that gives all the information necessary for making decisions or solving an issue. If you need help distinguishing your thoughts from those of the Holy Spirit’s, try reading scripture regularly until you can identify which are His and which are your own.
God speaks to you through Confirmation, which deepens the grace of baptism by strengthening and expanding your connection to Jesus in an even stronger manner. Additionally, Confirmation expands your gifts and charisms so that they may better serve the Church – more information can be found by reading Acts of Apostles from your Bible.
Assurance
Assurance is the Spirit-produced feeling of confidence that comes from understanding God’s righteousness, gospel and salvation work in your life. In order to experience true assurance of salvation based on an objective fact like Christ’s work done for you alone. If doubt or anxiety has crept into your life, give those worries over to Jesus and ask him for assurance through prayer. Jon Bloom serves as pastor and cofounder of Desiring God ministry.
