Through the Old Testament, God often revealed His will through prophets. Prophets could receive God’s messages directly or through dreams or visions from Him or from their inner voices.
He communicated through His written Word – the Bible. Additionally, He often spoke audibly directly with individuals such as Abraham, Moses and Elijah.
Abraham
As the father of Hebrew people, Abraham stands as a vital figure in God’s plan for humanity. Through Abraham’s descendants, Jewish people would receive God’s covenant and his grandson Jesus would become its Savior for all mankind. Abraham is depicted as an upright individual with total devotion to God who strives to maintain peace through settling boundary disputes with Lot, saving Sodom and Gomorrah’s inhabitants, as well as providing hospitality by welcoming three visiting angels.
In the New Testament, Abraham serves as both an example and friend to us of what it means to have a meaningful relationship with Him. His faith led him to sacrifice his only son when necessary so God would fulfill His promises.
The Bible records several instances of God speaking directly to individuals, yet it’s important to keep in mind that He often made His presence known through other means than audible communication – including dreams, visions, angelic visitations and impressions on scripture – all working towards fulfilling His plan for our world.
Genesis records how God called Abraham out of his homeland and family home, telling him to leave everything behind and travel towards a land He would show him. Thus began an epic journey that would eventually lead Abraham into his promised land; along the way God provided prophets and miracles as proofs that His promises would come true.
At one point, God put Abraham through an extreme trial of faith when He told him to take Isaac, their only son, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains He showed him. Abraham agreed and reached for the knife when God stopped him with His promise that all nations on earth would be blessed through Isaac’s descendants.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia notes in this passage that when God speaks directly to Abraham through an angel and not himself, it can be difficult to distinguish his voice from that of an angel. In reality, they both appear as first person narratives with similar dialogue.
Moses
The Bible records numerous accounts of God speaking directly with Moses. Their conversations were typically personal, and He gave Moses considerable authority to make decisions on behalf of Israel. God communicated with Moses through an audible voice, supernatural visions or dreams, blinding light or thunder; sometimes telling people what they should do while at other times providing insight into His will for humanity as a whole or prophesying what would occur later on.
God first appeared as an angel to Moses at a burning bush, showing He was indeed alive. He then called upon Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Although initially resistant, Moses eventually agreed and recruited Aaron as helper – successfully leading out his people from Egypt into the desert where they would encounter plagues from Pharaoh’s forces and long treks over Red Sea.
At first, Moses found it hard to accept the role that God had chosen for him, asking why he was special and how he could please Him. Even after receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, his struggle continued as he witnessed Israelites engaging in ungodly behaviors such as idol worshipping.
One of the most notable instances of Moses disobeying God’s orders was when he struck a rock instead of speaking to it as instructed (Numbers 20:1-12), an action which caused great offense to God and prevented them from entering their Promised Land. This action left them barred from entering.
Moses attempted one final time to please God at the end of his life when he and Aaron again climbed Mount Sinai together. At that moment, He spoke directly to Moses; Moses responded “Jehovah now says…”
There is evidence of God speaking directly with certain biblical prophets; however, this wasn’t usually the case. Most prophets likely received messages from Him via vision or dream or perhaps their inner voices were more reliable sources.
Elijah
Elijah stands out as one of the more dramatic prophets, famous for the dramatic events surrounding his sacrifice and rain he caused to fall, as well as for miraculously providing oil for a boy he never ran out. Yet despite all of this famed charisma, he faced considerable personal struggles himself, fearing God had abandoned him at times – only for encouragement and guidance to come from Him at just the right moment! The Bible records these amazing events perfectly.
Elijah encountered God through various channels – direct appearance, dream interpretations, visions or even his strong inner voice. One account in particular stands out: 1 Kings 19 tells of Elijah meeting up with Lord for an unforgettable encounter.
Elijah began answering God’s call during a period of drought in Israel, when they experienced idol worship of Baal by King Ahab’s wife Jezebel who persuaded her husband to turn away from God and favor the Baal cult instead. Elijah found himself responding swiftly but eventually succumbed.
Elijah made an impassioned plea to King Ahab to return to God as their deity, emphasizing how anyone who turned away would face punishment from Him if they went astray. It was an uncomfortable message for Ahab to hear.
Later, Jezebel lured Elijah back to her house and threatened his life, prompting him to seek refuge in a cave for several days before returning to God and standing before Him on a mountaintop.
There, God sent wind, earthquake, and fire. However, once the smoke cleared he heard a “still small voice”.
This call to ministry can be found throughout the Bible, particularly Luke, Romans and Hebrews. Additionally, New Testament Gospels like John and Matthew both mention Elijah and Elisha – which shows how Elijah may be seen by them as a precursor and type of Christ/the coming Messiah figure; making him widely considered one of the greatest prophets ever!
Jesus
God communicated with individuals throughout Scripture through various channels. These included dreams and visions, angelic visitations, impressions, reflections on Scripture and more. Sometimes He even spoke audibly – usually only prophets were prepared to hear Him audibly; these included Abraham, Moses and Jesus himself! God made Himself audibly known three times: at His baptism, Transfiguration and before Crucifixion.
Note that God speaks differently today from how He spoke to Moses and Paul; however, He remains the same God we worship today and spoke through various means like the Bible – hence why it’s called His Word – but also healed sick people and raised those from death, as seen in Gospel stories.
Jesus was God incarnate, His spokesman to both angels and humans alike. That’s why His words could be understood so clearly and authoritatively by both angels and humans alike; no other man could possibly say such things! Jesus claimed He was equal with His Father while performing numerous miracles to prove this point.
The Bible teaches that we can learn to recognize and hear God’s voice, although it takes practice and time. First we must recognize when He speaks, then listen carefully before responding. God may communicate in different ways, so it’s important that we stay aware that there may be many voices out there trying to contact us as well.
Remind ourselves that God has a plan for us, and He desires for us to follow it with courage. Often through long and trying circumstances – like those experienced by biblical heroes – He develops us further. Though these trials can make it easy to turn away from Christ during hard times, remembering this will strengthen your faith even as well as teach you how to hear his call will strengthen it all the more.
