Teresa Seputis is the founder and head of Godspeak International. She is an ordained minister with United Christian Church and Ministers Association and is licensed with Christian International. A large portion of Teresa's ministry is dedicated to training and equipping believers to be effective in advancing God's kingdom. Her desire is to teach people to discern what the Father is doing so that they might do it with Him.

"How to Hear the Voice of God in a Noisy World" is published by Charisma House, ISPN 0-88419-755-7, copyright 2001.

Learning How to Hear

A key element to knowing God is having a close relationship with Him. The closer we are to Him, the easier it is for us to distinguish between God's voice and anything that imitates His voice, such as the enemy or our own desires. The more we know a person, the easier it is for us to understand what that person is trying to communicate to us. The same applies to our interactions with God. It is important to develop our personal relationship with God, so we can hear Him more clearly.

We can build this relationship by choosing to spend time with Him. And we build this relationship by reading, meditating on, and memorizing His word, and by asking Him to show us His will. We must be aware that God's voice is not the only voice that will try to speak to us. Our own hearts will try to imitate God's voice, telling us what we want to hear. Also, the enemy may try to confuse us by pretending to be God's voice and saying things the demonic world wants to tell us. That is why it is important to know God well, so we can distinguish between His voice any other voice that tries to immitate Him.

God is constantly speaking to His children because He is a communicating God. Unfortunately, not everyone recognizes when God speaks to them. Each of us was created with an innate ability to hear God's voice, but we do not always recognize that He is speaking to us. So we have to be taught how to recognize His voice. It is similar to how birds learn to fly. Baby birds are born with an innate ability to fly, and they are designed for that purpose. But they can't just automatically fly. The mother bird has to teach them how. And it is the same with us; we need to learn how to recognize when God is speaking to us.

Another reason we may not hear God's voice is that we may not believe God speaks to us or we may explain away God's promptings by thinking we are making them up in our mind. Even Samuel, an Old Testament prophet, had to learn how to recognize God's voice. Samuel missed the first three times God called him and reported to his mentor, Eli. Since Samuel had not yet learned how to recognize God's voice, he naturally assumed that Eli was calling him. Finally Eli realized God was trying to speak to Samuel, so he told Samuel what to do. Then Samuel was able to hear God speak to him.

Often God drops a thought into our mind, but we think it comes from our own mind, so we reject it. Just like Samuel, we need to learn to recognize God's voice. It is also important to realize that this is a process and there will be many "misses" before we are confident in what is and is not God's voice. The key is not to give up, but to keep on pressing into God, asking Him for help in learning to recognize His voice.

God Speaks to Us Through His Word

One of the greatest tools is God's written Word. In it we learn about His character, His likes and dislikes, His promises and His standards. The more we become familiar with the Word of God, the easier it is to distinguish between the voices we hear. In this process we must acknowledge God's Word as the absolute standard of truth. God will never go against His written Word, the Bible. So if we think we have heard Him say something to us that contradicts Scripture, we must assume we have heard wrong.

There are times when we are in desperate situations and feel the need for an immediate response from God. In our desperation we may search the Scriptures for a word that fits our situation and then interpret it in a way that agrees with our desires. This is an example of misusing Scriptures. There are two types of misuses:

• Manipulating scripture - When we are desperate for a word, we may be tempted to find a Scripture we think fits our situation, then twist it to fit our purposes. We can end up trying to hold God to a promise He never made, and then be disappointed when He doesn't keep that "promise."

• Using the Bible out of context - Some people use Scripture like a spiritual ouija board or horoscope - they open the Bible and randomly select a Scripture, accepting that Scripture as the answer to their situation. There are times when God will speak to us by having us randomly come across a Scripture, but that is the exception rather than the norm.

Recognizing God's Voice

We may be tempted to take on various theologies that we believe help us recognize God's voice. However, if those theologies are not biblical we are hindered in our progress of hearing God. The good news is that as we yield to God's leading, He will break through anything contrary to His truth and bring correction to false theologies. Teresa writes: "But when it comes to understanding the nature and character of God, He is constantly showing me that I still have some misconceptions about who He is. We all do."

Misconceptions can give us a distorted picture of God. There are two main misconceptions:

* God does not speak directly to His children today. * God does speak to His children today, but He does not want to speak to me personally.

God wants all of His children to hear Him and engage in an intimate relationship with Him. God is a communicating God; it is part of His nature. He loves to be in personal relationship with His creation. An example of this was when God met Adam daily in the Garden of Eden to talk with him.

People have the misconception that one has to be unusually holy to hear God's voice. That is not the case. The Bible gives us several examples of God speaking to people who were in sin or who were unbelievers, and in each case the person heard God and in most cases even carried on a conversation with God. For instance, God spoke to Adam and Eve after they sinned. They were not excused for their sin; in fact, they were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. But God spoke to them, they heard His voice and they even carried on a conversation with Him.

One might argue that God does not speak to unbelievers, but that could not be further from the truth. Cain is an example that God indeed talks to unbelievers.

Doing What We Hear God Say

Teresa argues that the main issue is not determining what God wants to say to us; the hard part is obeying Him after we hear Him. It is not easy to "walk out God's will once we understand it." She gives the example of forgiving others. God makes it clear from His Word that He expects us to forgive those who wrong us. But often it is hard for us to do what He asks. If you want to hear God clearly, you must be prepared to obey Him once you have heard Him.

How God Speaks to Us

God has various ways He uses to speak to us even before we know how to recognize His voice clearly. Chapter 4 lists the following ways:

• Object lesson - When God uses something in the natural to illustrate a spiritual principle. God does not always speak to us in dramatic ways. His object lessons are equally powerful when he chooses to use them in a way where we are simply realizing His truth instead of "hearing" Him speak the truth to us. We need to lean on God and not on our own abilities.

• Repetition - Repeated incidences until we realize that God is speaking to us through them.

• Everyday life - God coming into everyday situations and revealing Himself through them.

• Divine coincidences - When events or circumstances fall together in such a way that the hand of God is evident in your circumstances.

• Internal promptings - Strong urges to do or not to do something.

• A check in our spirit - Like an internal alarm clock going off. A way God uses to protect us from impending dangers.

• Conviction of the Holy Spirit - An example would be a strong sense that what you are involved in is wrong and the Lord is not pleased. He does this to make us get right with Him, not to make us feel bad.

• Getting an inner witness as someone shares something - We may find ourselves engaged in a conversation when suddenly we realize God is speaking to us directly through that person and our spirit bears witness to what is being said. Teresa states: "There will be times when your spirit grabs hold of a truth as someone speaks to you. Something insides sparks, and you just know that what is being said is right." She continues, "God uses others to speak to you at times. He quickens what they say to your spirit to get your attention and to let you know the truths came from Him to you."

Other means God may be using to convey His message are books, teachings, movies or songs. God is not limited when it comes to communication tools. He loves variety and often uses common things to convey His heart.

Discerning God's Voice From Other Voices

A big part of understanding communication with God is also recognizing two other voices that speak to us. There is also the voice of our own heart and the enemy's voice. The challenge is to tell them apart. In recognizing our own voice it is important that we understand our own thought processes as well as examine our motives. Again, the closer relationship we have with God and the better we know His Word, the better equipped we are in distinguishing between His character and ours and His voice and ours, as well as what is and is not the enemy's voice.

When we are unsure of whether God really spoke about a situation, it is always good to ask Him for clarification. It is equally good to make it a habit of checking with God before acting on a word, especially when it pertains to important issues. It is more difficult for us to hear Him in situations where our emotions are deeply involved or when we are tired or distracted. When we find ourselves in a situation like that it is always advisable to double-check our hearing and ask God for confirmations. Also, our ability to hear God clearly greatly diminishes when we are tired or exhausted. In that case, we can usually hear God more clearly after we have had a good rest.

The enemy will often use Scripture when he imitates God's voice, and he often will use those Scriptures out of context. The key is to know Scripture well so we are quick to recognize the twisting of God's truth. Some people find it helpful to take authority over the enemy, forbidding him to interfere with their communication with God and to forbid him from twisting God's Word.

Positioning Ourselves to Hear God's Voice

Positioning is preparing ourselves and being in the right place at the right time. There are two areas in the Spirit where a believer needs to position himself. One is to establish such an intimate relationship with God that His voice can be easily recognized. The other is our firm commitment to God's lordship in our lives with the full intent of obeying Him in everything He instructs us to do. As we learn to hear God more clearly, He will also hold us more accountable. Here we have to make a decision as to whether we are truly willing to obey God no matter what the price. Do we want God to truly be Lord of everything in our lives?

God may resort to a series of obedience lessons in the process of training us to obey His will. These lessons may start with low stakes that usually are easily mastered. But as our hearing improves, the stakes become higher. Teresa differentiates between "cheap obedience" and "expensive obedience." Cheap obedience will not cost us much, but expensive obedience will involve some real consequences. It is important that we obey in both situations. If the "cost" is low, we should practice obeying God instantly, since it will not hurt much if we are wrong. However, when the cost is high we need to double-check to ensure we are hearing correctly before we obey.

Often, God will choose a primary way to talk to us. But that does not mean He will not speak to us in other ways as well. It is important not to rely on Him to talk to us in only one way, or we may miss out on some of what He is saying.

Knowing It Is Really God

So how do we know it is really God? When we are not sure, we can ask Him. But we must allow Him to decide how to confirm it to us. We are not in a place to dictate to God how and when He will confirm His will to us. In fact, we are told in the Bible not to put the Lord to the test, e.g. do not fleece God. It is better to simply leave the question for clarification with the Lord and let Him decide when and how He will answer it.

Many of us have the tendency to over analyze revelations. While we spend too much time trying to make sure it is God, the opportunity passes and we miss God's perfect timing and deliver the message in the wrong season. This happens when we put our trust in our abilities and not God's. It is important to put our trust solely in the Lord and His willingness to redirect us if need be. Often we assume that a message pertains to the present time and discard it because it may not fit into a current situation. It does not mean that a word is not from God if it does not happen to "fit" your current situations. He may be dealing with something that will happen tomorrow or next month. It is always good to ask the Lord to clarify the timing of a word.

In trying to learn God's voice, it is equally important to know what is not God's voice. There are several keys to distinguishing what is and is not God's voice:

• God never contradicts His Word. When we receive a word that states something different from Scripture, it is safe to toss it out.

• God's voice never is the voice of anxiety, unsettledness nor exhaustion. When our emotions are highly involved it is best to wait until God's peace is settled in us.

• God's voice is not the voice of obscurity. He does not make His communication to us difficult by giving us difficult riddles and symbols to identify.

• God is not a gossip and will not reveal anything about a person to us unless we are part of the problem or part of the solution. This means that we may be given an assignment to pray for somebody and God strategically reveals how to pray for that person by revealing the source of the issue or He may want us to help that person in a physical manner, i.e. helping them financially or providing support to them.

• God's voice does not condemn. God wants His children to learn and He lovingly corrects while providing a way for improvement.

Primary Ways God Speaks to Us

God will often choose to talk to us using a primary method. The method He chooses depends on the type of receptor we are. The most common receptor types are:

Seer

God will communicate to this person through images. This can be a vision, a still picture or a movie-like picture. The images can be in black and white or color. We may not immediately know what the message means and we may have to ask God to clarify what He is communicating. He will give us the clarification in the manner that He chooses. If He wants to continue to commuincate pictorially, He may zoom in on certain spots or people in the picture to enable a better understanding. The big question for seers is, "God, what does that mean? What are You trying to communicate to me?"

Hearer

God will communicate to this person through words and sentences. The communication takes place primarily in the mind of the hearer. God rarely will speak in an audible voice. The information will appear as thoughts. Other times, God will enter into our normal thought processes and direct them according to what He wishes to reveal. The big question for hearers is, "God was that You or was that just me?"

Sensor

God communicates information through the person's senses. This includes "just knowing" things and having "hunches." It is as if God downloads information into our spirit that was not there before. Often, sensors are directed by God without realizing it because they are so used to following their senses that it is a natural process for them. The sensor will perceive God's direction as "hunches." However, not all hunches are from God and it is important to make sure that God is indeed the source of the information. A sensor may also be able to taste and smell certain things. An example is smelling a sweet fragrance and associating the smell with the presence of the Lord.

Fine-tuning Our Hearing

Teresa suggests some ways to fine-tune our hearing, e.g., to get more accurate and recognize God's voice when He speaks to us. One way is to review our day with God, asking Him what His thoughts are about the day, where we may have missed it and where adjustments need to be made.

Sometimes God will engage in little exercises that provide an immediate result so you know whether you have heard correctly or not. For instance, He may tell you whether the lines are long or short just before you enter a grocery store. Then you can glance at the checkout lines to confirm whether you heard Him clearly.

You might invite God to speak to you throughout the day. He loves to take us up on that type of invitation and "break into" our day. You might ask Him what His opinion is on certain current events that you hear on the news, or in incidents you encounter in your day. Ask God to talk to you on a wide variety of subjects.

Another way to fine-tune your hearing is to develop increased intimacy with God. The better you get to know Him, the more clearly you will be able to recognize His voice. Teresa gives some exercises in Chapter 14 that will help increase the clarity and accuracy of your hearing.

Empowered to Hear

The main message of Seputis' book is that you can hear God for yourself. That is God's desire for every believer. And He is willing to work with you to teach you to recognize His voice. The last chapter shares testimonies of 17 people, everyday believers, who have learned to hear God's voice. The message is clear - you can do this too, you can learn to recognize God's voice when He speaks to you.

[Previous Article] [Next Article]

Support Gateways of His Light by sharing this page on social media