3 Ways God Speaks To Us
"'In the last days it shall be,' says God, 'that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." – Acts 2:17
We live in the age where God has poured out His Spirit on all men. Today we see an abundance of pastors, ministers and Christians operating in a prophetic voice, hearing God speak what's in His heart for His people. We see them everywhere, and their ministry is a blessing to the whole body of Christ.
However, there is a danger in seeing such brothers and sisters as the only people who have "special anointings" to hear God, and treat them as if they're the only ones who hear God. Authentic ministers who serve to please God and fulfill His purposes will tell us that we can hear God speak too, if we only tune our hearts and ears to Him.
Of course, since God is our Father, He wishes to speak to us. Consider what the Lord Jesus said in John 10:27-28,
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
We have to learn to tune our ears to God's voice. He loves to make Himself known to people, and won't make it hard for us to hear Him as long as we tune in.
Hearing God Speak
To help you hear God speak to you, here are three proven ways that God speaks to us today. They aren't new, but many have forgotten them in pursuit of "new" and mystical ways God "speaks."
1) Through personal prayer and Bible reading
Consider Habakkuk and the Lord's discourse in Habakkuk 2:1-2, which says,
"I (Habakkuk) will stand at my watch and station myself on the watchtower; and I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me: "Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who reads it may run."
We all need to set aside a time to seek God in prayer and reading the Bible, which is the Spirit-inspired Word of God (see 2 Timothy 3:16). He speaks to us primarily through the Word, but our hearts will need to be tuned to it through prayer.
2) Through Christ-centered, Bible-based sermons and messages
God will also speak to us through preachings and sermons based on and founded in His Word. Of course, messages that are founded in Christ are the primary messages we should listen to. Consider what Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us:
"God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the world."
3) Through the Holy Spirit's promptings
The Holy Spirit of God that dwelt inside us in the new birth speaks to us and reminds us of what God says in His Word, the Bible. Jesus said:
"But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority. But He will speak whatever He hears, and He will tell you things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will receive from Me and will declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine. Therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and will declare it to you." (John 16:13-15)
The Holy Spirit will always remind us of what God said. He will always point us to Christ, the Word made flesh (see John 1:14).