How to Hear God s Voice: A 10-day bible study looking at different ways God speaks and how to discern God s voice today By Alison Millikan
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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION STUDY 1: Who hears God s voice? STUDY 2: How are we able to hear God s voice? STUDY 3: What does God s voice sound like? STUDY 4: God s voice through dreams STUDY 5: God s voice through visions STUDY 6: God s voice directly STUDY 7: God s voice through Angels STUDY 8: Discerning what is and is not God s voice STUDY 9: What keeps us from hearing God s voice? STUDY 10: Hearing God s voice for others CONCLUSION APPENDIX: The importance of forgiveness
Introduction The bible is filled with stories of people interacting with God. They include men, women, slave, free, Greek and Hebrew, in both the New and Old Testaments. God speaks in multiple ways to different people. The purpose of this study is to explore different ways God speaks and enable communities and individuals to discern God s voice and God s direction. It can be done as an individual or group study, designed to be as short as 10 minutes or used for a longer discussion. Each study has questions surrounding a bible passage, some thoughts about the topic, a way to dig deeper and then an application. I pray that it will be used to open you up to greater intimacy with the God of the universe who I believe desires to be in touch with each of us. NOTE: Throughout this study I use the term Holy Spirit rather than the Holy Spirit. I like to relate to Holy Spirit as a being, one member of the Trinity. Just like I don t talk about The Jesus, I also don t refer to The Holy Spirit because Holy Spirit is a living being with whom I believe we can have a relationship.
STUDY 1: Who Hears God s Voice? Read John 10:1-11 QUESTIONS: Who is telling this story? In the story who is the shepherd and who are the sheep? Why do the sheep follow the shepherd? What does the shepherd use to call the sheep? How does one become one of the shepherd s sheep? Who is the gate? What is Jesus trying to say through the story? What did the people not understand about what Jesus was saying? Frequently in Scotland where I live, sheep from multiple owners are kept all together in a field. In Jesus day I would imagine it is similar. When the shepherd walks into a field and calls the sheep, his sheep come because they know the shepherd s voice. Sheep aren t known for their brains. Some ewes will reject her lamb because it smells wrong, or just not want to feed a lamb so starve it. Other ewes will take someone else s lamb after theirs has died if the new lamb is covered in the skin of their dead lamb. Yet the sheep know their owner. Jesus seems to suggest that similarly we can know the shepherd s voice. Have you heard God s voice before? If so how did God speak to you? If not do not worry. The goal of this study is to open you up to all the different ways God speaks, to see what might make it hard to hear and to practice listening. What are stories/examples of ways God spoke in the bible? Write down or share a past situation where you think you heard God and how God spoke OR a present situation where you are seeking the Lord. Jeremiah 33:3 says Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Ask Holy Spirit to come, to guide this study to open your eyes, ears and imagination. In whatever way you feel comfortable call to the Lord, ask God to remove fear and speak to you. If you do this, start paying attention to the ways the Lord will answer you. Sometimes it helps me to open my hands palms up to position myself to receive from the Lord.
STUDY 2: How are we able to hear God s voice? Read John 16:4-15 and Acts 2:14-18 QUESTIONS: Why is it good for Jesus to go away? Who replaces Jesus presence on earth? What is Holy Spirit going to do? And how does Holy Spirit know what to say? Who does God pour out His Spirit on in Acts and who is the you Jesus is referring to in John? According to Acts, what are the signs/results of God s Spirit? What does it look like to have God s spirit here on Earth? What allows us to prophesy, dream and see visions? How is the Spirit poured out on us? There is so much debate denominationally and historically about what it looks like to be full of God s spirit. I do not have a moment where I remember receiving the Spirit, but I have assurance that I am full of the Spirit. Other people have Pentecost moments, just like they have a conversion moment. But we were all created, according to Genesis, to walk in the Garden and be able to talk face to face with God. The bible is the story of God recovering that level of intimacy with us to the point where one day we will once again walk in the garden and see God face to face. For years I believed that we had to wait until we died to talk to God. But the bible tells us that Holy Spirit was poured out on everyone, and that Holy Spirit would speak the truth. Jesus came so that rather than a select few hearing God s voice, Holy Spirit could be poured out on all flesh. What are people afraid of when it comes to Holy Spirit? What is so confusing? What are ways you have seen/sensed Holy Spirits presence on earth/with you? Do you have assurance about being filled with the Spirit? If not it is easy hold out your hands and ask Holy Spirit to come and fill you or have someone in the study put their hand on your head and ask Holy Spirit to come. Acts 2:17 says God s spirit is poured out on all flesh. If you already have assurance, write down/share an experience where you were aware of Holy Spirit s presence in your life. Ask Holy Spirit to come and fill your day.
STUDY 3: What does God s voice Sound Like? Read Genesis 12:1-9 QUESTIONS: These verses talks about 2 different ways God communicated to Abram (later Abraham). What are they? Genesis says, The Lord spoke to Abram. Have you ever wondered how Abraham knew God was saying to go to a new land? Was it an audible voice? In his head? Does the text tell us how God communicated? Later it says The Lord appeared to Abram. In what form did the Lord appear? Vision with his eyes? In his head? Angel? In person? Does it say? What do you think? We frequently assume people in the bible were different than us. But Abram (Abraham) was human like we are. If you read Abraham s story in Genesis you know that he was not perfect. Even though God spoke and provided, Abraham still doubted both what he heard and God s provision. God speaking to us is not dependent on our perfection. If it were then God wouldn t be able to move in and through us. Do you believe God still speaks? Do you believe you can hear it? What makes it hard to hear or to believe what you hear? Do you know of anyone who has seen the Lord? How did they see? Take a moment: Do you have any fear about hearing God? If so what is the fear? Can you write them down or say them out loud? Now ask Holy Spirit to come and speak the truth. This is a little trick I heard at a conference in Toronto about how to hear God s voice: sing the happy birthday song in your head. Can you hear it? Obviously you are listening with your mind not your ear. This is the same space that God frequently speaks in your imagination/head. Frequently God s voice is the first thing you hear before you edit. Discerning which thought is from God and is study 8. For now take 5 minutes and practice asking God a question: What do you see when you look at me? Write down the first thing that you hear without editing. When we edit as we listen we make it harder to hear. Practice asking Holy Spirit a question and then writing everything you hear/think. After writing for 5 minutes share with someone in the group what you heard or stop and read through what you have written. Go back later to discern if it was from God.
STUDY 4: God s voice through dreams Read Genesis 37:1-11 and Genesis 41:1-36 QUESTIONS Who has the dreams? What are the dreams about? How does the dreamer figure out what the dreams mean? What does the dreamer do with the dreams? How is their response to the dream received? What are the differences between the two dreamers? THOUGHT Throughout the bible God speaks through dreams some of the most famous are during Jesus birth story where Joseph and the wise men are warned in dreams. The interesting thing about Joseph and Pharaoh is that Joseph is a Jew but Pharaoh is not we don t even have any indication that he believes in God yet God speaks to both of them to tell them what is coming in the future. Pharaoh didn t know what the dream meant, but Joseph not only had dreams, he could interpret them. God speaks to all of us, but different people may have different gifts, one being dream interpretation. I ve known people who have very specific and very accurate dreams of the future much like Joseph. I also know people who have very symbolic dreams that they haven t understood more like pharaoh. I don t really have either but every once in a while I dream about someone that I haven t been in touch with for a while. I try to write down the dream and then ask Holy Spirit if I should do something with the dream. DIGGING DEEPER Do you ever remember your dreams? Have you ever had dreams that came true? Why would God speak through dreams? What keeps us from hearing God s voice when we sleep? In some ways we are more open to hearing when we sleep because we have turned off skepticism and fear. Try for a week to keep a dream journal. Place some paper and a pen next to your bed. If you wake up with a dream jot it down so you don t forget it. I frequently think I will remember it in the morning but I don t. Even a few notes on a paper can be enough to jog your memory when you wake up. Ask God to speak in your dreams as you go to bed at night.
STUDY 5: God s voice through visions Read Daniel 9:20-23, 10:2-9 QUESTIONS: How does Daniel hear from God? What does he see? Do others see or just Daniel? Daniel says he has seen Gabriel before in a vision. What, if any, is the difference between this visit from Gabriel? Does the text give us a clue if Daniel is seeing and hearing with his eyes and ears or in his imagination? What is Gabriel coming to tell Daniel in the first instance? In the first passage, Daniel refers to this visit from the Angel Gabriel whom Daniel had previously seen in a vision. The text doesn t tell us if Daniel sees the vision with his eyes or in his imagination. Nor does it say if anyone else sees. Later in Daniel 10:7 Daniel has another vision. This time he says the people with him did not see the vision. A vision is something we see. Some people have visions that are actually playing out in front of the person like a movie on a screen. Others talk about seeing a vision but it is in their mind. No one else can see it. Daniel seems to suggest that he has a vision that he sees but no one else sees meaning it was playing out in front of him but in his imagination. He also sees the angel possibly with his eyes. What would make a vision different from a dream or a visit from an angel? What would it look like to see an angel in a vision or not in a vision? Who are other people you can think of in the bible who had visions and who saw angels? Another trick I learned at a conference: Close your eyes. Can you picture your front door? Can you picture the face of a friend? You can see these in your mind without seeing with your eye. This is the place people see visions in their mind s eye or imagination. God created our imagination and uses it to speak to us. If in a group ask God to give you a picture for the person on your right. Don t try to understand the picture just tell the person. When I first did this in a small group I saw a picture in my head of a big yellow school bus. I was embarrassed to tell the person next to me because it was so simple. But when it came to my turn after I said, I saw a bus I heard these words: you can t always choose who is on the bus with you. The picture and word resonated with recipient. If on your own ask God to give you a picture about who God created you to be. Write it down.
QUESTIONS: Who is God talking to in these 2 passages? Where did they meet God? How did they hear God s voice? What did God talk about? What did they do with what they heard? STUDY 6: God s voice directly Read 1 Kings 19:9-13 and Exodus 24:15-18 The first passage is a famous passage that people often use to show that God s voice isn t loud and scary. God came in the silence, the still small voice other versions say. The bible suggests that Elijah hears God s voice externally, with his ears. In the second passage Moses talks with God on Sinai. For Moses God s voice came out of a cloud like a devouring fire. Both Moses and Elijah heard God while in the wilderness. I have never heard God with my ears but I have encountered God while in the woods, on a mountain or even just on a walk outside my house. Sometimes getting out of the routine of our lives helps us hear God in a different and new way. For Elijah he had fasted for 40 days and Moses spent 40 days on the mountain. They made significant sacrifices to meet God, much like Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. Where do you hear or feel closest to God? Where do you have the hardest time hearing? What routines are in your life that help you or hinder your ability to listen and speak to God? What form of God speaking scares you the most and what do you long for the most (e.g. visions, dreams) What would it look like to take an hour, a day or even a weekend away? I m not suggesting a 40 day fast but a chunk of time to get out of the routine of your life in order to spend time listening, waiting for God s presence and voice? As we learn to discern God s voice it is often easier to hear when we can calm ourselves down, minimize the noise and listen. Sometimes that takes time. For now, take 10 minutes, a piece of paper and a pen. Find a quiet spot. Picture Jesus, Father or Holy Spirit in front of you. Ask any of these questions what are you feeling today? What do you feel when you look at me? What do you have to say to me in this time? Write down everything that comes to mind, even if it sounds like I love you, take out the garbage, you are my special child Sometimes our to dos distract us. They don t need to. Just include them as you write, refocus and tune back into what God is saying. If in a group take time to share what you heard at the end.
STUDY 7: God voice through Angels Read Jesus birth story Matthew 1:18-2:13 and Luke 2:1-20. QUESTIONS: How many different ways does God choose to communicate to people in these passages? What are they? Why do you think God choose those ways to those people? What were the different responses to God s message to them? What is the purpose of Angels according to the passages you have read? In Jesus birth story there are visions, dreams, angels in visions and angels in dreams. Some people can see angels with their eyes. Much like visions other people can sense the presence of an angel and see them with their mind s eye but not with their physical eye. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The Spiritual realm exists with us and around us but most of us cannot see it with our naked eye, much like the radio waves, cell phone and Wi-Fi that is all around us but we can t see. God s presence and God s realm is around us but not always visible with our naked eye. Have you seen an angel before? Do you know someone who has? Do you think much about angels or believe they are here? For an account of someone for whom The Spirit world has been as real to me as anything in the physical world read The Veil by Blake Healy. (Quote from the back cover of the book.) Take a moment and ask Holy Spirit to show you where the Angels are in the room you are in. If/when you sense the presence of an Angel ask Holy Spirit why the Angel is there. Write down or share the first thing that comes to mind. Take a moment every day for the next week to do a scan of your environment to see what you sense is there. Then ask Holy Spirit why it is there.
STUDY 8: Discerning what is and is not God s voice Read John 14:15-31 QUESTIONS: Who gives us the Spirit? What different terms/names does Jesus use for the Spirit? What is the Spirit going to teach and remind us of? How does Jesus describe those who love him? What does Jesus say he leaves with us/gives us? Jesus says in John14:26 the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. He says that the word we hear is from the Father, that Jesus is in the Father and we are in Jesus and the Holy Spirit is in us. The result of this is that we will keep God s commandments. He also says that he gives us His peace. In discerning what is from God it is important that the word we hear doesn t contradict God s word to us in the bible. The difficulty in this is that there are a lot of different interpretations of what the bible says. So how do we discern if what we are hearing is the Holy Spirit? It must line up with the story of the bible. The bible has lots of different verses. It is easy to find a verse to back something up. It important that God s voice lines up with the story of the bible. It must line up with community. It is also important that we have a community that can help us discern. And it must bring peace internally. And it is important that it checks out in our own spirit does it bring peace, truth, joy? It is important to discern if what we hear is from the Spirit. Over simplified there are 3 voices we can hear in our head: God s, our own and the voice of the enemy. When I coach people through this for the first time I have them ask Jesus what Jesus thinks of them. One of the first things they hear in their head is something like I love you or you are beautiful. They discount that thought as made up, wishful thinking. HOWEVER how often do you tell yourself I love you, you are beautiful? How often do you think the Devil whispers that to people? So could it be true the Holy Spirit is actually speaking? This lines up with the story of Scripture, with any community that believes the Jesus Christ is Lord and should bring peace! Ask God who God created you to be. Write down the first thing you hear. Edit later because if you edit while you are listening it often makes it harder to hear. You can stifle the Holy Spirit. If in a group share 2 of the things you heard. Discern together if from Holy Spirit.
STUDY 9: What keep us from hearing God s voice? Read Luke 8:1-14 QUESTIONS What are the four different soils the seeds land on? What does the seed represent? What is the result of the good soil? According to Jesus explanation to the disciples: What does the seed that is trampled on and eaten by birds represent? What do the rocks represent? What do the thorns represent? Jesus says that the seed is the word of God. There are lots of ways to define word of God so lets say for now Word of God is that which God speaks and we can hear. The first group hears but then the word is taken away from them by the devil s schemes. The second group hears but then suffering comes and the word withers. The third group hears but the word is choked by the cares and worries of life. So the devil s schemes, suffering and the worry of life keep us from hearing God s word. Jesus says that those in good soil: when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance. HOLD FAST: We need to be aware of the devil s schemes. When God speaks we can choose whether we believe it but the Devil will seek to cast doubt on what we hear. Did you really hear that? Are you really beautiful, lovable etc.? Matt 6:14 says if we forgive others God will forgive us. Forgiving others is one key to stopping the devil s schemes. (for more on forgiveness, go to conclusion at the end of this guide ) PATIENT ENDURANCE: Embrace suffering in a new way. Hearing God speak doesn t mean we won t suffer and it doesn t mean that we won t have to patiently endure for what we have heard to come true. HONEST AND GOOD HEART: Do not be afraid/don t worry. The seed can t grow in the third soil because the cares, riches and pleasures of life choke them. Fear keeps us from hearing God. Coming to a place of peace, joy, forgiveness helps you actually be able to hear. Weeds-Take time to pay attention to what you are feeling emotionally and physically: write down anything that comes to mind then imagine giving any fear/worry to Jesus receiving His peace instead. Rocks-Write down 10 things you are thankful for. Thankfulness helps focus on what God is doing, opening you up to hear God and patiently endure suffering. Birds-Asking God if there is anyone we need to forgive helps shut the voice of the devil. For more on forgiveness see page at end of study.
STUDY 10: Hearing God s voice for others The bible has a term for listening to God on behalf of others. It is called prophesy. Read 1 Cor 14:1-5 QUESTIONS How does Paul compare prophecy and speaking in tongues? Who are you talking to when you speak in tongues versus prophecy? What is the general purpose of prophecy versus speaking in tongues with an interpreter? What are 3 words Paul uses to describe the goal of prophecy? What does each of these words mean? Who can prophecy? 1 Cor 13:8 says Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part All prophecies must be given in love. 1 Cor 14:31 says you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and be encouraged. Learning to listen to God on behalf of others requires practice in a place that it is safe to make mistakes. Lets call the person listening to God as the giver of the word and the person getting the word as the receiver. Both the giver and receiver have to be able to listen to God and discern if it is really from God because as Paul says we only see in part now. When we tell someone we ve heard something for them, leave it open for their interpretation and for the possibility that you heard incorrectly. Paul says to use the prophetic to build, encourage and console. He does not say to use the prophetic to correct or convict. What is the difference between using the prophetic to build versus correct? How would hearing God say something to you through someone else encourage, correct or convict? What might that sound like? What would a convicting or correcting word sound like? In pairs or find a friend, take turns asking God for a picture or word that would encourage, strengthen or console. Tell the other person the first thing you hear or see. Don t over analyze or over think. Let them decide if it is something or nothing. If it is nothing try again; if something then ask God to say more. It is ok to ask God questions, or for clarity. Remember you can see or hear things in your minds eye. Often it is the first thing that pops in your brain before you edit.
CONCLUSION This is a very brief overview of some of the ways God speaks in the bible and some of the ways I have learned to listen to God today. Just like getting to know a friend, the more time we spend with someone the better we get to know what is their voice or not. If my husband calls on the phone he doesn t need to say his name, I know his voice. Similarly the more we listen the easier it is to discern if it is God speaking or not. Having a group of people where you can learn together helps both discerning for yourself and others. Getting to the know the bible also helps frame God s voice. So I ask Holy Spirit to come, to fill you, fill the room you are in, open up your eyes to see, ears to hear what God is doing and wants to speak to you. Our God is a God of love. God is good. May you experience God this way. Amen
APPENDIX: The importance of forgiveness Forgiveness helps silence the voice of the Devil. When we haven t forgiven someone else or ourselves for something we are standing as the judge rather then letting God act as the judge. In essence we are saying that what Jesus did on the cross wasn t enough, for me or for that person I need to punish them as well. When we accept Jesus we agree that Jesus paid for all our sins, we receive a free gift of grace and forgiveness. So when we are living in unforgiveness, we are agreeing with the Devil s schemes, and we are therefore more open to the lies of the enemy. Forgiveness is one of the ways to shut the mouth of the Devil. Sometimes in order to hear God clearer we need to move through forgiving people who hurt us. Forgiveness is not saying what they did was ok. It is not saying that I should put myself back in a toxic relationship. It is saying that I am giving this person over for God to judge. Just as I have received a free gift of forgiveness, I extend that gift to this person and trust that God will take care of the injustice/wrong. Forgiveness is giving someone over for God to judge. So ask Holy Spirit if there is anyone you need to forgive then forgive them in Jesus name, knowing that forgiveness isn t saying what they did is ok, but that you can trust God to deal with them rather than you.