How To Know if What You’re Hearing is From God
I received a question from a friend who wanted to know how she could know for certain if what she was seeing or hearing was from God. Here’s my answer to this question:
No one should allow themselves to be tricked into thinking they’re hearing from God when they aren’t. We need to know that we aren’t just imagining things. While I think it’s impossible to know with 100% certainty that you’re hearing from God and not yourself, I think we can achieve a high level of certainty. Let me explain how we can arrive at a high degree of certainty.
Part of what we deal with when we doubt that we’re hearing from God is a bias in our mind that has been placed there by our educational system. Unless you attended a Christian school system, it’s likely that your default way of thinking has been biased toward a philosophy of naturalism. That is to say – we’ve been taught to think that God (if He even exists) rarely involves Himself in the affairs of men. He rarely speaks to us – and if He does it’s with a loud, booming voice that is so obvious it can’t be mistaken for anything else. This is the way I was taught to think about God. This philosophy creates doubt in our mind that we can actually hear from God.
The truth of the matter is quite different from this. From the very beginning of time, when God first spoke into the emptiness and the creation came forth – the voice of God has never stopped speaking. Although some people find it hard to recognize God’s voice, He is always, eternally speaking to His creation. The problem isn’t that God isn’t saying anything. The problem is that our minds have been trained to misinterpret His voice as our own thoughts.
God communicates in a variety of ways. Among other modes of communication, He speaks to us through visions, dreams, and faint thought impressions that carry messages. These things are at first, difficult to discern. It’s easy to attribute them to our own mind. But here’s the thing that I noticed about God’s visions and thoughts that allow me to distinguish them from my own.
I’ve been traveling around the sun for half a century. In that time, I’ve come to know my own way of I thinking pretty well. When someone quotes me on Facebook and I see it — I recognize where the thought came from. If someone copied and pasted one of my articles on their Facebook page and I read it — I would immediately recognize it as mine. If someone posted one of my pencil drawings on their page, I would spot it and know it was mine. I recognize my own thoughts when I hear them. I recognize the creative visual material of my own mind when I see it.
When I hear a thought that is unfamiliar, I also recognize it as being “not from me.”
When I see a visual image that is foreign to my own creativity – I recognize it as being “not mine.”
God’s thoughts are much more sublime than my own thoughts. They’re full of love, life, wisdom, compassion, and mercy. My own thoughts don’t have those qualities. When I have a thought that oozes those qualities, I know it didn’t come from me. I know that every good and perfect thing comes down from the Father of lights (Jas. 1:17) so I know its source immediately. The same is true for visual images. God’s images are full of beautiful inexpressible colors, textures, patterns, and light. They are often very unearthly in appearance. Not always – but most of the time. My mind doesn’t conjure up such images, so again – when I see these images, I know the source can’t be me, so it must be God.
Half the battle of knowing that what you’re seeing or hearing is from God is simply a matter of knowing that it isn’t from you. The other part of the equation is faith. While it would be great to know with absolute certainty that what we’re seeing or hearing is from God, His kingdom doesn’t work that way. Everything we do in the kingdom is done by faith.
We prophesy by faith. We heal by faith. We raise the dead by faith.
Faith is trusting that the revelation we’re receiving is from God. Not knowing for sure that it’s from Him—trusting that it’s from Him. The more you prophesy, the more your faith for prophecy grows. The more you heal, the more your faith for healing grows. The more you walk on water, the more your faith for walking on water grows.
The confirmation that you’re hearing God accurately is seen when you examine the fruit of it. If you get an impression that a stranger has back pain (through a word of knowledge) and you ask them about it and they confirm that they have back pain, the revelation is confirmed. You’re hearing from God.
You might get an impression that you should enter a store and speak to the person working behind the counter about a death in their family. If you go in and talk with them and learn that their mother just passed away and you’re able to comfort them – the revelation is confirmed. You’re hearing from God.
As we obey the revelation we receive, and it produces fruit, we grow in confidence that we’re hearing accurately from God.
If you’d like to learn more about hearing God’s voice, you might check out my book Hearing God’s Voice Made Simple.
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Good explanation bro… since you asked for our thoughts, I am moved to offer:
Confirmation is definitely one of the way, even if it does not come immediately. May I also offer, when something is alive in you, that too can be one of the ways. For example, Father showed me the future in 1989… (personal and global, in several ways) and told me what HE was going to do to bring it about. I was to rest in the ‘knowing’, IF that was HIM, HE would do as He said… parts of it began to unfold immediately. As the years passed, I wondered about other parts of it, putting no confidence in my flesh. Because I am very aware it could have been my flesh or I had a false interpretation of it, I was moved to let it go…. (lest I make an Idol of it and live my life waiting for something that was not of His Spirit). I was moved to release my expectations, concepts, perspectives and the like as well, as each is rooted in preconditioning and tainted by the Adamic Nature. I knew IF this was of Father He would resurrect it purified … sure enough He did … While waiting, I was given a ‘knowing’… by this what I mean is, what He planted in my Spirit through the Holy Spirit within, was given life, it was alive. No matter how much I let it go, it returned with a greater knowing …. since, most of it has come into being in HIS timing and perfect ways and it is far greater than I first imagined. I await the rest… having labored to enter into HIS rest and learned to let HIM do as He said HE would do…..
May I add… it has also been my experience, as we spend time with Him in prayer and studying what the Holy Spirit leads us to study, and allow our thoughts to become one with His through the mind of Christ, we learn to know His voice.
We also learned to know His voice by who HE is in our life, as well as who He has been to date, (like a spouse as you grow old with one another and experience one another in the Spirit, you come to know their thoughts and intents). We learn to discern our thoughts from His, for His ways are higher than our own and are not self centered. As we walk with Him in the Spirit, we learn to discern what is Him and what is us… it is a process that draws us to listen intently. His Sheep hear his voice and can trust Him to show us which is which through His great love. Having a listening heart is surely one of the ways to do so… (being open to hear and humble enough to wait upon Him to confirm or impart a KNOWING, if we are to wait longer than we first expected).
Having others give witness to what we receive is also part of the learning process. A few years after I was given the following word in 1985, (about receiving a listening heart), I heard someday I would meet Wade Taylor and was to give it to him. Years later in 1999, I was invited to dinner by a Guest who came to Listening Heart Farm Bed and Breakfast where Hubby and I were Innkeepers (a part of His unfolding plan that He said He would bring about 10 years previous). He said he wanted their friend Wade Taylor to meet my husband and myself, as he was touched by His Spirit while our guests there. I brought that word to dinner and give it to Wade to consider. Wade said, normally when people give a word to him it is a mixture of flesh and spirit… this word, he said was pure.
Perhaps you will discern it to be as well, if so please share: http://www.enterrest.com/Receiving_A_Listening_Heart.htm
I agree, Bren.
Good word PM. I would just like to add that there are also times when the recipient of a word will deny that what you’re hearing is confirming. This has happened to me many times and still does. Later, sometimes after a workshop they will approach me to say that they had forgotten that they did have a close friend that was in conflict or do have a brother with the name Joshua (but it’s his middle name and not his first) and that what I said really does make sense after all. Sometimes people just don’t expect to hear from God, and when you know something that you couldn’t have known otherwise, it simply catches them off guard. Whether in the prophetic, healing or anything else you do by faith, which is everyone of God’s gifts. Right?
As you said, in these cases as well, if you are familiar with Father’s voice you can trust that it is accurate. What is the worst thing that can happen? The recipient realizes a week later or “never” that their sister is ill, but you have spoken the word of the Lord into the sister all the same. It isn’t about always getting it right. It’s more about simply being obedient even when you could lose reputation. Jesus did it all the time. He KNEW Father’s voice in His head, but not every recipient of Father’s voice through Jesus, received what He spoke. Our only job is to be obedient in humility and by faith.
I appreciate this PM. Thank you for sharing.
Sorry, forgot to put my name in above, but I am responsible for the word I release. 🙂
Very good points…reminded me of Mark Viklers teaching on hearing God, he gives some very practical insight on Gods voice often coming as spontaneous thoughts that we would not think on our own…I have found the biggest hindrance to hearing Gods voice to be my belief that He can speak well enough for me to hear…once you get past that hurdle it turns the stress into rest…its not simply “coming to God” that pleases Him, it is also “believing He is a rewarder”…I like the idea here that He presents beauty in what He communicates…He doesnt need to sign His work, its obvious…
Job 33:14-18 One thing I have grown to understand is that there are no coincidence with God. If you keep hearing the same thing or seeing a certain, person, place or thing, start asking Him (Yeshua) questions. He speaks to me with dreams/visions/movies/books, even 18wheelers driving down the road can carry a message for you. God told me once that He is in everything, if we will search for Him.
Thank you for sharing
I have recently read a good book “Did The Spirit Of God Say That’ 27 ways to judge prophesy a good tool to help us all
Very relevant I have been asked that recently several times by new Christians and even non-believers. I will point them here if that’s ok. T
One thing you didn’t address which I find is an issue is also discerning whether what you’re hearing is from God or from the devil. There have been many times in my life when I heard something that I knew wasn’t from me, but from the content I knew it clearly wasn’t from God either, because it was blasphemous or contradicted his Word. But there are times when I hear things which I know didn’t come from me, but it’s not so obvious whether they are from God or a deception of the enemy. Some thoughts on this topic would be helpful, too.
A few points that I haven’t heard anyone mention is how the word affects you. I have learned that any time a thought is “not mine” and I think it might be from God, to test the spirit of my flesh, not just the Spirit of God (because I recognize my own flesh more easily). If the word or suggestion or thought makes me feel anxious in any way, or confused in any way, or especially if it makes me feel superior or glorified in any way, then it is definitely not from God. God’s word never makes us feel puffed up, self-satisfied, better than someone else or elevated in any way, anxious, confused, angry, or any other fleshly thing, This may seem obvious, but it took me awhile to learn. I can’t always tell what I have peace about, but I can sure tell what I don’t have peace about. For me, the check in my spirit that tells me not to do something is louder than the peace that might lead me. Also, among the many ways that God speaks, I have occasionally felt his word physically, in a way that does not exist on this earth. Like when the word /thought comes into my mind, it is not only something that would never occur to me, but it feels like it has sunk into every cell, every pore, every bone, there is an absoluteness about it that is physical as well as mental and spiritual. It’s like you can’t twist it or turn it or interpret it any other way, it is just very definite and sure and true down to your bones. There is also that wonderful feeling of belonging to God and being in fellowship with Him that often accompanies any of these things. Yes, the enemy can fake some of these things, so you have to really pay attention and be careful, but there are things the enemy can’t fake, too. The enemy usually tries to separate me from others in some way, often by pride or urgency, Anything that would bring me any glory at all for myself is not from God. Sure, God may lead us into things that will raise us up, but that aspect comes accidentally and naturally, not by any action or thought that makes us feel superior. Hope this helps someone.
That is very helpful. I, too, have had the feeling of just suddenly “knowing” in my whole body. For me it’s like I just stepped into a different realm, like going into a room where the temperature is different. You can feel the difference.
i ddint take the time to read all the comments but what i would add to your good reasoning and conclusion is simply the more WORD you have in you the more your readily to hear from GOD and to discern HIS words to you and thru you. it will always agree with the WRITTEN WORD TOO.
Pastor Rich, I was thinking the same. As we prioritize His Word in our lives, we have prioritized the discerner between soul and spirit. The Holy Ghost uses the Word to instruct us; the Father watches over it to perform it, and the angels hearken to the voice of His Word. I also believe, as many of the commenters have mentioned, that sitting quietly before the Lord is also a key component to hearing from Him. He may not speak to me right then….but my heart has been set and I am primed to go my way and receive direction as I go. He is SO good!
But a warning….seeking to hear from God without the foundation and anchor of the Word working in your heart and mind can be a dangerous proposition.
what is the best book out there on how to build intimacy with Jesus, and with Holy Spirit and how to hear from Jesus/HS?
This is a good post btw. One thing Curry teaches is that a born again creature is united with HS so that His thoughts become ours. We are supposed to that blended with HS.
I’m not sure that reading a book on how to build intimacy with the Holy Spirit will be as helpful as simply spending quiet times with Him.
Sometimes, i receive an impression on my body before His word registers in my mind. For example, I came back from church one day and met a boy weeding the front of my compound which I was supposed to do the previous day, but could not because I joined in the community environmental sanitation. The boy said my neighbor has payed him to do the work. As I was about to enter my room I felt a hammer blow at the back of my head. I immediately spoke audibly “Father what was that?” The thought flowed into my mind, “Mind my business and I will mind yours”. It dawned on me that participating in the previous day environmental sanitation was God’s business, now He is taking care of cleaning up my environment. At another time I received the impression on my body when I was not conscious of the fact that God was speaking to. I woke up from a shot nap in the afternoon and felt like standing up to pray. As i kept turning from one side of the bed to the other, I suddenly felt a burning sensation under my right toe, I jumped off the bed and started praying! Sometimes I feel oil pouring on my head either before or while the thought is flowing in my mind. These are some ways I have confirmed the voice of God. Remain blessed.
I agree. One time I felt a push. Like when you are going to do or say something and someone nudges you on the shoulder and says “go ahead”. I don’t know if it was phyiscal or almost physical but it felt like somone was standing behind me urging me to do the thing that I was unsure of. It really caught me off guard.
Thank you for sharing this post. I realize this wasn’t the focus of your blog, but might I add that “hearing from God” in a marriage can be very hurtful if not handled the right way? I come from a prophetic background and do not need to be convinced that God speaks to us, but when a spouse throws around, “God told me…” that leaves the other spouse in a difficult and sometimes painful position. How we handle hearing from God is so critical in a marriage. If not handled properly, it can at best destroy trust and a sense of partnership, at worst, destroy the marriage.
Whenever I hear someone say, “God told me…” I cringe. What follows is usually a position on an issue that cannot be discussed. You either accept it or you don’t. If you question it – you risk alienation, or worse. After all – what person in their right mind would dare to argue with God?
That’s a good point PM and perhaps another subject entirely worth consideration. “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” (1 Cor. 1:10) I believe if God gives us revelation it is for the sole purpose of edification not so that we can disagree with one another with better authority. With so many differing doctrines and perspectives in our growing organic body of Christ the church we need to learn to be sensitive to those with lesser revelation caring for them with special attention not quickly and carelessly trampling on them with our obviously superior insights while demanding they convert to see things our way.
I boldly use “God says to me”… Should I change my language? I think that using “I feel” is so vague it places the receiver of the word in a doubting place (if she is not sure, how can I, who don’t really know God, be sure?)
That was very helpful…read it before and will keep reading until all doubt is gone…your book is the bomb!!! Lov ya in the Lord, brother! TY!
I enjoyed reading what you wrote. It can be helpful for anyone. It is in simple everyday language and is down-to-earth. Thanks for sharing.
Ooh so good! God is a communicator…. and we can hear him every which way when we pay attention! Why stop at monologue when we pray? Ask questions! Listen to the inner voice. At this point, you can doubt it is really nothing more than your own intelligence making up a reply. But engage in dialogue, ask deeper questions, see how quickly a reply comes to you, without having engaged your mind! Prepare to be amazed at what God has to say to the unique being you are -and how well he knows you!
This was so good! It’s hard sometimes to decide if what I’m hearing is me or God. I have a huge imagination, and sometimes I think it’s just me. I also have a poor self image. So whenever I hear the Lord telling me He loves me or I’m beautiful….I know it’s HIm. He always builds you up and never tears your down. Sometimes, I laugh and say….Lord I know that had to be from you, it was way too beautiful to be from anyone else! I use the test…the enemy comes to steal and kill and destroy. So,if a word I’m hearing does any of those things….I know it’s not Him. Thank you PM for all your help and for your service to the Lord and as a medic! 🙂
It’s also important to never forget that getting to know God himself not just as ‘God’ but also as a being, a supreme being that is; one who also has a personality. Hence, the need to get to know Him. The best way for this, however, is by reading and understanding the bible, the things He says, how He says it and what He means each time He speaks. This way, one would certainly begin to understand just How He speaks and inevitably begin to recognise His voice and words. Also, this empowers us with scriptural backings to what instructions and revelation we might have received.
The word of God is truth and life and the bible remains the greatest manual for living our everyday lives.
Very Informative. I know that I struggle in this area. I have had a tough six months personally struggles with doubt and fear. I know that God loves me and has a GREAT PLAN for me and my family. Keep us in your prayers. God Bless Everyone.
I feel I must say something about some phrases that have worked their way into Christianity. One of those is God has a wonderful plan for my life. I wonder what missionaries and persecuted Christians would say about God’s wonderful plan for their lives? Is giving up modern conveniences and comforts of a prosperous nation like America, forsaking family and good jobs, and doing without so many things a wonderful plan? What about death threats and seeing other Christian friends murdered for their testimony? Hummmm, a wonderful plan? God does have a will for each decision in your life and mine. But in my circumstances, if it be His will, well I accept His greater purpose and because I love Him I submit to His will, whether I think it is wonderful or not. I may or may not understand His purpose. The general does not always explain the battle plan to the soldiers. I hope it is His will and that He gives me guidance for hearing His voice in dealing with the many curses and bad plans of the enemy that people suffer from. Oh yes, and in doing miracles, healing the sick and raising the dead. PM, your books are a God-send in this area! I am sure many of the words I used are obvious to many people. My humble “Thanks” for allowing me to add to the discussion.
Dear Praying medic,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your obedience to teach others what as believers, we know to be true, but have been discouraged to pursue. Your posts are very ” nuts and bolts” scriptural explanations of Kingdom mechanics, authority and power. I enjoyed your interview with Dan Duval. I had not heard of you before. I thank God for the likes of Dan, Steve Harmon and you. Thank you.