Many believers today claim that they hear from God often, but do they? How would we know? What does the Bible say about when we should say that we have heard from God?

1. Believers should be very careful about saying they have heard something from God, and should actually avoid saying so in most cases. Why?

• Under the law of Moses, if a person spoke claiming that they were hearing from God, but what they said did not come to pass or was found to be untrue, they were put to death (Deuteronomy 18:20-22, Zechariah 13:2-6). People should be afraid, with a godly fear, to say that have heard something from God.

• Actually hearing and recognizing the voice of God is considered a rare thing. It is not widespread (see Jeremiah 23:18).

• God generally commands us not to say that we have heard a word from God (see Jeremiah 23:33-39) (unless it can be proven).

  • In the days of Jeremiah, when lots of people were saying they were hearing from God, they were punished for it!

2. True prophets, like Samuel and Jeremiah in the Old Testament or Agabus in the New Testament, were able to boldly say “thus says the Lord” when they heard from God because their words were proven by a track-record of prophecies that always came to pass and were alwaysproven to be true (1 Samuel 3:19-20).

• For this reason, true prophets were feared (1 Samuel 16:4-5, 1 Kings 22:8). If they spoke, God was speaking, and this made people afraid.

• You might not say the exact words, ‘Thus says the Lord,’ but you might say, ‘God put it on my heart to tell you’ or ‘I feel like the Lord is moving me to say to you’, etc.

  • No matter how you say it, as soon as you add God’s name to your claim, if what you have said is untrue, you are acting as a false prophet. Do not take that risk! If you were in the Old Testament, that risk could have cost you your life!

3. If you think you’re hearing something that may be from the Spirit, until you grow to the point of clear distinction of the Spirit’s voice, simply say it as your own thoughts or wisdom. In this way, you guard yourself from the danger and judgment of God on false prophecy (Matthew 12:36-37).

• If you continue to grow in your obedience to the Word, your hearing of the Spirit’s voice will increase, and you will eventually be able to hear clearly and distinctly.

  • Until then, be wary of your own thoughts (Psalm 94:11, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Isaiah 55:7-8), because they can lead you astray.

4. As growing believers, we learn to recognize (or detect the distinction in) the Spirit’s voice over time. We should not be quick to say we have heard from God unless we can be 100% certain.

• Even the prophet Samuel could not make a clear distinction between the voice of God and other voices until later on (1 Samuel 3:1-7).

  • The Spirit’s sound is a still, small voice that one must learn to detect (1 Kings 19:12-13).

• Acts tells us of mature believers that were able to recognize when the Spirit spoke to them. Philip and Peter grew to a point where they could recognize when the Spirit spoke (Acts 8:28-29, Acts 11:12).

  • We also should be patient while we grow to this point, and not be so quick to say that we’ve heard from God.

5. How can we be 100% certain we have heard from the Spirit? 1. If the sound is distinct from the sound of your own or familiar thoughts (1 Samuel 3:1-7) (you’ll grow into this as you grow spiritually). And 2. If what you hear lines up perfectly with the Word.

• Most importantly, remember that what the Spirit says will always line up perfectly with the Word (1 John 5:7). The Word is the first way to judge prophecies (1 Corinthians 14:29).

6. Do not rely on circumstances, signs, or wonders to confirm what you think you’re hearing, because the enemy can use this to deceive you.

• Some believers will look to experiential confirmations in order to verify their hearing, but this is unreliable. Read Deuteronomy 13:1-5.

  • What is heard is never from the Spirit, even if there are wonders or miracles backing it up, if it does not line up with the Word of God. God can allow certain wonders to take place, upon false prophecy, in order to test people’s devotion to the truth.

• Demons can reveal true information also, and they can use measures of truth to capture people’s attention, only to lead them astray in the end. This is why you cannot rely on your experiences. You need to confirm using the Word first.

• How can a believer use the Word to confirm? If you get a thought, and you’re wondering if it’s from God, remember these things:

  • What the Spirit says will never excuse sin or please the flesh. God’s voice will always encourage repentance from sin and will be uncomfortable to the flesh (Jeremiah 23:13-14). On the other hand, false prophecy will try to make a person feel at peace with their sin (Jeremiah 23:17).

  • What the Spirit says to you will have another example in the written Word (2 Corinthians 13:1).

    Two examples:

    • Visual details used to identify certain people can come from the Spirit (Mark 14:13-15).

    • A command to go away for fasting/prayer can come from the Spirit (Matthew 4:1, Luke 5:16).

7. How can we know that someone is, or we are, truly prophesying?

• 1. True prophecy—words to prophesy—come to you from God (Jeremiah 33:19, Mark 13:11).

  • If it’s real, you can’t premeditate the words or fabricate them. They will come to you. Story about woman at bus stop.

• 2. True prophecy is detailed and unmistakeable, not flowery and ambiguous. All prophecy in the Old Testament is detailed!

  • Don’t think you’re prophesying just because you speak an “encouraging word”. Just call it an encouraging word, or a word of exhortation. Don’t make the mistake of saying, “God told me to tell you” etc.

• 3. True prophecy, if it foretells events, will always come to pass (Isaiah 46:11, 55:10-11).

*Desire to prophesy, so you can edify and exhort others, and start by learning to truly hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

VSM Discipleship Course will teach you this!