How To Know If If God Is Speaking To You (9 Steps)

When you get an impression, and you think it might be from God, how do you know? How can you tell? Should we always just simply say, "No, God is done speaking?"

Introduction

When you get an impression, and you think it might be from God, how do you know? How can you tell? Should we always just simply say, “No, God is done speaking?” Or, should we say, “well, in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21, Paul tells us, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good,” therefore we should embrace these impressions as from God, every time, in the name of honoring prophecy?

The Bible teaches us the importance of testing messages, testing “spirits,” to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1).

So when you are questioning God’s will for your life, or an impression that you have that you need to take a certain action, or speak up (or stay silent) in a given situation, or whether to do one thing or another, or whether you think you might be hearing God’s voice, still and silent, speaking to you, you need a method for determining whether it’s from God or a bad burrito you ate the night before.

So I want to share 9 ways you can answer the question, “How to know if God is speaking to you.” For each way, we’ll let Scripture speak. I’ll anchor my point in Scripture, then explain what it’s saying, illustrate the point and then give an example for application. Here we go.

Search the Scriptures

#1: Does it agree with Scripture?
Search the Scriptures to see what God has already said. Scripture is God breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17). “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
Explanation: Ask yourself, “Does this agree with what the Bible teaches?”
Example: The Bereans: Acts 17:11 - Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
Application: God will never tell you to sin! God won’t tell you to get a divorce or steal.
#2: Does it promote Jesus as Lord? Ask yourself whom it glorifies
Anchor: Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3).
Explain: any voice from God is always going to agree with and promote the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Example: supposed alien visitors seem particularly interested in denying biblical truth. In fact evidence shows that “abductions” can be halted by calling upon Jesus Christ. See: the CE4 research group’s work at: http://alienresistance.org/ce4testimonies.htm.
Application: test whether the voice or message is glorifying man or glorifying Jesus Christ. That’s not something the devil can do. And man’s natural inclination is to glorify self rather than Jesus.
#3: Does it encourage you to act in love? God will not tell you to do something unloving.
Anchor: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).
Explain: God’s love is rooted in his character. So when God commands us in Philippians 2:4, “Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others,” this is coming from who he is not .
Illustration: Father, Son and Holy Spirit have been loving one another for all eternity.
In interpersonal relationships, it He may call you to say something hard. But it’ll be the truth in love (Ephesians. 4:15).
Application: when you receive an impression you think might be from the Lord, ask whether it puts the interests of others above competing interests—most notably your own.

Observe Your Situation

#4: What do other believers say? Your church—ask other believers if this seems to be in line with God’s will.
Anchor: The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. Prov. 12:15.
Explain: the Holy Spirit speaks to and through believers. We help each other know what God’s will is and how to live for him.
Illustrate: Acts 15:28 - the Church leaders met, and they framed their conclusion thusly: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements….”
I’ve had this happen to me: in my small group, with a mentor.
It could also take the form of a great sermon. Example: Mike Bullmore’s sermon about avoiding things that dissipate your vitality answered my question as to whether God wanted me to wake up early.
Apply: stay connected to your church so you have those friendships with folks who know you and can speak to God’s will for your life.
Heb. 10:24-25 - And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
The three essential contexts for discipleship are large group, like a church, small group, and one-on-one. You and I need people in our lives—believers—who can help us discern God’s voice.
#5: What do your circumstances indicate? Your circumstances: Examine the facts. Does it seem like the Holy Spirit is opening this door?
Anchor: Acts 16:6 - the Holy Spirit prevented them. “They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.”
Explain: God is sovereign over your circumstances. Look and see what he’s doing and whether what you think God is saying to you seems to be in accordance with that. Ultimately this is often only discernible via hindsight.
Illustrate: I’ve been praying for the opportunity to make disciples. But I’m not a pastor any more, so I’ve been praying for God to work through my life and bring me guys to invest in. And he has done that. Then I got some great advice from a mentor of my own, on how to structure the discipleship cohort. Is that God’s will? Well, it does seem to be in line with what he’s doing in my life. So I’m going to proceed in that direction until He tells me otherwise. Prayerfully, thoughtfully, but also boldly.
Apply: Look at your circumstances and see whether the Holy Spirit seems to be aligning things in a certain direction for you. It’s not fool proof, but it could be an indicator.
#6: Could you ask for a sign? Pray for a sign (cautiously)
Word of warning: this is the go-to for many. It should not be. Your ability to interpret your circumstances is very fallible.
Jesus also condemns those who asked for a sign in his day: He said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 16:4).
He was the Messiah, and they didn’t want to receive it. He did perform signs and miracles that authenticated him. What’s he condemning? Their unbelief. They didn’t believe in spite of the signs.
Remember that Paul said, “For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles” (1 Cor. 1:22-23).
So our faith in God and in Christ is not based in signs right now… but rather on the proclaimed message of the Gospel. So with that warning being said… we should note that there is some biblical precedent.
Anchor: Paul says that he preached the Gospel, “by the power of miraculous signs and wonders, and by the power of God's Spirit” (Romans 15:19a). And Hebrews 2:4 says that the Gospel came to people, “while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
Explain: So God is more than capable of performing signs. However, we must not ask him for a sign to prove something that he has already established for us as true in his word. This is more about discerning his particular will in a contextualized situation. Again, we’re proceeding here with caution.
Illustration: Gideon’s fleece (Judges 6:36-40).

Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

God didn’t condemn Gideon for asking for the sign.

Illustration 2: When I was in New York, my group took a tour of the Barrio Museum in East Harlem. Our tour guide and I got into a conversation about God. He was a self-proclaimed atheist. I asked him what would possibly convince him God exists, and he said something about how he would think twice if a “big purple lady came down from the sky.”

This is an example of a foolish request for a sign. This man was breathing God’s air, using the mind God gave him, thinking with God’s logic… and he denied God’s existence. A better “sign” would have been for him to recognize that God sent someone all the way from Chicago to NYC to visit him and tell him the good news about Jesus Christ!

Application: Don’t let this become a substitute for doing what you already know you need to do, however. And it must never be an excuse to do something you know you shouldn’t do.

The word of God is enough. However it’s okay to say something like, “Lord if you want me to take this job, may I ace this interview.” And then if you ace it, that’s an answer to prayer. But of course the “sign” has to be in line with what you know about God… what he’s revealed in his word, etc.

Examine Yourself

#7: What have you learned from your relationship with God? Check with what you already know of God. How has he worked in your life in the past?
Anchor: John 10:27 - “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Explain: if you belong to Jesus, and you’ve been following him, then you know his voice. You know what he’s like. And you can tell when he’s speaking to you. His voice will never contradict his word. Ever.
We do not put confidence in our own subjective interpretation of what God might be saying to us. However, when we read Scripture, there will be times when certain verses stand out to us more than at other times.
Illustration: This is how Abraham knew it was God, when God asked him to sacrifice his son in Genesis 22. That passage begins, “After these things.” There was a lot that had happened earlier. The Lord had repeatedly spoken to him face to face.
Another illustration: Charles Spurgeon was determining whether to temporarily leave the ministry to pursue higher education. Methought I heard a voice behind me saying, ‘Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not! Seek them not’”
#8: What is your conscience telling you?
Anchor: Romans 2:15 - They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
Explain: God has given all men a conscience. Apart from Christ we live in conflict with our conscience—failing to do what it says. In Christ, however, the Conscience becomes a guide, having been purified.
So Hebrews 10:22 says: Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
And 1 Tim. 1:5 says, The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
And in 1 Tim. 1:19, the Apostle Paul actually warns believers against abandoning their conscience: “Holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith”
Illustration: This is not the same thing as following your heart. Rather this is the internal moral compass the Lord has given to each person.
Other verses corroborate this: Isaiah 30:21 - And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
Apply: Your conscience is not an ultimate guide. But your internal moral sense can be a good tool in helping you determine right from wrong and whether God is speaking. It will never contradict Scripture.
Sin will cloud your vision here. A person's steps are established by the LORD, and he takes pleasure in his way” (Proverbs 37:23). It’s very, very important, to eliminate sin from your heart. This will help us receive God’s word better, and bring our consciences in line with Scripture.
So James 1:21 exhorts us to : “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."
#9: What are you feeling? And finally, as a last resort, look to your feelings.
Warning: do not trust your feelings first! Jeremiah 17:9 warns that, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it.” Your will is guided by your affections, and apart from Christ your affections are set on sin!
However under the right circumstances, your feelings can indicate God is speaking.
Anchor: Luke 24: two disciples were walking on the road to the town of Emmaus. And Jesus, freshly risen from the dead, joined them on the road. They didn’t recognize him. However, after he made himself known to them and disappeared, they remarked, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”
Explain: they could feel that God was speaking to them. Note the fact that this was while Jesus was explaining the Scriptures to them. What the Son of God was saying to them was perfectly in line with the Scriptures—though he was teaching them ideas that they hadn’t previously understood.
Illustrate: there have been times when I’ve been speaking with my dad, asking advice. And he always prays for wisdom before responding. There have been times when I just simply knew he was giving me godly advice. It wasn’t always what I wanted to hear… and it wasn’t true for all his advice. But there have been times when my feelings, and his advice, and the word of God “clicked.” The same has been true for advice from others, including my wife Aliza.
Apply: think of your feelings as an indicator, but not a guide. A light on your dashboard, but not a diagnosis, and definitely not the owners manual.

Objections:

Shouldn’t we only rely on the Bible?

We rely on the Bible ultimately, but not exclusively. God speaks through Scripture (special revelation) as well as through the world (general revelation). This is why we can learn things about God and the world via science. This is also perfectly in line with Scripture.

How do you know what the Scriptures are saying? Do you rely on the church at all? Do you have any experience of God working in your life that you can draw upon? Do you not feel right when you hear God speaking?

We test our ideas and our impressions by the Bible. Any ideas or “speech from God” that contradicts what he has already given us is to be rejected out of hand.

Doesn’t this open us up to revering God’s “new” revelation the same as Scripture?

No. This is for personal guidance. At the end of the process laid out above, it isn’t like we not have certain confidence that the particular impression or message is from God. We could still be mistaken. The only way we’ll finally know is on that last day, when God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus (Romans 2:16). Remember, too, that “All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs hearts” (Proverbs 21:12).

And our final point of reference is always Scripture. However, God does lead and guide us in everyday life, in accordance with the Scriptures, by His Holy Spirit, so that we can live out his will for our life.

Conclusion:

God does speak to us. He has spoken first by his word, and through Jesus Christ. He speaks to us today by the Holy Spirit, and by other believers who have the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of years of walking with the Lord.

We need to saturate our decisions in prayer. And we need to trust God with the results. As Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your activities to the LORD, and your plans will be established.”

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