Today, I want to talk to you about the ways that God is speaking to you and how you can attune your ear to hear his wonderful voice. But before we dive in, I want to get the obvious out of the way. If you were trying to pray to God without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you will not hear from God, repentance of sin and acceptance of his son opens the line of communication with God.

Jesus said, in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So if you’re not my friend, may I encourage you to make Jesus, your Lord, and Savior and let that amazing relationship begin. But for the sake of this video, and this podcast today, I’ll assume that you are a follower of Christ and as a Christ-follower, I have amazing news for you. He is speaking to you.

John 10:27 reminds us of Jesus’s words when he said “my sheep, hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.” Now, you may be saying to be great Kris but I don’t hear him and I don’t know what to do.

So the question that we are going to answer in three parts is this, “Is God speaking to me?”

#1 – He is. He’s just not saying what you want to hear.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a beloved passage of scripture and it reads “for, I know the plans that I have for you, they are plans for good and not a disaster to give you a future and a hope.” And we love reading encouraging scriptures that make us feel good. But what do we do when the word we’re getting from God is not what we want to hear?

If we back up in Jeremiah 29 and read the passage, just before the promise, we find something quite different. And here’s what it says in verses 4 through 8, “the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem, Build homes and plan to stay. Plant gardens and eat the food you produce. Marry and have children then find spouses for them and have many grandchildren. Multiply, do not dwindle away, and work for peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive for if Babylon has peace so will you.”

In verse 10 he tells them, “the truth is that you will be in Babylon for 70 years.” Huh?  There was a plan all right, a plan before the promise, but not the plan that they would have hoped for your city, which has been invaded by the enemy. You’ve been violently ripped from your home and carried off to a distant land. You’ve been made to live in captivity, the security that you’ve known for your entire life is now, instantly vanished. And God says, get comfortable, you are going to be here awhile?

And many times we find ourselves in situations just like this. Maybe not captivity, but far less than ideal circumstances that make us feel completely trapped and we’re not where we thought we’d be at this stage of life that isn’t doing for us. What makes us happy and we think God, you’re so good. This can’t possibly be what you would have for me. And it is possible that he doesn’t have that plan for you long-term but it is certainly possible that he has it right now.

So if God is not saying what you want him to hear, will you still listen anyway?

#2 – He is speaking to you, you’re just not responding.

“For the one who has, more will be given and he will have an abundance from, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Matthew 13:12 Just before Jesus was talking to his disciples in Parables and he closed out verse 9 with “he who has ears to hear let Him hear.”

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone that you knew just wasn’t listening or maybe that’s you when someone is speaking and you’re only tuned in to what you want to hear, and what you need to get from the conversation and everything else just flies right in and right out? But here in verse 9, Jesus is telling us that we have a responsibility to listen and respond. So, for the sake of our discussion today, let’s break down, how God speaks to us in two ways.

How God Speaks to Us in Two Ways 

Number 1 is through His word. everything that we need pertaining to life and godliness is found in God’s word, his word is complete. 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that “all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

So, my friend, you need wisdom, it’s in the word. You need guidance, it’s right in His word. Do you need truth? It’s all in His word, but here’s the problem. If we don’t do well with what we have, what little we have will be taken away. In Matthew 25, we read about the parable of the talents and the one servant chose to do nothing with what his master had given him, he chose to operate in fear and as a result, not only was he scolded, but what little he had was taken away.

Are you expecting more wisdom when you’ve done nothing with the wisdom that he’s already giving you? This could explain why you feel like, God isn’t speaking to you. God’s word is riddled with commands for right living. And if we are not following his word here, like love your neighbor, forgive others spread the gospel, what makes us believe that we deserve to hear some special word from God?

Number 2 – We can hear God’s voice personally. And these are the times when God speaks to our hearts and he guides us in the way that we should go. And it is sometimes called an inner unction and there’s nothing wrong with looking for clarity on that unction, especially through His Word. But if the clarity turns out to be confusion and then you take no action, my friend you are now in disobedience but maybe you have an idea of what God wants you to do but you reason in your head that there must be a better way.

Will you call six others to verify and in the end, you do nothing, but James at 4:17 says, “so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for him it is sin.”

# 3 – He is speaking to you, but your mind is a mess.

Have you ever thought you heard from God? Only to feel like you fell right back into confusion in just a few moments. One of the reasons could be the voices in your head. Now, I don’t mean it in that way. I mean, that we all have several voices that are vying for our attention at any given time, the voice of God, the voice of the enemy, and your voice, which is usually linked to your past experiences. And if you’ve been programmed to believe that you are worthless, unless you’re performing, well, you will likely struggle to receive God’s grace.

If you’ve been taught to believe that you’re a victim, then you will likely struggle to believe that there’s any chance for change. The voices of our past experiences can override the voice of God. If your mind is not renewed to the word of God. 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind and you will be able to test and approve. what God’s will is his good pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

If my mind isn’t renewed, how can I begin to discern the difference between God, Satan, and my old stinking thinking that’s why I created my course called Renew. It takes you through a four-step process to teach you how to control your thoughts and renew them to the word of God showed us. He can begin to transform your life.

#4 – He is speaking to you, period. 

God loves you more than you can possibly imagine and he wants to communicate his truth, his heart, his character, his nature, he wants to communicate to you, believe it or not, more than you think he does. That’s why he wrote the Bible all 66 books in it.

2nd Timothy again reminds us that “all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable, for teaching, for reproof for correction, and for training in righteousness.” 

So no, you won’t always find answers to questions like who should I marry? And where should I move and what color car should I buy? But by being in the truth of God’s word, you actually begin to grow in Godly wisdom and it’s that wisdom, that helps you to make Godly decisions.

When I have a tough decision to make and I asked God to give me directions. I have never once heard his audible voice for instruction. Never once have I received a sign, never once a word prophesied over me regarding a particular situation. I have, however, had him guide me in Godly wisdom so that I can discern for myself what is the most appropriate course of action. 

How? Because I’ve grown to know his voice by getting to know him. I’ve grown to renew my mind by washing out the old garbage of my past and injecting his truth. And when I make a mistake, my friend, I am able to repent and course-correct far faster, because he is faithful. Like I know what, it’s like to want to hear God speak and then get nothing but radio silence. But I want to warn you to beware of craving the sensation of a voice. Jesus warned us against seeking signs. The Pharisees asked for a sign. Jesus wasn’t enough. They wanted a sign and Jesus wouldn’t give it to them.

If you want to learn how to clearly hear from God, I want to encourage you to jump back to our earlier previous episode on the podcast and find the, How do I clearly hear from God episode?

Also, I have a free gift for you. If you are struggling in your faith or you want to grow in your face, I want to invite you to grab a copy of our free 5-Day Mountain Moving Faith Devotion. It is my gift to you my friend because I believe that you two have Mountain Moving faith on the inside of you.