HOW TO KNOW GOD'S VOICE

By William R. Cunningham
October 19, 2003

INTRODUCTION

Wouldn't it be nice if you had an assurance that the decision you were about to make was a good one? Wouldn't you feel much better if you knew when God was directing you to do this or that or that God told you to do something? How do you know when God is telling you something? How would you know if God is directing you a particular path and to make a specific decision? Can we know such things? Well the answer is yes. We can have an assurance in our decisions by knowing God's voice. However, how do we know when God is telling us something?

The focus of this lesson is to provide you with information that will help you to know the voice of God in your life. For example, the Bible declares,

1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

This sounds great, but how can we know God's will? For many the problem is not so much faith in God but when to have faith in God or for what. If we act according to God's will then all will be well because God will do it. However, if we go out on our own even if we think that we are acting according to God's will then success is not guaranteed. So again, how can we know God's voice and therefore his will in any given situation?

I hope to shed some light on this subject by providing you with guidance from the Bible as to how we can know the will of God. I pray that when you complete this study that you will know what you will need to do so that you would surely know the voice of God.

EXAMPLES FROM SCRIPTURE

The first thing that I would like to do is to examine a few examples of people who moved or seemingly moved because of their confidence in God. These men were somehow convinced that their actions were directed by God and therefore accomplished great things. How did they do it and how did they know they were acting in accordance with the will of God? How did they know that God was indeed talking to them? Let's see.

Samuel

First read 1 Samuel 3:1-10 and 19-21 for a narrative on the start of Samuel's experience with God. Look at the first five verses of 1 Samuel 3.

1 Samuel 3:1-5 (NKJV) Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!" So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down.

There are a few things that I would like to take note of here.

1.              Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. The word minister here is the Hebrew word sha rath ( ‡L ), which means to attend as a menial or worshipper. It means to serve. Therefore, Samuel was doing a service in the Temple where Eli was the priest.

2.              The word of the LORD was rare in those days. There was not much prophetic activity at this time.

3.              God called Samuel while he was lying down. Some commentaries say that Samuel was dreaming; however the text does not indicate that. It appears that Samuel heard someone call him audibly or seemingly audibly and he responded.

Now Samuel was a youth at this point and he had no direct experience with the LORD, especially since prophetic activity was rare at this time. So Samuel had no idea that God was calling him and therefore assumed that it was Eli. This happened two more times until finally Eli realized what might be happening. He instructed Samuel to answer the LORD.

Also note that in verses 10 and 11 that God did not begin to talk to Samuel until Samuel acknowledged him. This is interesting because one would wonder why God did simply tell Samuel who he was when he was calling Samuel. This seems to indicate that we must be in a state of reception with God in order for him to talk to us. That is, we should be ready and willing to hear in order for God to talk go us.

Now let's look at verses 19-21.

1 Samuel 3:19-21 (NKJV) So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Samuel was one of the greatest prophets and judges to the Israelite people. Here we see that God revealed himself to Samuel, as he grew older. So Samuel developed a relationship with God and therefore knew when God was talking to him.

I believe that it is important to realize that Samuel didn't know the Lord personally until his encounter in the Temple. He knew of God because he was serving in the temple. However, he did not have a relationship with God, which God initiated by the way. So we can say for example that merely going to church every Sunday does not qualify as a relationship with God. God even taught me several years ago that hours and hours of Bible study over many years do not constitute a relationship (fellowship) with God. A clue presented to us by Samuel's life is that a relationship with God is necessary to know what God says and confidently act on it.

Gideon

Read Judges 6:17-22 and 33-40. Another very interesting encounter was that of Gideon with God. Gideon's encounter with God was similar to that of Samuel in that he knew of God but had no personal relationship or experience with God. Consider Gideon's first encounter with God.

Judges 6:14-18 (NKJV) Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man." Then he said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You." And He said, "I will wait until you come back."

Now you should note that from verse 11 that the angel of the LORD (actually the LORD God) appeared to Gideon and called him a great man of valor and told him that the Lord was with Him. Gideon's response was to question why God's wonders were not evident. He even said that the LORD had forsaken Israel.

When the LORD told him to go and deliver Israel from the Mideanites, then Gideon resisted because he considered his own self and not what God previously told him. God told him again that he would be with Gideon. At this, Gideon asked for a sign, which was before the infamous fleece sign. God did give him a sign by consuming the offering by fire from a rock (See verse 21.

Now Gideon did not have a personal relationship with God, especially when you consider that his father was a Baal worshipper. It also appears from Gideon's initial response that he had a degree of contempt for God. In any case, since he had no experience with God and was called to do a task "now" then a sign seems to be required. In other words, Gideon needed to know that God was indeed calling him to deliver the Israelites from the Mideanites. It also appears that Gideon knew of God as well and that he had faith that God could indeed do what he said even though he had no prior experience with God. So a level of faith in God was present, though there was no certainty as to whether he was indeed hearing God call him to deliver Israelite.

The same situation applies to us as well. Sometimes we need a sign because we want to be sure for an emergency or an immediate situation. We might not have sufficient experiences with God to know where he is directing us so we ask for a sign (some call this confirmation). How great it would be if we just knew God's voice and had no need for confirmation. That is the goal.

The need for a sign for Gideon didn't end at the rock with the burnt offering. In verse 33 we see that Gideon wanted God to confirm that God was indeed calling him to lead his people to liberty. He asked God to first make the fleece wet with dew and the ground dry. God obliged him. He then asked for the fleece to be dry and the ground wet with dew. God obliged him again. At this it appears that Gideon was confident that it was indeed God calling him to deliver Israel.

I think that it is important to realize that Gideon did not demonstrate or indicate a lack of faith in the power and ability of God. The fact that he asked for a sign seems to indicate that he was only concerned about the identity of the one calling him to action. He seems to have had faith in God's ability to deliver Israel. However, since he had no personal experience with God then he wasn't sure if God was indeed talking to him, which prompted him to seek verification from God.

Moses

Read Exodus 3:1-4, 11-14, and 4:1-16. Again we have a similar situation with Moses. Moses was raised in an environment of the Egyptian God after being nursed by his Hebrew mother. Now one day Moses notice a bush that was burning but was not burned up. That made him curious and he went to investigate. That is when the Lord, i.e., the angle of the Lord, called out to him. God identified himself to Moses. This leads me to believe that Moses did not have a personal experience with God until this point. However, his response to God identifying himself leads me to believe that he knew of God (just like Samuel and Gideon).

God begins to instruct Moses on the task of delivering the people from Egypt to which Moses begin to object with various excuses. Here, Moses did not seem to have a problem with whom he was talking to. He seems to have had a problem with the power of this God and perhaps even his authority. God demonstrated his power with a few miracles involving his hand and his staff. Finally Moses conceded and carried out his task from God.

Moses had the same inexperience with God as Samuel and Gideon at their first encounters respectively. Moses did seem to know of God however. God proved himself to Moses as he did with Gideon by signs. Moses however had a perception of inadequacy that made his acceptance of God's call that much more difficult. We see how God patiently dealt with Moses' complaining and excuses until finally the Bible says that God became angry at Moses' final plea to reject God's calling. Even at this point, God provided Aaron, Moses' brother to go with him and talk with Him (Moses stuttered).

David and Goliath

Read 1 Samuel 17:32-37 and 45-47. This is an extraordinary story in that it demonstrates what happens when one has a relationship and experience with God. Another interesting thing here is that God did not call David to slay Goliath. David took it upon himself to fight Goliath purely because of his faith in God that was established by his experiences with God in the past. David had overcome a bear and a lion in order to protect his sheep in the past. He said that God delivered them into his hands and that he would do the same to Goliath.

David's faith rested in his trust in God that was established and developed by personal experience with God. David also knew the power of God and knew about God. However, unlike Moses, Gideon, and Samuel, David did have a personal relationship with God and this led him to a great act of faith. Furthermore, God did not have to tell David to fight Goliath. He knew that he was in the will of God because the Philistine was opposing the army of the Lord God and that seemed to be something that just couldn't be in David's mind. Surely God would deliver the Philistine into the hands of his people. So David went to fight.

Again, it is very important to understand that David's faith didn't rest merely in his knowledge of God's power. I'm sure the rest of the army as well as King Saul knew of God's power. However, they were all afraid to put that knowledge to the test. David, having already had experience with God's delivering power against all odds (what are the odds that a boy could defeat a lion or bear), decided with great confidence to fight and defeat the Philistine.

We can have that kind of faith in God as well. However, it appears that this kind of faith is developed and is not founded upon knowledge about God. It is founded on personal experience and relation with God. We must know God and not merely know about him.

KNOWING GOD

Now I would like to present to you the guidelines that you can use to determine if you are hearing God's voice. There are several things that we can use to determine if we are hearing from God. Consider the following.

1. God speaks through His word, the Bible
2. God speaks to you by the Holy Spirit
3. God can speak to you by the use of your conscience
4. Common sense can help you know the will of God
5. Opportunities and closed opportunities can help you know the will of God
6. Godly counsel can be used to know what to do according to God's will
7. Various confirmations may indicate the will of God
8. The peace of God in a matter may help to indicate the will of God
9. Circumstances and timing may help indicate the will of God
10. Hindsight confirmation can help you learn God's voice

Please understand that none of the above by themselves can definitely indicate the voice of God or not. It takes a combination of some of these items, depending on the situation, to give you valuable insight into determining whether you are hearing from God or not.

Relationship

However, we need to discuss the aspect of relationship and experience before we can even begin to discuss any of the items in the above list. In order for any person to hear from God then that person must be born again. Consider the following scriptures.

John 3:3 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

John 10:4-5 (NKJV) And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

See also 1 Corinthians 1:21, 23; and 2:14

The point here is that unless we are saved we cannot understand the things of God. God's voice could never be heard by the unregenerate ear (mind) or heart. Therefore, a relationship between you and God through Jesus Christ must exist before you could rightly hear from Him.

If you have the Spirit of God in you then you already have the capability to know God's voice. You have the relationship but you are still not sure when you hear God. Through the Holy Spirit you can hear God's voice, but it's through experience that you can come to know God's voice.

Experience

Knowing God is the same as knowing anyone else. We have friends or people that we know because we have spent time with them. We have experienced them through observation and interaction. A husband gets to know his spouse. A parent gets to know their children. They spend time with them and they see how he or she responds, what their personality is like, how they tend to think, etc. Well the same is true with God.

We can experience God through interacting with Him. This includes prayer and fellowship time (worship). God should be as real to you as any other person or thing, though we cannot see Him. This means that you should spend some time just talking with Him and sharing your heart. You should also spend some time listening to Him. The more you do this in conjunction with the principle revealed in the next scripture, then the more you will learn God's voice. Consider the following scripture.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

First we must learn to trust God, which is to totally rely on Him. This comes primarily through obedience as we get to know his voice. As you associate the voice of the Lord with activities in your life then you will begin to get that hindsight confirmation that was given earlier. First and foremost, we begin to obey the word of God (the Bible) in the beginning of our walk with God. We learn that God's word is reliable and that God is trustworthy. This encourages us and gives us more confidence to obey more of God's word as we learn more of His voice. This also affords us the opportunity to experience more of God.

Next we acknowledge God in all of the things that we do (the paths that we take) and God will direct those paths. That is a beautiful saying but it isn't automatic. You have to become aware of God and recognize God moving in your life and with that you will learn to know his voice. Consider also the following scripture.

Psalm 37:23-24 (NKJV) The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

The use of the phrase "good man" might be somewhat ambiguous. The Hebrew word for that phrase means a valiant man or warrior. Generally it means a person or man. The rendering in the NIV makes this verse more clear.

Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV) If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

So if God is pleased with your walk then he will make that walk firm. You may stumble but you will not fall. It's as if God is walking with you and he catches if you should stumble so that you don't fall down. Again, we can see the importance of experiencing God in our everyday lives.

Begin to spend time in prayer and in fellowship with the almighty God. Begin to spend time with God as you would your best friend. Get to know him. Be aware of Him as he directs your path and how he moves in your life and then you will learn how he communicates with you and you will be able to recognize him moving in the future.

You should realize that it will take time to be able to recognize God's voice. If you haven't been communing with the Lord and actively aware of His presence in your life then you will be starting from scratch so to speak. Therefore, don't think that you can learn some keys to knowing God's voice and expect to wake up tomorrow knowing fully well when God is talking and when Just as it takes time to know someone, it will take time to know God and therefore his voice.

INSIGHTS

Now let me highlight the items that I had introduced earlier.

God's Word, the Bible. We can learn much of what God has said to us through His word. Of course, through His word we can come to know His ways and then obey them, which leads to experience. It is paramount that the Christian study the word of God because that in itself will help you make many decisions in your life

Also, anything that you hear and suspect is from God will not contradict His word. So it is very important that you spend time studying and getting to know God's word intimately.

The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will also direct you in your way. This is a major way that God will talk to you regarding specific situations. See Romans 8:14. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will guide us to all truth (See John 16:13). Many times this is what people mean when they have a word from the Lord or something to that affect. They are claiming that the Holy Spirit has told them something spiritual, which is from God.

The Conscience. See 1 Timothy 1:5, 19, 2 Timothy 1:3, Titus 1:15, Hebrews 9:14. The conscience is basically your moral awareness. By morals, I mean being aware of God's way and following it or departing from God's way to go another. The conscience is not totally reliable because we are tainted with sin. However, the godly person will have a conscience that is being purified by the Lord Jesus Christ and for that reason it tends towards God's way. This again is not the sole way of determining God's way. It can, along with other tests, be helpful in determining whose voice you are hearing.

Common sense. The reason this item is included is because we want to eliminate the thought that faith in God means that you could simply jump off of the cliff and expect God to work everything else. The Bible tells us not to tempt the Lord God and common sense can help us avoid doing that. For example, if you don't have enough money in the bank to pay for something then common sense says that you can't write a check for that particular amount.

God does not act foolishly nor will he compel you to act foolishly. It is possible that God would do something that seems impossible, but that doesn't mean that it won't make sense. Now by making sense or common sense, I am referring to non-foolishness and not mere reason. Sometimes, we can't figure out how God will do something and he does it anyway. That doesn't mean that it violates common sense. Common sense says use a raincoat or umbrella in the rain else you will get wet.

We shouldn't for example, think that God would tell us to walk through fire. Commons sense tells us that if we would do that then we could be burned and killed. Again, common sense is not the sole test for knowing God's voice. It is a helpful tool in disqualifying Him from things that you might hear.

Opportunities. I mentioned earlier how I recognized God moving in my life because of opportunities that arose along with circumstantial timing, which I will discuss shortly. God can open opportunities that confirm the voice that you have heard. If God says to you to do something and then opportunity opens up and provisions are available then that is a good indication that God is orchestrating things.

Godly counsel. I believe that one of your greatest resources is other people. It is most helpful to talk to others about what you think God is telling you or about the voice that you hear, but not sure of its origin. These people could perhaps share scripture that you were not aware of, provide insight, or even a prophetic word that could help you determine the source of the voice. Besides, an outside opinion is a good place to find objective help.

However, beware of counsel even those claiming to be Godly counsel. Some people are negative and faithless. They will have you believing that nothing you do will ever work or that you are going to die of a fatal disease because you sneezed. Beware and be selective of whom you seek counseling from. As before, this is not the sole way to determine God's voice and surely should not be the only method that you use.

Various confirmations. I am amazed how sometimes when you are trying to make a decision that various things that you see deal with that particular topic. You might say something like, "I think God is trying to tell me something." That could very well be the case. God could perhaps orchestrate the environment to help you along a particular way in your decision.

The peace. This is most interesting and a very unreliable test. Most people think of this peace as something having to do with our emotions. Someone might say something, "I feel peace about this." Well that peace may indeed be due to you becoming settled and confident in your decision. However, that peace might also arise from a sense of "getting it out of the way."

The inner peace here is the peace that we receive in prayer and not through emotions. Consider the following scripture.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

So the peace here isn't necessarily an emotional one, but one that is a type of settling knowing that you are on the right track with God and that God is with you. Emotionally, you might still be hyper so to speak.

Circumstances and timing. This is very much related to "opportunities" that was discussed above. God can move by various opportunities and orchestrate things with precision timing. What he tells you will coincide with his provision, which includes open opportunities and the orchestration of circumstances.

Hindsight confirmation. This is actually very important. It is through hindsight that we learn what was of God and what was not of God and how these were consistent with the voice that we heard and responded to or not. Consider Zechariah 2:9,11, and 4:9. These verses show hind sightedness in regards to the validity of God's prophet.

We can see clearly behind us when we objectively analyze what happened knowing more of the environment and what was all involved. This will enable us to notice how God moved and therefore experience God.

MY TESTIMONY

Now let me share two of my God experiences with you as illustrations to some of the topics covered in this lesson.

The House

I have purchased two houses with my wife as of the time of this writing. Both were acts of faith and confidence in God. In both cases I recognized God moving because I had been walking with him since a child. I used to spend many late nights talking with him and listening to his instruction as I looked at the stars. I would take walks and just talk with God just as if I was talking to another person walking next to me. I developed a close and intimate relationship with God and experienced him in my normal everyday life. I got to learn the voice of God through experience.

I knew when God was directing our path and the circumstances for our homes. At one point my wife and I were about to sign the sales agreement for a particular house, but instead we went off to pray and decided not to. God was not leading in that direction. The realtor was unhappy, but we did the will of God by staying on track. The house that we eventually purchased hadn't even hit the market when the realtor told us about it. I knew immediately upon entering the house that God had arranged it for us.

God provided us with one full size bed, a complete bedroom set from the previous owner. We also received a kitchen set, a cabinet, a complete dining room set, a sofa and chair, along with some rugs. I think we paid $300 for all of this if I remember correctly. God provided for his two newly wed children and I was able to receive his provision because I knew his voice.

My second house was similar. My wife and I had been looking at houses for almost ten years or more. At first it was just dream building and then we actively looked for a house to purchase, though we had no money to do so. We simply believed that God would bless us so we began the process of looking. Well after almost ten years, God led us to a development that a friend of ours had recently moved. The short story is that we went to the sales office and were moved. We went home and prayed about it and decided to try and then all heaven broke loose.

God confirmed his approval of this purchase because everything, and I mean everything fell into place. The finances came through miraculously and we were able to purchase all new furniture without the use of credit. God blessed us because we followed Him. We knew his way of communicating with us because we had experienced him previously. We noticed how God provided for us and how he directed us, which is how we knew that God had given us that house.

I should also say that my wife and I believe that we missed out on a new home that God had provided for us several years before. We could feel the anointing so to speak on the model home and we knew it was the house that God had for us. However, we looked at our then current financial situation and simply reckoned that we couldn't afford it so we never even tried. This also goes to show that God doesn't give up on us when we stumble.

So I have learned through these and many other situations how to recognize God's voice. I am confident when I hear God talking to me and that I know it is Him. I have learned his voice. This isn't to say that my own flesh won't try to counterfeit and draw me away from God's instruction, which indeed has happened at a significant financial cost to us. However, I do know God's voice for the very reasons that are presented in this lesson. I learned them through experience and now I have compiled those experiences here to share with you to hopefully get you on the right track to knowing the voice of God.

My Ministry

I have been part of quite a few churches in the past ten years. I left my childhood church in 1992 to attend Victory Christian Fellowship. From there, I felt that the Lord called me to be with Pastor Ray Barnard as he was starting Impacting Your World Ministries. Differences in ministry cause my wife and I to leave that church and eventually start Oasis Christian Fellowship at the request of a pastor that I had met. That went on for about two years and then we moved out of the city of Philadelphia. I became a part of Bear Ye One Another's Burdens Family Church, which was pastured by a friend of mine. About a year into that God admonished me in prayer that I wasn't doing what he had told me to do a couple of years prior. I was basically the keyboard player for this church, but God called me to minister the truth. After a year with BYOAB, I realized that I hadn't been ministering at all. I was only playing keyboards. I had to make a move that I really didn't want to make because I wanted to help a friend with his church.

Well, I left that church to be with another pastor at Abundant Life Christian Center (ALCC) because I had already been ministering more at ALCC than at BYOAB. My objective was to put myself under another pastor so that I could do ministry since I had no intentions of starting a church at that time, though the prophetic words on my life since a child said that I would have a church. Again I found myself doing very little ministry, actually hardly at all, though I thought that I would be. I was again merely the keyboard player and technology consultant.

The short story is that I left Abundant Life to start my own church, though I had not planned to do so. I did begin an initiative to have Bible study classes and the like under Pursuing the Truth Ministries, which was not a church at that time. I wanted to do what God called me to do since I haven't been doing so in about two years. I made the decision to leave Abundant Life Christian Center to pursue my calling. The departure was far from a smooth one and the whole experience there was rather disappointing. However, I learned many things there in regards to managing a ministry.

When I look back, I notice how God was orchestrating the whole thing even to the point of bailing me out. My wife was not in total agreement about BYOAB and we even thought that perhaps we should have been at Abundant Life Christian Center sooner. In any event, we went through all of that to starting a church under Pursuing the Truth Ministries. God even caused us to intersect the path of some people that have been very instrumental in the church of Pursuing the Truth Ministries.

I had to go around the barn, so to speak, to get where I am now. I am still not at the final destination, as I know God is leading me to make another change in our direction in regards to Pursuing the Truth Ministries. God is with us for sure. The radio broadcast has been very successful and the ministry is getting worldwide attention. To that I am thankful to God for being patient with me and guiding me. He has patiently made my path straight as revealed in Proverbs 3:5-6. I have learned to be aware of God and to listen to God when he speaks to me. I have learned his voice though sometimes I am not sure. However, I can detect when he is involved and when he is not involved.

My experience with God has been greatly instrumental in the direction and progression of Pursuing the Truth Ministries. I have been a part of a few church and learned many things along the way. We have learned the importance of Bible study, what not to do in a church, as well as many other things pertaining to meeting the needs of the people. I would encourage you to be sensitive to God moving in the situations in your life and take action. Sometimes you might have to do something rather drastic to correct things, but I'd rather correct myself to be in agreement with God's plan then to stay on my own road to destruction.

SUMMARY

We have found that the most important thing that we need to do in order to discern the voices that we hear is first to establish a relationship with God. This means that you must be born again and then you must get to know God. This requires prayer, fellowship time, Bible study, and more. The point is to gain a personal and intimate relationship with God as you learn and experience him moving in your life. Then you will be able to distinguish his voice from the voice of your flesh's lust, and the Devil.

We also found that there are various tests that we can use to help us discern God's voice. We can take special note of what the Bible teaches us and what the Holy Spirit prompts us to do. I believe that many desires we have is due to the Holy Spirit. We can also use our conscience, common sense, opportunities or closed opportunities, godly counsel, various confirmations, peace through prayer, timing and circumstances, and hindsight experience to help us determine what voice is talking to us. We said that none of these tests alone would definitively identify a particular voice. However, several together will surely help us to distinguish whose voice we are hearing.

Above all we should be sure to read and study the Bible, spend time in prayer, and spend time in fellowship with the Lord. We would then get to know God and therefore recognize his voice. Jesus said the sheep knows the voice of the good shepherd. The sheep know the shepherd because they are with him every day. Likewise, we should get to know God and then learn his voice.