How does God Speak to us?
There are those who hear the voice of God speaking audibly to them. Most of them are in mental hospitals. Perhaps God is actually speaking to some of them. However, this is not the way he “speaks” to most people.
Personal Examples
There are some of us who “hear” God speak to us on occasion. His voice is in our heads, with a message that is not just a random thought from our unconscious. Personally, I will occasionally have what I would call “a word” from the Lord. He barely speaks in complete sentences to me. For example, one such message was: “Take it to the next level.” Once, when praying about my next pastoral call, I had three possible positions open to me. I prayed for discernment. The message I got from the Lord was, “bookcases.” Imagine my interview process as the most important thing I was trying to discover was something unique about bookcases in the pastor’s office. If you get messages from the Lord, I hope they are clearer than mine.
Seek Advice
It is always a good idea to seek advice from someone more experienced and mature in the faith. You want to weigh any possible message from the Almighty against the Bible. Remember people like the Son of Sam serial killer thought God was telling them to kill people!
Bible
Many people find that God speaks to them from the word of the Word. The Bible is considered to be The Living Word of God because the faithful often find that a particular text will take on a meaning directly for them. Something will “leap off the page” to give advice or comfort, direction or warning.
Devotionals
There are many other books, daily devotions, works of art, music and the like that God can also use to speak to us. Similarly the Lord speaks to us in sermons. Frequently people will say to me, Pastor that sermon was meant just for me this morning. As a preacher, I hope the message fits more than one person. However, it may be that from time to time something I hadn’t even considered vital to the sermon is just the little connection God uses to reach one person.
Metaphors
God speaks to us in metaphors as we meditate on the world around us. We see examples in the Bible, especially in the writings of the prophets. For example, Consider, says the Lord the potter at his wheel. One day a parishioner found a discolored penny in her garden. It seemed to her the Lord was telling her that He found her like that tarnished penny. Now he was going to polish her life.
Constantly
It is not often that we will be like Moses, hearing God speak through a burning bush. However, if we are constant in prayer, and alert to observe, God can and will speak to us. It may be that over time you will have longer conversation, even daily.
He may if we pay attention use all kinds of methods to give us the messages he wants to convey.
Click here for more posts.