To hear from God is a critical issue that had always disturbs the heart of a lot of Christians. When Jesus Christ was preached to me as the only One who has the master-key to open all the closed doors of my life, I was eager to meet Him for a serious discussion. I asked myself: “how can I communicate to God and hear His response?” You might be going through a similar experience, but when you read this article, I’m sure you will hear from God.
1. Hear from God through your Mind
God speaks to our mind, but we don’t hear Him. Simply because our thoughtful desires are more audible than His small still voice. He can speak to your mind anytime and anywhere, but you can only hear from God if your mind had been transformed from the thoughts of worldliness to holiness.
Romans chapter 12 verse 1 and 2 says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
If you practice the habit of frequent prayers and awesome worship to the Lord in your mind, then you will hear His response to whatever you ask from Him. God loves to be in a regular communication with genuine Christians.
My Christian life in God had been so awesome through His steady communication to my mind. Whenever I hear from God in my mind, it sounds like a fast typist typing on the keyboard of a computer. His speech to me through my mind has a high-speed. The speed of my brain to plan thoughtful expressions can never be compared to the speed of God’s voice in my mind.
The easiest way to differentiate the voice of God from that of Devil is to test the message with the word of God in the Bible. If there is no misconception of the scriptures, then the voice of Devil will always fail the test.
2. Hear from God through Vision
You do not need any special eyes or ears to hear from God through visions. Vision is a medium of communication which involves display of pictorial images or active conversation in another realm different from the earth. The unique experience in vision is the conscious mode of your body, unlike the dream realm.
God conveys a lot of prophetic messages to me through visions. And none of the visions had failed the Bible test. For instance, I was on my bed on the 8th of May 2003 (am not fast asleep because my mind is conscious of my environment) and in the vision I saw a huge Being sitting on a chair. I had the understanding in the vision that He is my Master. I sat on a chair in front of Him, and He opened the Bible in His Hands to Galatians chapter 6:15&16, He told me to read it, which I did. Then He said: ‘’Preach to the people, only those practicing holiness will I take to heaven’’. When the vision came to an end, I opened my eyes and I was amazed that I heard God speak to me!
The tendency to hear from God through visions involves genuine repentance from sinful lifestyle. When you give your life to Christ, His Spirit will come upon you and it will become possible for you to see visions. The book of Act chapter 2 and verses 17 says: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.”
3. Hear from God through Dream
God uses this medium to communicate to a lot of us who always experience a busy day. You can hear from God through your dreams (unconscious sleeping mode). Some dreams requires interpretations unlike vision which has a direct meaning. Don’t be confused when you hear from God through dreams, He will explain the meaning of the dream to you in your prayers to Him.
When I was in the University, I always pray to God to glorify my hard work and sometimes He responded to my prayers by revealing some course topics to me in the dream. Surprisingly, all He revealed to me in the dream were part of the exam questions. Am sure God will not show such dream to a lazy student who does not pray and read his book…
4. God Speaks through the Word in the Bible
The easiest way I had discovered that God can speak to you without any confusion or wrong interpretation is through His word in the Bible. If you want to hear from God, then read the Bible regularly with a humble mind.
To hear from God, you must be ready to obey all His instructions in the Bible. You will agree with me that only an obedient child can receive the full attention of his father when the need arises. Thus, your obedience to the word of God in the Bible is a sign that you will surely hear from God. Jesus says: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4)
5. Your Neighbor can be God’s Mouth-Piece
I do not argue about the gift of prophesy, but run away from the false prophets who prophesy because of the money/gift they intend to get from you. God made the Israelite to hear from Him through prophet Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah. So, you can also hear from God through genuine Christians in your neighborhood or on the media.
You don’t need to jump from one pastor to another before you hear from God. The Lord will direct the right person to you, or He can make you stumble on the right solution-providing article on the internet. Every message from the Lord through your neighbor will never contradict the scriptures.
It is essential to hear from God for a cordial relationship with Him. God is not limited to these five major ways of communication, but you cannot be deaf to His voice when you read and obey the word of God in the Bible daily. Your reformed mind and prayerful lifestyle are essential prerequisites of a good chat with the Lord!!