PALESTINE — QUESTION: When people say they hear God’s voice, what do they mean? Do they actually hear a real voice or is something else going on? I am a new Christian. I think God is talking to me, but I’m not sure since what I’m “hearing” is not an actual voice, but more like something within me. If I’m not hearing God’s actual voice, is it really God?

ANSWER: Listening for God’s voice is a learned discipline that takes time to develop. It won’t happen overnight. But when scripture says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8, NIV), I believe God honors those who try to be still before Him. I have discovered through the years that often Christians “hear” the voice of God without ever realizing it. So many times we talk about hearing God in such a grandiose way that often people are set up to think that God always talks to us in a big, booming voice in a big, booming way. But more often than not His voice comes through that “still small voice” in our spirits that translates as a thought that comes into our minds. (See I Kings 19:11-13). When God speaks to us, He will always line up with Scripture; the message will be positive or productive and lead to freedom. However, sometimes there will be an inner prompting to release something  (or someone) we might enjoy but that doesn’t contribute to our spiritual, emotional, mental, or physical health. This too is the voice of the Lord because He wants us at our optimum heath on all levels!

But it’s important that we don’t snatch every thought that comes as “straight from God,” because we can dupe ourselves into believing God is speaking when it’s really us…or the enemy. God’s voice is persistent and steady and will come back with the same message every time we take the time to get close to the Lord. He will never violate His Word. That’s why it’s important to read and study the Bible and understand the audience each passage was written to, the problem it may have been correcting, and how it applies to us today. Buy a Bible commentary that delves into the background of the Scriptures, the customs, and the traditions of the eras that it was written in. Be willing to encounter God through His Word.

I believe the best place to start is with the teachings of Jesus Christ. His words are in red in red-lettered editions of the Bible and occur in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Remember, Jesus was the sinless Son of God. Whatever any of the rest of the Bible says, it cannot be interpreted in a way that violates the teachings of Jesus Christ. So many people snatch one or two passages and run with them to prove self-elevating concepts that trample the heart of Christ. And all the time they think they are doing God’s will. Know enough of what Jesus said to be able to sift what others are telling you and to discern if the teachers are really hearing the voice of God or their own voice. Remember, Jesus Christ said and lived out some radical statements that many people gloss over and shrink away from applying. They include, but are not limited to: putting the self last, treating others the way we want to be treated in all relationships and all concepts we develop, and accepting and loving others regardless of age, race, gender, or economic standing.

Understand that any concepts that violate Christ’s teachings are not rooted in the heart of God. For instance, in the early 1800’s some used the Bible to validate that slavery was God-approved and they believe the Holy Spirit was telling them this. These people twisted the Word of God to create concepts based on power, control, and the subordination of others. Whether concepts are concocted to prove the subordination of others due to race, gender, age, or economic status, they are contrary to the Word of God and His heart. These type concepts are never God’s will.

Sometimes, people create heartless theology that goes cross-grain to God’s love, grace, and mercy. While God is holy, omniscient, and sovereign, He is also love and pursues us through His grace and mercy. When people present concepts that depict God as heartless, cold, and mean they are not hearing from God. Don’t get the voices of bad theology or a negative experience with your earthly parents mixed up with the voice of our Heavenly Father. The best place to start discerning His voice is by encountering Jesus Christ and what He said.

Begin a lifetime of searching the Bible and listen for God to speak to you through His Word. Once you commit yourself to hearing and obeying God on the things He clearly presents through His word, then you will be in a frame of heart and mind to seriously seek Him and therefore discern His voice on the issues you face daily. I began to seek God on a deep level when I was a young adult; and that catapulted me into a communion with Christ that has led me where I am today. I learned that if I would fulfill the Scripture, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), that God would encounter my world in a radical and wonderful way that left me breathless, blessed, and sometimes even uncomfortable with my own shortcomings.

What I have realized through this process is that the problem isn’t that God is trying to communicate with us. The problem is that we have become so accustomed to allowing a barrage of media and noise in our lives that we drown out His voice...especially when the noise is contrary to His Word. Think about your soul as a tomato plant. If you pour Miracle Grow on that plant several times a week, you will have a bumper crop of tomatoes. If you pour gasoline on the plant several times a week, it will wither and never produce one tomato. Being still before God is like Miracle Grow to the soul. Allowing a constant barrage of noise into our lives that is contrary to God’s Word is like gasoline to our soul. It drowns us in spiritual toxins and hinders us from hearing God’s voice. Realize that God will reward every moment you are silent before Him. This is one of the most spiritually healthy things you can do, and one of the surest ways to start discerning His voice!

    Different people have different environments they prefer for being still before God. Some people sit in nature. Others go to a church and commit time at the altar. Some like me enjoy listening to worship music alone. Some people insist on meditating before the Lord in the morning. Others use their lunch break at work. Then there are those who prefer late at night, when everyone else is in bed. The when or where of being still before God is not so much the issue as is the fact that you commit to a lifetime of falling silent and absorbing His presence at least several times a week. If you start out with fifteen minutes 3 times a week, you’ll find this time will grow to a daily encounter and can stretch as long as an hour or more. When you learn to enter the “holy of holies” with God, it becomes such a positive experience that you don’t want to break away. You will begin “weeding” the things out of your life that you don’t have to do in order to have time to encounter God. Activities like excessive television will become a thing of the past because there are only so many hours in the day, and your time with the Lord is the most important thing in each day.

While you are falling silent before Him, waiting on Him, a variety of things will happen. First, God will begin to minister to your soul. If you are sitting in nature, the sounds of creation will ring with His glory. If you choose to use worship music, the lyrics and the instruments will come alive with the presence of the Holy Spirit. We often talk about serving the Lord, but the Lord wants to minister to us. Until we allow Him to minister to us we in no way are in any position to serve Him. Therefore, if you do choose music, it’s important to make choices that are conducive to worship. For me, that is softer-toned music of all styles, instrumentals as well as praise choruses, hymns, and even milder contemporary music. Music that is “highly pumped,” no matter the genre or style, is not usually conducive to such a worship time. Understand that this type of Christian music is fine for listening and for lifting the spirits but will interfere with our thought processes as we strive to connect with the Father.

 I highly recommend the following musicians in your journey:

*Trumpet: Rudy Cerventes, www.heavenlytrumpet.com. “Hymns of Praise Volume One” is my favorite.

*Piano: Stan Whitmire, www.stanwhitmire.com.  All of his worship cd’s are tremendous!

*Voice & Instrumental: www.maranathamusic.com. Their Top 25 Instrumental Series offers contemporary favorites; the Maranatha Singers Praise Series is also excellent. These cd’s present soothing, unobtrusive voices that encourage a spirit of worship.

We invest money in physical food, but investing money in our spiritual food and well-being is of even more importance. I have never regretted the money I have spent on my worship cd’s and have accumulated quite a collection over the years. I listen to this music, not only during my worship time, but also all day long as I’m in my vehicle and around my house. If you enjoy music, I encourage you to begin buying a cd a month and accumulate a good collection. I have found that by rotating my music, my worship time remains new and vibrant.

Once you are bathing your mind in God’s Word and purposefully placing yourself in a worshipful position to hear His voice, the Lord will begin to speak to your heart. If the Lord wants you to know something, He will communicate that to you in a variety of ways that all work together to reinforce the message. For instance, you will be led to a particular Bible passage that you sense you need to read. In that passage, there will be a story that speaks to an issue you’re facing. Meanwhile, you’ll be in a casual conversation with a friend, and that friend will say something that supports the Scripture you just read. Then, in the time you fall silent before the Lord, the conversation and Scripture will come back to your mind and God will begin to peace together what He’s trying to say through your thoughts. Next, you might be listening to a message or a song or a radio interview and the same subject will be discussed. This is how God layers His messages to us so that we hear it from numerous directions. Eventually, we will see that God regularly uses many avenues to communicate to us.

However, don’t expect to be hourly bombarded with messages from God in the first week…or even the first year…or ever for that matter. If you “hear” the Lord in several ways every week then that is phenomenal. Don’t pressure yourself or think you’re a failure if you do nothing more than wait before the Lord for a season before the process begins to blossom. And remember, the more you live in obedience to His Word, the more you respond positively to His voice, the closer you will grow to Him and the more you will sense his presence…and His voice. Don’t forget the gasoline and the tomato plant. You will self-defeat the whole process if you purposefully choose to bathe your heart and mind in things that are contrary to God’s Word and therefore toxin to your soul. As you fall silent before God, He will show you exactly what toxins you must remove to have untainted communion with Him. If you choose not to remove these toxins then you will no more blossom spiritually than a gassed tomato plant will bear fruit.

One teenager that I have been coaching on this journey recently said, “The main thing I have wanted since I was a little child is to know God’s voice and to know He is speaking to me. Now, He is! I’m learning to recognize when God speaks to me.” I responded, “Now that you understand how to discern God’s voice, you will find out that He’s speaking to you way more than you ever before realized!”

With all that said, I have been a Christian since I was a child—for about forty years. I have walked with the Lord through ups and downs. I have had struggles and seasons of setbacks. But I have always come back to my roots and to the commitment to the Lord and His Kingdom. Nevertheless, I had a conversation with my dad a few years ago in which I expressed to him that at times I have to wait and see if God is speaking to me on a particular issue, or if it’s just my own thoughts. He responded, “Debra, that may be something you wrestle with your whole life. I have times when I know God has spoken and other times when I believe He’s speaking to me, but like you, I have to wait and see.” Sometimes, even seasoned Christians have times of struggle in this area. But one thing I have learned is that if God is talking to you about an issue, He will eventually make sure you know it’s Him. If it involves conviction (His asking you to stop a wrong behavior) you’ll be miserable until you stop. If He’s trying to lead you into a new ministry opportunity, people will repeatedly tell you the same thing and all sorts of opportunities will present themselves to you in that area. If He’s telling you to move to another city, every element of the move will fall into place like the pieces of a divinely arranged puzzle.

I am convinced that if every Christian would seriously commit to studying the Bible and pursuing communion with Christ on this level, our nation…and our world…would see an amazing revival like none other. While I cannot control what anyone else does, I can choose this lifestyle for myself. I encourage you to do the same. Our main obligation in the process is to be surrendered to His will, study His Word, and commit serious time to being still before Him. From this position, God will take control of our hearts, minds, and lives in a miraculous way and guide us in all that He has for us, just as He guided the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt and parted the Red Sea to do it.

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The author of 52 books, Debra White Smith is the featured relationship specialist on the Fox News Radio Show, “Plain Jane Wisdom.” She and her husband, Daniel, co-pastor Palestine Church of the Nazarene. For more information, visit www.debrawhitesmith.com. Got a problem? E-mail Debra at askdebra@live.com