To Heaven and Back Again: How to Hear from God

How to Hear Video

God chooses to whom He will speak to audibly for the reasons explained in the prior chapters. However, this doesn’t mean that God will not speak to you. There are many ways God speaks to people, but the top four are:

Through His Word (the Bible)
A small quiet voice
A louder, internal voice
Through dreams, visions and prophecy

Before we describe other, less frequent ways God speaks, let us clearly define these four and clarify what it is we can do to hear from God in these ways.

His Word

Before we can be sure that we are hearing from God in the other ways God speaks, we need to know who He is. The way we find this out is by reading the Bible; the inspired Word of God written as the Holy Spirit instructed its writers.

If we don’t believe that the Bible is the absolute truth, it is hard to hear from God through it and know when we are hearing from God. There are two main arguments challenging the contents of the Bible as not being absolute truth: the implausibility of the stories and the possibility that it was put together by a government for a political agenda. Let us address these issues to help strengthen your faith in the Word of God.

Impossible Stories

Some examples of stories in the Bible that may be hard to take at face value include the following:

the parting of the sea
manna from Heaven appearing each day to feed God’s people when they were in the desert
a prophet outrunning a king’s chariot

These scenarios sound impossible. A story I found the hardest to believe is the account of Joshua battling the Amorites. He prayed and asked God to hold the sun in the sky until all his enemies were slain. According to the Bible, the sun and moon stayed in the sky for about an extra day.

If we think about this logically, it seems impossible. This would cause tidal waves and earthquakes and all kinds of natural disasters. Despite the seeming implausibility of this, there is evidence that this actually happened:

In ancient Chinese writings there is a legend of an extended day.
The Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico have a like record, and there is a Babylonian and a Persian legend of a day that was miraculously lengthened.
Another section of China contributes an account of the day that was miraculously prolonged, in the reign of Emperor Yeo.
Sahagun, the Spanish savant who came to America a generation after Columbus and gathered the traditions of the aborigines, wrote that at the time of one cosmic catastrophe the sun rose just slightly over the horizon and remained there without moving; the moon also stood still.

Since there is proof that God held the sun and moon in the sky for two days, it makes all the other stories in the Bible seem easy for God to do.

Political Agenda

King James was known to be more academic than most other monarchs; he was fluent in Greek, Latin, French, English, Gaelic, as well as Italian and Spanish. He was known as an evangelist of the true gospel and an excellent writer, which many credit to his success as king. He even wrote Christian meditations for his people and his court.

King James assembled the best translations with the help of fifty-four linguists, all of whom were known to be devout Christians. It was a collaborative effort with each translation sent to all participating scholars where it could be checked and questioned. The final version was published some seven years after the translation committee was first formed.

Since the creation of the King James Version, many other translations have been available and revert to the original writings. One of my favorites is the Amplified Version. It bridges many of the issues involved in translating Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. As English isn’t as specific as some languages, implied meanings of the passages are given in brackets. Additional meanings for which our English language doesn’t have a specific word appear parenthetically in the Amplified Version.

For further accuracy, the text in the King James version of the Bible has been established by two separate sources, as it should be:

…Every fact shall be sustained and confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. (2 Corinthians 13:1 AMP)

Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 and 1956. These ancient documents date back to the third century BC. They were thought to be transcribed by the Essenes, a Jewish sect devoted to historical accuracy. The scrolls were wrapped in linen and stored in clay pots. As these ancient relics were translated, it showed that the text of the Bible, created hundreds of years later, was accurate. The words of the King James Bible are the same words found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, thus corroborating the original documents that were used to create the Bible.

Ezekiel Plates

“Ezekiel Plates” are stone tablets believed to have come from the burial tomb of the prophet, located along the Euphrates River. Reportedly these plates were found more than a hundred years ago when a visitor to the tomb noticed a stone tile had fallen off the inside of the wall. On the reverse side of the stone was raised, ancient writing. Until this time, the true nature of these plates was hidden. Other tiles were removed to find more inscriptions, which completed a set of sixty-six plates.

When comparing these plates to the book of Ezekiel, the only differences were the use of the first person “I” in place of the name Ezekiel as well as the use of the first names of the kings and leaders who are referenced in the book.

Hearing through the Word

We have established that the Bible’s content is true, no matter how unbelievable it may sometimes sound, and that it has been accurately translated. Now we need to appropriate what the Bible tells us about God and put the promises it contains to work for us. The first step in hearing from God through the words of the Bible is by asking Him.

If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5 AMP)

For the Lord gives [skillful and godly] wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores away sound wisdom for the righteous [those who are in right standing with Him]. (Proverbs 2:6-7 AMP)

These are two of the many verses that promise God gives wisdom to those who ask. God likes it when we quote His words back to Him and He is delighted to give us gifts. Use these two verses in a simple prayer something like this:

“Father, I ask that you grant me wisdom to understand what I am reading. Help me find out more about You, Your Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

A prayer like this will open the way for God to bring wisdom and understanding to you through the Bible. This is the beginning of learning how to hear from God. There are two keys that will help you in understanding what you are reading.

First

“Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 AMPC)

If the Word can be analyzed correctly, it can also be analyzed incorrectly. How do we know we understand the actual meaning? It all comes down to context: remove the text surrounding a scripture and you can get easily conned.

Ask yourself these questions:

Who is this directed at?
Why is it being said?

In the case of Jesus speaking, ask yourself who is He talking to? If it is before going to the cross, is He talking to Jews about the law and trying to get them to realize that they cannot fulfill it on their own? Or is He speaking prophetically about how it will be in the future?

Second

Who does this passage apply to? There are three groups of people in the Bible:

Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God. (1 Corinthians 10:32 NIV)

Jews – God’s chosen people

Gentiles or Nations – those without a relationship with God

Church – the entire body of Christ, literally translated “called out ones”

Not all verses are about you as a Christian, but all Christians can learn from every word recorded. However, we must know about whom the verses are addressing so we can know how they can be applied to our own lives.

To hear more from God and to realize when we are hearing from Him, it is vital that we increase our knowledge. God isn’t the only voice you may hear when you are looking for more information. In addition to God there are two other sources that can bring us knowledge:

Our minds (soul)

The enemy

God

The more we know about God through reading His word, the easier it will be to discern what is bringing us knowledge. In some cases, it may just be our own human reasoning, which may seem good at the time. In the end, uncertainty could lead to frustration:

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV)

A “natural” person is one who has not yet accepted Jesus as Lord – it is our natural reasoning without God helping us. Accepting Jesus as Lord should not be done lightly. The word “lord” means owner: a landlord is the landowner. It can also mean hereditary right or preeminence to whom it is that service and obedience is due. Other places in the Bible, it refers to those who have taken Jesus as Lord as “bond servants.” These are willing slaves to a master. This means we agree to do things His way, not our way, and to put Him first in all things.

I, personally, don’t have a problem with this. After all, He is God and I’m pretty sure He knows what is best. If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Lord, owner, Savior, and only way into Heaven, it is easy to do so.

…because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation. (Romans 10:9-10 AMP)

Saying the words is easy, but meaning them is what matters. The thief who hung on the cross next to Jesus made this simple statement, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.” That simple confession, because he believed what he was saying, was enough for the thief to be forgiven and see Jesus in Heaven. It is a matter of the heart. It is what you believe deep down, beyond a doubt, and that which you say you believe with words. To take Jesus as Lord, declare the following out loud:

Dear Father,

I believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, that He came down to our Earth in the flesh and died on the cross to take away all of my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us eternal life.

Lord Jesus, I accept You as my personal Lord and Savior. I now ask that You come into my life and live with me for all of eternity. I thank You that all my sins are forgiven because of the blood You shed for me.

If you believe what you say and mean it with your whole heart, then you are under the protection and blessing of Jesus. If you cannot yet say this prayer and believe it with your whole heart, begin reading the first four chapters of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Before you begin, ask God to grant you wisdom and reveal Jesus to you. Come back and say this prayer when you KNOW these things with all your heart.

The second voice that will try to speak to us is the enemy of God. Satan even appeared to Jesus in the desert when He was fasting. Each time he tempted Jesus, he used the Word of God to do it. (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13) Our best defense against this is a good relationship with God, which is developed by spending time with Him, including reading what is written about Him.

The third input of information comes from God. You will read a verse and it is like a light goes on in your head – it all makes so much sense! This is when the Holy Spirit, our teacher, is opening your eyes and helping you to understand God.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you…” (John 16:13 NKJV)

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…” (John 14:26 NKJV)

When we are reading the Bible, we know we are hearing from the Holy Spirit when it begins to make sense. Also, the Holy Spirit may bring Bible verses back to us at certain moments. We don't really have to have the scripture memorized: our Teacher is able to bring the words right out of our memory. This is another reason why we need to read the Bible.

To hear more from the Holy Spirit, we need to acknowledge when He begins to speak to us this way. Honor what He says by looking at the scripture and the surrounding passage to see what it is about and how to apply it to your life.

This is the first and most basic way to hear from the Holy Spirit. If you want to hear more from God, make time in your schedule to read 15-20 minutes several days a week.

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