How to know if I hear the still voice of the Spirit?

Romans 8

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When you think you've heard it but you are not sure, share this with your pastor and seek his counsel.

I think this is good advice. The church elders are supposed to pray on these things and come back to us with an answer. But I have yet to find a church in my area where this is so. It seems I cannot find any Pastors in my area that have a close relationship with God and hear his voice. Is is really that rare for Pastors to hear the Holy Spirit? :scratch:
 
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Romans 8

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Have you tried the Charismatic churches?

Yes, I tried three. One of them didn't use a bible, they just sang songs and then got to business praying for each other for everything under the sun.

Second was non-denominational. It was ok, lots of bible quotes, good preaching, and they believe in the gifts.

Third is a Pentecostal. It's a smaller group, they pray in tongues, however there is no interpretation. So you have a bunch of people just praying in tongues in public, which they should be doing in private. The Pastor has never heard boo from God, aside from a dream in which "the church was full of people" (it's only 1/4 full today).

I've decided to un-join #3 and go back to #2 and and #4 as well (which is a different Pentecostal I visited only once), it has a ton of members but it's not very charismatic, in that they don't really promote the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I don't think the Pastors hear from God there either, they're fairly young and inexperienced, but I don't know for sure.

Thanks for listening to my ramble :)
 
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Bramblewild

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Where does the Bible say that we should hear a still small voice inside ourselves?

I know this phrase is referring to the biblical account of Elijah hearing the voice of God, but please take a good look at that account. It doesn't say that Elijah heard a voice inside himself, but that he heard it with his ears, it was outside.

To offer a humorous parallel, it's about like someone taking the account of Moses hearing God's voice in a burning bush, then internalizing it and saying that we should hear God's voice when we experience heartburn.

Yes, the idea of hearing a still small inner voice is popular, but it's also not biblical. Nothing in the Bible teaches that God speaks to us in that way.
 
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Where does the Bible say that we should hear a still small voice inside ourselves?

I know this phrase is referring to the biblical account of Elijah hearing the voice of God, but please take a good look at that account. It doesn't say that Elijah heard a voice inside himself, but that he heard it with his ears, it was outside.

To offer a humorous parallel, it's about like someone taking the account of Moses hearing God's voice in a burning bush, then internalizing it and saying that we should hear God's voice when we experience heartburn.

Yes, the idea of hearing a still small inner voice is popular, but it's also not biblical. Nothing in the Bible teaches that God speaks to us in that way.


John 16:13 - "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."

And to not establish a doctrine without 2 or 3 witnesses, here is another scripture to toss your assumption out of the window:

Acts 13:2 - "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

So there you have it. At least two examples where Holy Spirit speaks to people. Not to mention, Holy Spirit has been speaking to me all day.
 
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Bramblewild

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John 16:13 - "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."

And to not establish a doctrine without 2 or 3 witnesses, here is another scripture to toss your assumption out of the window:

Acts 13:2 - "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

So there you have it. At least two examples where Holy Spirit speaks to people. Not to mention, Holy Spirit has been speaking to me all day.

First, I would point out the question I really asked: "Where does the Bible say that we should hear a still small voice inside ourselves?"

John 16:13 does not say that we should listen to a still small inner voice. The Spirit does guide us, and the Spirit does that through Scripture, not through some hard to hear whisper inside our minds.

Acts 13:2 also does not say that we need to hear some kind of still small inner voice. The Spirit spoke plainly to them. They didn't hear an inner voice, the Spirit clearly told them what to do.

So, no, your witnesses don't establish your position; if anything, they establish mine, because they say nothing about a still small voice inside ourselves.
 
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First, I would point out the question I really asked: "Where does the Bible say that we should hear a still small voice inside ourselves?"

John 16:13 does not say that we should listen to a still small inner voice. The Spirit does guide us, and the Spirit does that through Scripture, not through some hard to hear whisper inside our minds.

Acts 13:2 also does not say that we need to hear some kind of still small inner voice. The Spirit spoke plainly to them. They didn't hear an inner voice, the Spirit clearly told them what to do.

So, no, your witnesses don't establish your position; if anything, they establish mine, because they say nothing about a still small voice inside ourselves.
my point is that God does personally speak to us. I was under the assumption that you believe that He doesn't. So whether Holy Spirit speaks in a still small voice, or however else. The bottom line is that He does communicate to us. I don't intend to split hairs here. If your contention is just on the manner of how he speaks then that's fine. But if you were just to say that Holy Spirit does not speak to us then there's nothing else I can say here but to go off and pray for you.
 
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Bramblewild

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my point is that God does personally speak to us. I was under the assumption that you believe that He doesn't. So whether Holy Spirit speaks in a still small voice, or however else. The bottom line is that He does communicate to us. I don't intend to split hairs here. If your contention is just on the manner of how he speaks then that's fine. But if you were just to say that Holy Spirit does not speak to us then there's nothing else I can say here but to go off and pray for you.

This thread is about someone asking how he or she can know if they are hearing the still voice of the Spirit. It's not splitting hairs to try to answer that question.
 
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CodyFaith

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When it aligns with wisdom and knowledge.

Lots of people claim the Holy Spirit led them to do X or told them Y which end up to just turn out to be falsehood. As well lots of misguided people claim inspiration from the Holy Spirit where their words or beliefs contradict those of scripture.

According to Christ the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. It's also called in Isaiah the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, and finally it's called the Spirit of Fear of Yahweh.

When being led by the Holy Spirit you are in a humble fear/reverence of God. This reverence will cause you to be able to spiritually hear the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and lead you to righteous ways of living and true beliefs; beliefs about God, scripture, the world, yourself, etc.

If what you're doing or thinking is not in line with (genuine) love, it is not from God. If what you are doing or thinking is sinful, it is not from God. Your conscience plays a big part in all of this.

It's about having a relationship with God. The closer you become to him, the more you understand him and his voice. And ultimately God will never lead you astray.
 
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