Hearing From The Lord

[PeculiarTreasure]

This is something I've been struggling with for many years and I know it's a question that's been asked a lot but here we go.

How do you know you're hearing from the Lord? How do you know if it's the Lord or your own thoughts?

These are the times when I wish the Lord would have the obvious "neon sign in the sky" but He just doesn't seem to work that way very often

 

[MehGuy]

This is something I've been struggling with for many years and I know it's a question that's been asked a lot but here we go.

How do you know you're hearing from the Lord? How do you know if it's the Lord or your own thoughts?

These are the times when I wish the Lord would have the obvious "neon sign in the sky" but He just doesn't seem to work that way very often

Funny how that is... huh...? Doesn't it say in the Bible that God's voice is often quiet and subtle? On such a level that any average person could pick up thoughts of pretty much any supernatural deity that comes in their mind. Of course maybe its some kind of discernment test? Hmmm...

 

[Ezeretane]

from my understanding of things, there are several ways:
- when you read your bible and some verse just catch your attention ,concerning a certain part of your life or struggles
-spiritual gifts :when you are at church and someone just give a word from the lord and you know it's for you because it can be very specific (it happened to me once in a chrch where no one knew me and the person told something that only a person present in my room and most of all in my head, a couple of days before could have known)
-a strong feeling and you have then a beating heart when you think of it and all must be in accordance with the bible an not necesseraly with the people around
-a preach that touched your heart
-my point of view: your deepest desires or dreams ,because i think God created and shape us and our dreams are a part of that

i have to admit that all that is not easy at all and we can make mistakes but when you are in the path God made for you the doors are opening on their own if not you will just meet a wall
so just try to follow what you think god is telling you and if it's not from Him He will redirect to gently because you want to do His will
take care

 

[Rose of Eden]

from my understanding of things, there are several ways:
- when you read your bible and some verse just catch your attention ,concerning a certain part of your life or struggles
-spiritual gifts :when you are at church and someone just give a word from the lord and you know it's for you because it can be very specific (it happened to me once in a chrch where no one knew me and the person told something that only a person present in my room and most of all in my head, a couple of days before could have known)
-a strong feeling and you have then a beating heart when you think of it and all must be in accordance with the bible an not necesseraly with the people around
-a preach that touched your heart
-my point of view: your deepest desires or dreams ,because i think God created and shape us and our dreams are a part of that

i have to admit that all that is not easy at all and we can make mistakes but when you are in the path God made for you the doors are opening on their own if not you will just meet a wall
so just try to follow what you think god is telling you and if it's not from Him He will redirect to gently because you want to do His will
take care

I think these are good! I agree!

I struggle with this a lot. I've personally found that one of the most helpful ways to determine if something is from God or our own heads is to challenge it with scripture. (This doesn't apply to all cases though, as some things are in a grey area and Bible doesn't mention anything about them. But it can be VERY helpful sometimes.) If scripture can specifically or directly back it up, then it definitely could be from God. But if scripture directly refutes it, then it's probably a safe bet to say that it's just you.


Some Examples:

1. You're a young woman and your boyfriend, who you love and whole-heartedly believe is "the one" God made for you, tells you that he has been confused lately and thinks he might be gay. This bothers and hurts you and you think, "He is God's choice for me, we are meant for each other, and I have to keep him from turning gay." You start getting all these feelings that maybe if you sleep with him it'll make him realize that he's not gay. And you wonder, "Could this be God telling me to sleep with my boyfriend??" If you challenge this with scripture, the Bible can pretty clearly refute this. I think it's a safe bet to say that these "feelings" are all in your head.

2. Lots of scary things have been happening in the world lately. You start to get a feeling that maybe the world is coming to an end soon...sooner than everyone thinks. Lately, you've even been seeing signs everywhere pointing to the fact that the world is going to end this Christmas of 2011. You wonder, "Is this from God? Could God be telling me when the world will end so that I can warn everyone?" Well, since the Bible specifically says that no one knows the hour, I personally don't think it's a wise idea to attribute these thoughts to God.

3. You're walking around downtown and notice a homeless woman sitting on the street. She looks worn out, sad, and lonely. You get this feeling and sort of nudging that maybe you should take a break from your errands and sit down and talk to this woman, listen to her story, and be her friend for a little bit. You wonder, "Is this from God? Is God telling me to talk to this woman and be her friend??" The Bible instructs us to love "the least of these" as though they were Christ himself. So I think this "nudging" could be from God. But whether it is or not, it is what we are commanded to do, so to this I'd say go with the nudge!


I had WAY too much fun with this! But anyway, my two cents.

 

[PeculiarTreasure]

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

I agree that God speaks to us in different ways such as scripture, people, through the Holy spirit etc.

Here's my story and what I've been wondering about....

I'm thinking of heading back to school. I've had a few majors in mind to choose from. One keeps popping up in my mind for the past few years and it's not really something I would have chosen for myself. I don't know if I'm supposed to do go into this or not. I'm not even sure if it's from the Lord or not. It's just one of those you can't "look up" in scripture.

I hate having such doubts about this. It's been on my mind for a long time but weather or not it's from the Lord I have no idea.

I kinda used to just go into similar situations like this with "God open or close this door" but sometimes even if I pray like that it just...goes wacky for lack of better word. I guess that's my "shut door" so to speak. It's so hard to put into words what I'm trying to say......

Does this makes sense to anyone? I'm sorry....

 

[GQ Chris]

God has spoken to us through His Word.

 

[MacFall]

What Ezeratane said. And also, I often will have several people who haven't communicated with each other say the same thing to me regarding something that's been on my heart, in rather specific terms.

 

[Ezeretane]

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

I agree that God speaks to us in different ways such as scripture, people, through the Holy spirit etc.

Here's my story and what I've been wondering about....

I'm thinking of heading back to school. I've had a few majors in mind to choose from. One keeps popping up in my mind for the past few years and it's not really something I would have chosen for myself. I don't know if I'm supposed to do go into this or not. I'm not even sure if it's from the Lord or not. It's just one of those you can't "look up" in scripture.

I hate having such doubts about this. It's been on my mind for a long time but weather or not it's from the Lord I have no idea.

I kinda used to just go into similar situations like this with "God open or close this door" but sometimes even if I pray like that it just...goes wacky for lack of better word. I guess that's my "shut door" so to speak. It's so hard to put into words what I'm trying to say......

Does this makes sense to anyone? I'm sorry....

well... not much sense actually lol

i'm kidding, i understand what you mean even if i can help you very much

the thing is that you have a big thing on your heart ,maybe the most crazy thing ever and you don't even dare share it maybe but the easiest way would be to share it with someone

nothing is impossible for God there may be several way to handle it :just go for it (if it doesn't contradict what the scripture say of course ) and if it's from God ,you will just find everything easy and logical even if sometimes it would be hard ...

does it make sense ?

i'm not sure you can be certain of anything in this world:you make experiences and they just build your faith more and more
but most of the time we are so afraid to make mistakes (and i'm the very first on that) when it 's not what God ask from us

so i'd say just live for him and pray a lot ,even if you feel in the dark just trust that he will guide you in the end ,even if it might take time

best wishes

 

[Ezeretane]

I think these are good! I agree!

I struggle with this a lot. I've personally found that one of the most helpful ways to determine if something is from God or our own heads is to challenge it with scripture. (This doesn't apply to all cases though, as some things are in a grey area and Bible doesn't mention anything about them. But it can be VERY helpful sometimes.) If scripture can specifically or directly back it up, then it definitely could be from God. But if scripture directly refutes it, then it's probably a safe bet to say that it's just you.


Some Examples:

1. You're a young woman and your boyfriend, who you love and whole-heartedly believe is "the one" God made for you, tells you that he has been confused lately and thinks he might be gay. This bothers and hurts you and you think, "He is God's choice for me, we are meant for each other, and I have to keep him from turning gay." You start getting all these feelings that maybe if you sleep with him it'll make him realize that he's not gay. And you wonder, "Could this be God telling me to sleep with my boyfriend??" If you challenge this with scripture, the Bible can pretty clearly refute this. I think it's a safe bet to say that these "feelings" are all in your head.

2. Lots of scary things have been happening in the world lately. You start to get a feeling that maybe the world is coming to an end soon...sooner than everyone thinks. Lately, you've even been seeing signs everywhere pointing to the fact that the world is going to end this Christmas of 2011. You wonder, "Is this from God? Could God be telling me when the world will end so that I can warn everyone?" Well, since the Bible specifically says that no one knows the hour, I personally don't think it's a wise idea to attribute these thoughts to God.

3. You're walking around downtown and notice a homeless woman sitting on the street. She looks worn out, sad, and lonely. You get this feeling and sort of nudging that maybe you should take a break from your errands and sit down and talk to this woman, listen to her story, and be her friend for a little bit. You wonder, "Is this from God? Is God telling me to talk to this woman and be her friend??" The Bible instructs us to love "the least of these" as though they were Christ himself. So I think this "nudging" could be from God. But whether it is or not, it is what we are commanded to do, so to this I'd say go with the nudge!


I had WAY too much fun with this! But anyway, my two cents.

i agree with you

for the third case i would say :go for it ,if it works (i mean if anything positive happens) then you would know that it was from God
it can be a good way to learn how listen to the Holy Spirit

 

[PeculiarTreasure]

well... not much sense actually lol

i'm kidding, i understand what you mean even if i can help you very much

the thing is that you have a big thing on your heart ,maybe the most crazy thing ever and you don't even dare share it maybe but the easiest way would be to share it with someone

nothing is impossible for God there may be several way to handle it :just go for it (if it doesn't contradict what the scripture say of course ) and if it's from God ,you will just find everything easy and logical even if sometimes it would be hard ...

does it make sense ?

i'm not sure you can be certain of anything in this world:you make experiences and they just build your faith more and more
but most of the time we are so afraid to make mistakes (and i'm the very first on that) when it 's not what God ask from us

so i'd say just live for him and pray a lot ,even if you feel in the dark just trust that he will guide you in the end ,even if it might take time

best wishes

Thank you so much for this.

I guess in a way I'm just scared to get out there because it seems everytime I do it just blows up in my face. I just don't want that again.

I've been praying for peace and confirmation from the Lord about this before I do anything. I just haven't gotten that yet. But there again It could just be my own doubts and fears getting in the way....idk. I guess all I can do is keep praying about it.

Thanks again for sharing!

 

[Ezeretane]

Thank you so much for this.

I guess in a way I'm just scared to get out there because it seems everytime I do it just blows up in my face. I just don't want that again.

I've been praying for peace and confirmation from the Lord about this before I do anything. I just haven't gotten that yet. But there again It could just be my own doubts and fears getting in the way....idk. I guess all I can do is keep praying about it.

Thanks again for sharing!

HERE A LITTLE TESTOMONY FROM A FRENCH PASTOR

he left france with all his family to go on mission field in very dangerous country because he heard God tell so
everyone was against the idea but he stood firm on his position
they all went but when they arrive everything went wrong: no christian to teach, no church to build or help building , people to afraid to stand up for their faith and a few number of pastors available who needed to be taugh
a nightmare !!!
he spent 3 lonely years in a deep break down in consequence
they continue to pray and he recovered and realize that there was no support for leader in trouble and understand that God let that happen so that he understands the need and its importance
and then he began a new and amazing ministery
when i heard that i found it so clever !!! thank you lord

all that to say: even a bad experience and especially things blowing up in the face

Romans 8:28

New King James Version (NKJV)

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

 

[IreneAdler]

This is something I've been struggling with for many years and I know it's a question that's been asked a lot but here we go.

How do you know you're hearing from the Lord? How do you know if it's the Lord or your own thoughts?

These are the times when I wish the Lord would have the obvious "neon sign in the sky" but He just doesn't seem to work that way very often

I always wanted God to treat me like he did Paul but no such luck.

Is it lame of me though to say when you actually hear God that you just know, and you change? Your whole person, the feelings, the thoughts just change at that moment. It's hard to explain. It's not like hearing something from someone else, mulling it over, then finding peace in it. It just happens at that very moment. I don't think it takes alot of thought. (Of course I'm talking about my experiences and with specific instances where I heard God, not where I was trying to decide something after prayer hoping for direction when it was situational and not "verbal" persay)

 

[KingCrimson250]

Basically you can divide God's will up into three categories:

God's sovereign will: This is God's plan for history overall, beginning with the dawn of time. You don't need to worry about hearing from God in this because it's going to happen regardless of what you do.

God's moral will: What pleases God when it comes to living a life without sin and that sort of thing. While you might face the occasional ethical conundrum, for the most part this is also something you don't need to worry about because most of the standards of Godly living are laid out in Scripture (so in other words, you don't need to pray about whether sleeping with your neighbour's wife is wrong. You already know).

God's personal will: What God wants you to do with your life. This is the one you were talking about, and this can be the hardest one to discern. I think, though, that it is something that too often is overspiritualized - we look for out of the ordinary signs, and try to assign divine weight to impulse and happenstance. While these are certainly ways in which God can speak, I think reasoning it out can often be enough if nothing's coming through prayer. Ask yourself: Is what you are thinking of doing honouring to God? Are you doing it with a genuine heart to honour Him? Are you putting Him first in it? Does it open up opportunities for the Gospel? If you can answer all these questions with a "Yes," then if it's not a right decision, it's probably not a wrong decision either.

Always remember, as you said, that there is no failure big enough that God can't redeem it. Sure, things can blow up in your face, but God's not stupid. He knows that these decisions aren't the easiest thing to make, and He will remain faithful. If you're not receiving any clear guidance, then it's quite possible that there are multiple "right" answers.

 

[elenore]

Romans 8:28

New King James Version (NKJV)

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

this -

and also - the righteous shall live by faith.
and, 'we walk by faith and not by sight.'

the problem however, is that faith is faith, not reality. So if we walk by faith, it's a constant stepping out, not knowing if we're on the right track or not.

If we fall on our face, God will still use it for our good.