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How can i learn to discern God's voice?

Dave G.

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Being newly saved is an exciting time Any !! The Holy Spirit is very active in us then. But there will come a quiet time I assure you, don't feel that He has left you, because He hasn't. I only say that because this happens and then we get a lot of questions here in the forums from fairly new believers who think the HS has left them. It's just part of the process, sometimes I think it's our first test .
 
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Any

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Thanks! The first three days after I was saved the Holy Spirit was so strong within me it felt like I was in the clouds. Thanks for the encouragement. I know he will never leave me but I am afraid of losing faith, I never want to lose faith and I know there will be troubles in my life. Even though he is sometimes quiet I know he is always with me. I do have a fear of losing faith though. :/
 
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2PhiloVoid

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...just remember that if you have a fear of losing faith, God has His ways of "chasing you down." You won't be able to just "walk away" unless you simply allow the Devil to have either his secularized or satanic way with you.............................so, some of it is up to you in how you choose to handle it all. Some of it is up to the Lord, which is a good thing.
 
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Dave G.

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Well then Any, if you are afraid you will lose faith the Lord may test you in that area. Not to shake you up but to strengthen you. We should pray now that the Lord gives you an overdose to get through those times with ! I pray for you that your faith will always remain strong. Amen
 
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DW1980

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I know lots of Christians who hear God - and their lives are not a mess at all. I think there are 2 issues, does God speak, and how we test and work with that.

Does God speak?
In John 10 Jesus explicitly says that his sheep will hear his voice (not might hear, will hear). In 1 Thess 5:20 we're told not to treat prophecies with contempt, but test them and hold on to the good. In 1 Cor 14:1 we're told to eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit.

So, I believe God speaks - and I believe we can all hear Him.

It's the second thing I think we often get wrong. And that may go some way towards explaining why people you know who "hear God" are in a mess.

In 1 John 4:1 we are told explicitly, "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God". There are 3 things we could be hearing - God, ourselves, or evil spirits. If we don't test then we are carried along by everything that enters our minds!

I was taught a 3 step testing process. Firstly, test against the Bible - is what you're hearing consistent with Scripture? (Acts 17:10-11, Isaiah 8:20) In your friend's butterfly example it is (I think of Jesus and the sparrows). The next thing is to test with whether the spirit acknowledges Jesus and the authority of the Apostles (1 John 4:2-3, 6, 1 Cor 14:37). Did your friend test that? Finally, test with the Church. Do others affirm the message as being from God - especially those with the gift of discernment. If that all "passes", I would hold it tentatively and wait for further confirmation.

This is where I would wonder about God saying "I'll look after the butterfly". There's nothing inherently wrong with that, it's consistent with God's care for creation. But has it been tested? Where's the "value" in that message? So I wouldn't deny it's God, but equally would hold off affirming it.

Having said that - the primary way God speaks is through the Bible. I feel so sorry for Christians who feel like reading the Bible is a dry, academic thing. For me it's a spiritual thing, I open my Bible expecting to hear God speak. It's also so important that we study our Bibles - how can we test something against the Bible, if we don't know what the Bible says?
 
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