Board index ‹ Guidance and God's Will

[MolyRoly]

I think there is an issue I have that I really need help with (trust me, it can be devastatingly tormenting to me)... Particularly, I have trouble "hearing God's voice." That is, if He exists, I cannot tell the difference between His voice and my own mental processes. In response to this Christians will then say that reading the Bible will enable me to recognize God's voice. But then I will say that, if God exists, I cannot distinguish between what is God's voice, and what are my own mental processes "dressed up in God's clothing" (i.e., informed by what I've read in the Bible) -- much like we can pretend and role-play a fictional character, anticipating that character's thoughts and actions based on what we've read, but not be able to distinguish between "their" thoughts and "ours." My question: How do I recognize God, a being who is separate from me? This is THE ultimate intellectual and emotional struggle I've had.

You must remember that I was a Christian for three years (whether I was or wasn't is debateable; but it must be said that I earnestly sought God). Now, at least more than ever, I have turned off my emotions (i.e., put up my barriers) and turned on my intellect. If we are to talk about actually "hearing from God" then all intellectual rigor must be invested into discerning the existence of a being separate from oneself (there are ways, I think, such as asking God to reveal previously unknown information that one can verify). And, if we are to be intellectually honest, we must also allow for the possibility that we may be wrong in the belief that God exists, and allow that our embrace of the reports of an alleged resurrection might be in vain. Otherwise, Christianity is not worthy of serious consideration. But, to help you out, I start with the assumption that God does exist. Tell me how I can distinguish "Him" and His mind from my own mental thoughts -- even those thoughts that are informed by what I've read of Him that I might imagine are Him. His existence should not alone be in my mind -- much like we know that the physical world isn't. Prayer should be an interaction between two minds -- a dialogue. My experience has ALWAYS been that of a monologue. That said, if you could, please re-read what I've written on "hearing God's voice" very carefully.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

[jimwalton]

What a great conversation. Thanks for asking. "Hearing God's voice" sure ain't what a lot of Christians talk about. They talk about "hearing God" all the time, and I think it's a bunch of malarky. I would argue that they are just having thoughts and attributing them to God. BIG mistake. I spent years trying to hear God's voice, especially during prayer, but also in worship and even in my dreams. Big mistake. FAT CHANCE. My own thoughts, that's all. Turned out to be a big mess.

John 10.3 says, "...the sheep listen to his voice." Here's is what people who know better say:

Keener says, "In the Old Testament, Israel heard God’s voice when they obeyed the law and his message through his prophets." I agree with that. When God had something to say to people, he almost never "talked" to them. He sent a prophet. They got his word second-hand.

John White had some good things to say also: “ 'Listen to' means 'pay heed to.' To hear his voice doesn’t mean that you hear anything, or that a particular thought comes to your head that you attribute to God, but that you take God’s injunctions seriously: only one voice will be obeyed.

"Sooner or later you’ll hear Christians talking about what God said to them, or how they felt led. This is the thorny problem of subjectivism. Can we be sure our feelings are the leading of the Spirit? Some even insist that because they spent a weekend fasting and praying, that their resultant decision has to be the leading of the Lord. The heart is deceitful and wicked, so extreme care must be taken.

"The Scripture emphasizes the presence of a Guide rather than techniques for being guided. The possibility for deceit and mistakes should not force us to retreat from the fact of God’s promised guidance as we fellowship with Him. But what is to prevent being fooled?

"The text is about paying heed to God’s voice: obeying him, doing his will. It is not about how to make decisions. Following Christ is not like walking a tightrope—one false move and you’re dead. It’s like following a shepherd—and if you stray a little, the shepherd will call you by name and fetch you back.

"So how can we be guided? Circumstances, gifts, advice, inward desires and subjective sensations all have their strengths and flaws. Only moral laws serve as unchanging guides to conduct. You need an attitude with three related components:

1. You must share God’s outlook: adopt God’s priorities. Be more concerned about righteousness than about geography, sanctity more than salary.

2. You must will God’s will. Choose it by an act of your own will.

3. You must trust God. You can’t trust yourself. You don’t have the discernment or the purity of motive. Guidance is given, not earned. Trust God’s generosity, his ability to get through to you, his power to pull you up short when you go wrong, his ability to teach you the sound of his voice."

Good stuff.

And here is what I think about this—some of my humble thoughts:

I prayed many times, for years, to hear God’s voice. In the books they say that we as Christians need to learn to hear God’s voice. They use John 10 as the evidence, where it says, “his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” But it has been a source of great frustration to me that I don’t hear God’s voice. I ask him to teach me, but nothing happens.

It occurs to me, though, that it has never been God’s strategy to talk to everyone. In the Old Testament, he spoke to prophets, and the rest of the people had to listen to them. See, of course, Hebrews 1.1. I’m trying to think of a single occasion where David—the man after God’s own heart, the composer of so many of the Psalms—heard God’s voice, but I can’t come up with one. When God wanted to talk to David, he used the voice of a prophet.

But what of the New Testament era? The Holy Spirit gives the gift of prophecy. We may all be priests now, but we are not all prophets. Some have the gift of prophecy, and most don’t. (“If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?” - 1 Cor. 12.17) Only some get to hear God’s voice. The rest of us must listen to them, just as it has always been. He even spoke to the Apostle Paul through prophets—he didn’t even always speak to him directly. (Actually, he probably rarely spoke to Paul directly.)

Nowadays he specifically talks to us through his Word and through those who have the gift of prophecy. I mostly likely can’t expect to ever hear God’s voice, except through those media.

Just as on the Mount of Transfiguration (Lk. 9.28), it is clear that some get to see and some don’t; some get to hear and some don’t. We are not all the same, and God doesn’t treat us all the same. We each have our place and our role. See also Lk. 10.24: “…many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but didn’t see it, and to hear what you hear by didn’t hear it.”

But there are sources of information about God, though not his “voice,” all around us. Books, experiences, teachings, sermons, photographs, movies, comments, conversations, et al. If we choose, we can fill our thoughts with God all day long through the sources of information about him. But his VOICE comes through his Word and through his prophets. God’s voice, most of the time, comes to us as we reflect on His Word. As time goes on in our Christian walk, we become increasingly expert at discerning his voice—which Bible passage accurately speaks to us for which issue or condition. The fools grab at any promise, and make the Scripture say what they want it to say. The growing, discerning Christian learns to handle the Scripture rightly and truly hear the voice of God.