Do people really hear the voice of Jesus/God?

[Rozellelily]

I have heard of people saying things like they hear Jesus as a still,small voice within.
For example I read this lady that said she was going to buy a roast chicken from the supermarket for a homeless man but heard Jesus say no,get him some protein type bars instead to sustain him over the days.
She wanted to get him the chicken because it was warm but “went along” with Jesus’ command.
Anyway,she left the store and then went to give the man what she had bought for him and at that point she heard the woman behind her say to the man “it must be your lucky day” because THAT woman had bought him a roast chicken.

So,the first Christian woman took this as confirmation of why Jesus didn’t “prompt” her to buy a chicken because then he would have had two which would likely get wasted.
She also stated that God looks after even the homeless by providing etc.

Long story short sorry!
My questions are:

1.Does Jesus actually talk as a “still small voice” that people hear or are they being deluded?
2.When people like this woman say Jesus looks after the homeless are they having selective reasoning because Jesus may have looked after this one guy but there are many others who go unprovided for or how do you see it?

Thanks

 

[Mintaka]

Some people literally do hear the voice of God, either with their outward ears or inwardly. That’s called a “locution.” There are similar common experiences of God with all the senses. (Sight is the most common, sound next, and smell after that. But yeah, some people feel like they’ve touched or tasted something divine, too.) Most people only get a single sense at once, it would seem, but of course there are plenty of people who get multisensory experiences of God.

However, it is of course possible for people to have sensory hallucinations or delusions. It is also possible for people to be tricked by J. Random Demon into thinking they have experienced God, when it’s really some kind of demonic illusion. That is why prudence, discernment, and a good spiritual director are important things for those having unusual experiences.

On the other hand, it is common for people who are not having such experiences to talk about a sudden inward conviction or decision as being like the voice of God, to the point where they use that kind of language as a metaphor, instead of a simile.

I don’t know what the woman experienced.

It is likely that the roast chicken incident was not so much about the chicken being wasted, as that giving the roast chicken was important for the growth of the soul of the woman behind her.

I don’t know enough about the workings of divine providence to answer your question. Certainly God is capable of providing for all the homeless; and generally he does so through shelters and welfare and food organizations. Some of the homeless are mentally ill, and cannot bring themselves to accept food or stay indoors. But it is also true that if God’s servants do not help out, our choices may make other people suffer.

 

[Catholicwife32]

Certainly, I’ve had experiences I’ve attributed to God. A still small voice is accurate, I think, in that it’s certainly not audible, and it seems different from your own thoughts. It doesn’t even feel like words. It’s more like what’s left after you unravel the meaning of words in your mind. I feel like I have to put it in words. And to be honest, if it were more, I’d most likely want to see my therapist.

I’m overall rather skeptical of private spiritual experiences. It could be God, but it could be other things as well, and I think it’s very easy to fall into the sin of superstition around it. I think too many people fall into occultish practices without recognizing it.