"Hearing" God Speak

[casslean]

I’ve often heard (or read accounts of) people saying that God “told” them something or other. I’m quite often skeptical, especially when it is politicians telling me how God told them to run for office, or some other self-interested claim, but I was wondering how many people do believe that they have heard God. And what was that experience like?

The reason I ask is because I have had a few experiences - some more recently, so further back, but so remarkable they stay with me - where I wonder if I was hearing God, or just psychosomatically creating the feeling I wanted in that moment. For instance, I was recently dealing with a very difficult situation, and feeling helpless, I went to the church to pray. I really ended up just crying for an hour or so, and when I really did feel like I was in utter despair and completely alone to deal with this, I suddenly had a very strong sense of someone saying, “You’re not alone. You’re going to be okay. You can trust me. I’ve got this.” I don’t want to say I heard it, because that isn’t really accurate. I just knew it.

I am inclined to be skeptical to call anything supernatural, etc, but at the same time, I can’t deny that this “message”, whatever it was, brought with it an incredible sense of peace and reassurance. In the days that followed, whenever I started to get upset about this situation, I would immediately be reminded of what I “heard” and could find some calm again. And, everything did work out, against all odds.

What do you think? I have no doubt that God is real and present in my life, but I just have difficulty believing He would speak to me.

 

[FloridaAngler]

Because I affirm the Biblical doctrine of sola scriptura, I do not believe that God gives extra-Biblical revelation.

 

[Maximilian75]

God desires a real, personal, and intimate relationship with all of His children. Why wouldnt he want to talk with and to his child, you?

God’s voice can be heard in many ways… scripture, through our own conscience, through the advice and prayer of others…

The primary thing is finding silence. The world around us is so loud, that we can barely hear ourselves think, let alone hear the voice of God.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

For instance, I was recently dealing with a very difficult situation, and feeling helpless, I went to the church to pray. I really ended up just crying for an hour or so, and when I really did feel like I was in utter despair and completely alone to deal with this, I suddenly had a very strong sense of someone saying, “You’re not alone. You’re going to be okay. You can trust me. I’ve got this.” I don’t want to say I heard it, because that isn’t really accurate. I just knew it.

This to me is a very clear experience of “hearing God”.

I don’t know why you would deny it. It couldn’t be more clear if he took a plank and whopped you over the head.

 

[pianistclare]

It’s a figure of speech.

 

[casslean]

So you don’t believe that the Bible supports the idea that God will speak to His people? It is filled with accounts of God speaking to His people.

I don’t believe in sola scriptura, but I’m curious how one could say that the Bible does not support the idea of God speaking to us.

 

[casslean]

This to me is a very clear experience of “hearing God”.

I don’t know why you would deny it. It couldn’t be more clear if he took a plank and whopped you over the head.

Please be patient with me here. I love God and my faith, but I’m still a relative newcomer, and grew up in a world that denied everything and anything supernatural.

I want to believe, but my instinct is to question and wonder.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

God speaks in a lot of ways.

Sometimes you just “know”.

Sometimes you open a Bible and it just happens to fall open to the exact verse that answers your difficult or emotional problem or question.

Sometimes people actually hear words.

Sometimes people hear another person speaking and it is like God sent that person to say something right that minute (the “angel of the Lord”).

 

[FloridaAngler]

So you don’t believe that the Bible supports the idea that God will speak to His people? It is filled with accounts of God speaking to His people.

Sure I do. Just not extra-Biblically.

How would you know its God speaking to you if you don’t have the objective and authoritative standard of scripture by which to judge it?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m not trying to be a jerk about it. I do think that God spoke to you though. That’s the type of experience where he speaks, when one is at an emotional low, and that is one of the ways he speaks.

It’s not uncommon, perhaps, for someone to not immediately make the connection. A few months ago I asked St. Therese to send me a rose to tell me something, and maybe 2 roses. I wasn’t used to praying to St. Therese at that time but figured I would give it a try since I had read on here and elsewhere about her sending people roses. I faithfully said the novena for the 9 days and asked her to send the rose on day 9. It was winter, so roses were not out and blooming about. I further asked her to make it a great big obvious rose because I might miss it otherwise.

She sent the rose. She even sent 2 of them (the second one came a little while after the first). But she did it in such an odd way I was thinking, “Is that the rose?” It was like she was playing a little joke. It took me several days of not seeing any other roses of any type anywhere to understand that she really did send me the two roses and was leaving it up to me whether to have the confidence in her.

 

[FloridaAngler]

God speaks in a lot of ways.

Sometimes you just “know”.

How do you know? What makes somebody who claims to hear God’s voice speaking to them any different than Brian Wilson or John Nash, who heard voices? Or the crazy homeless guy on the street?

You need to have a way to discern whether or not the voice is actually God’s voice, not just have a subjective and esoteric “knowledge”.

 

[casslean]

Sure I do. Just not extra-Biblically.

How would you know its God speaking to you if you don’t have the objective and authoritative standard of scripture by which to judge it?

How then can we know that Paul was correct that Jesus speaking to him? He didn’t have the authority of scripture by which to judge.

 

[Limoncello4021]

First, Sola Scriptura is not biblical. It says nowhere in the Bible (which was assembled by Catholics, by the way) that Christians are to take authority only from the Bible. Sola Scriptura was invented by Protestants after they denied the teaching authority of the Catholic Church, passed down 1500 centuries through the apostolic tradition and Peter, the Rock and first Pope.

Second, God “spoke in many and various ways” to people in the OT and continues to speak through his son Jesus to us today. The fact that God speaks to people is simply all over the OT and NT–how can anyone deny that?

Third, I agree with Bearself that sometimes you just “know.” Most people close to God that I know have an inner voice that counsels, and is more or less strong depending on the circumstance. They know the voice of Christ because they are immersed in it. They hear it day in and day out in prayer, the Sacraments, the Bible, the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is not weird or strange; just a fact that believers know well.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m sorry, I can’t be any more clear than that.

The gift of faith helps people to know quite a few things, and it is also entirely possible that God could use a “crazy homeless guy on the street” to send you messages.

Obviously if I had a history of diagnosed mental illness where I heard voices, was on some kind of medication that might cause hallucinations, or was being “told by God” to commit sins or neglect my work, then some discernment would be necessary as there would be a significant chance that the messages were not coming from God.

None of the above apply in my case. I have no history of mental illness or drug use, and God doesn’t speak to me all the time; plus in the vast majority of cases he isn’t speaking in an auditory way, more like guiding me towards an “aha!” moment. I pray a couple hours a day, which helps to develop my “God listening skills” or “discernment” skills (I find “discernment” to be a buzzword that I don’t like to use, but that’s just me) or what you call it.

 

[FloridaAngler]

How then can we know that Paul was correct that Jesus speaking to him? He didn’t have the authority of scripture by which to judge.

Because Paul was an apostle, his words are considered scripture.

 

[StephieNorthCo]

That has happened to me so many many times at Adoration. I’ll ask God for help and a bit later in my hour, open the Bible to the exact place that just so happens to answer my questions. Too many times to be coincidence.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

How then can we know that Paul was correct that Jesus speaking to him? He didn’t have the authority of scripture by which to judge.

A huge number of the people in the Bible who heard God or spoke to God did so without any scriptural precedent.

I know there have been discussions about some of the prophets who came off more like what we would call schizophrenics today.

Yet, God’s words through these people make up large sections of the scripture on which so many rely.

 

[FloridaAngler]

The gift of faith helps people to know quite a few things

The problem is that what you’re describing isn’t “faith”, but merely wishful thinking, confirmation bias.

You believe it’s God, and so it must be God. No need for discernment.

and it is also entirely possible that God could use a “crazy homeless guy on the street” to send you messages.

The Unbiblical nature of this claim aside, how would you know he speaks for God and not merely out of his own insanity?

Obviously if I had a history of diagnosed mental illness where I heard voices, was on some kind of medication that might cause hallucinations, or was being “told by God” to commit sins or neglect my work, then some discernment would be necessary as there would be a significant chance that the messages were not coming from God.

Nobody has a mental illness, until they have a mental illness. Brian Wilson was perfectly healthy, until he had a nervous breakdown on a plane over the Atlantic.

How do you know you don’t suffer from mental illness until you show the symptoms of mental illness?

And, without scripture, how would you know God wouldn’t tell you to commit sins or neglect your work? Once again, you’re taking your preference and imposing it on God.

I find “discernment” to be a buzzword that I don’t like to use, but that’s just me) or what you call it.

Actually, discernment is both a Biblical word and a very Biblical concept.

 

[casslean]

Sometimes you just “know”.

Sometimes you open a Bible and it just happens to fall open to the exact verse that answers your difficult or emotional problem or question.

Sometimes people actually hear words.

Sometimes people hear another person speaking and it is like God sent that person to say something right that minute (the “angel of the Lord”).

I find this compelling. I have no difficulty believing God is acting when I hear a homily that says just what I need to hear or receive advice in the confessional or find just the right spiritual reading or piece of scripture. I think my hesitation here is that I have such a hard time accepting or believing that God would ever think my problems so big that He had to intervene directly, right then, to speak to me.

 

[ErraticFaith]

Trust me, if God speaks to you directly you’ll soon know it - with no mistake.

What you seem to be asking about is the ‘method’.

Father, Son, Spirit, Angelic or even inspired and Prophetic.

That’s not for anyone to decide. Mostly it is subtle. Like an encouraging wind in a sail.

But know, I used to think it was solely a figure of speech. A subtle wind can so often be ‘thought’ into a placebo or fantasy. Doubt makes you wish it away even.

All I can tell is that I won’t make that mistake again and I’d advise you not to either. When the call is loud - You won’t have a single doubt left in your mind. Just as I no longer do.