The Voice Of Truth

Have you ever heard someone tell you that God gave them a word? What exactly does that mean? How do they hear the voice of Truth (God)? Some may even wonder if this is even Biblical, or if everyone can hear from God.

I remember before I was involved in the inner healing ministry I wondered about some of these same questions. There were a few times when a word, an answer, a song, or a Bible verse came to me at just the right time and it make me wonder if that was God. For example, on 9/11 when I heard about the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, immediately John 16:33b came to mind. It says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This reassured me as I was unaware where my commercial airline pilot husband was at that moment.

That example was one where God got my attention. What I've leaned throughout the years is that in order to hear God's voice of Truth I need to still myself and listen.

Are You Listening?

In order to hear from the Holy Spirit, we need to listen. Sounds simple enough, yet it does take some practice and discernment to know that what we are hearing is actually from God. Step one in listening to God is to ask God to quiet your mind and open your ears and your eyes to what He has to say.

There are many different ways that God speaks to us. You may find that there are a few different ways He tends to speak to you. Because you are uniquely made, the way He communicates with you will most likely be unique to you. For some communicating with God may come naturally, for others, it may take more patience and practice.

God Speaks In Many Ways:

• God's Word

• Song

• Creation

• Teachers/Other People

• Signs

• Wonders

• Emotion/Feeling

• Knowing

• Hearing

• Visions/Dreams

What I've learned is that when I give the Holy Spirit the space to speak, He will speak. Sometimes I'll hear His voice, other times it's in a worship song, or something I read in the Bible. As I've been tuning my heart toward Him, sometimes I've also experienced feeling, visions, and dreams. Even though I have been tuned to hear His voice, I still need to be mindful of whose voice I am really listening to. The enemy can try to be crafty and lead me astray.

A few years back when my child was experiencing life threatening mental illness I was having a hard time distinguishing between the Holy Spirit and the enemy. There were many times I thought the Holy Spirit was speaking to me and telling me to check on my child or one of their possessions. I'd frantically do that and find something was not how it was supposed to be. My panic stricken self was constantly preoccupied with these thoughts days and night. I was obsessed, frightened, worried, and many times rushed. These thoughts honestly consumed me. What I didn't realize at the time is that when God was urging me to pray and hand it over to Him, I heard the enemy's voice loudly instead and allowed his voice to fill me with fear.

How To Discern Between The Voice Of Truth And The Enemy

Not every thought, dream, or teaching comes from the Holy Spirit. The enemy of our soul tries to lead us astray. So, how do we discern between the voices?

• Scripture - the Holy Spirit will never go against the Bible

• Fruit of the Spirit - the Holy spirit will give you peace, joy, hope, and love

• Speaker - our own voice is typically in the 1st person, while the Holy Spirit speaks in the 2nd

• God's character - know that God's character as kind, merciful, loving, and good. Does what you are hearing align with His character?

As you can see in the chart above, when you are hearing from God, He gives you feelings of peace as His quiet voice gently leads. The enemy's voice brings chaos into your life as the crazy talk in your head hijacks you. When I was "trying" to help my child, the enemy's voice was giving me all kinds of advice on what to do, but it never gave me peace. It also told me I needed to do something about it because it was all my fault. Honestly, I believed that as if it were truth.

At my first Wellspring of Freedom session I was made aware of the lies. Then I heard the truth from the Holy Spirit. As I stilled myself before the Lord, the Voice of Truth told me that He loved me and He loved my child even more than I did. He told me that He would take care of this child. This is the character of God. He reassures and calms me. As I learned to surrender my child to the Lord, He gave me peace and joy. The voice of the enemy no longer took up space in my head.

If you're struggling with thoughts that bring chaos into your life, take some time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any lies that you are believing. Then ask the Holy Spirit to replace those lies with His truth. Meditate on that truth.

To tune your heart to discern the Voice of Truth, I encourage you read some scripture, then take 10-20 minutes to be still before the Lord and listen. Remember there are many different ways the Voice of Truth can speak to you. If you get distracted, ask Jesus to take away any distractions. Have some patience with yourself as you make this a regular habit. Remember that it may take some time to learn to tune your heart to His voice.