God has been asking me to write this guide for a while now. Weeks actually. But I put it off because I didn’t feel qualified enough to be writing this. I mean I only got saved in March 2018 and before that, I was a Muslim. But God helped me see that this is exactly why my testimony is so powerful. To show the world that ANYBODY can hear him speak. To show you that it’s not about how good of a person you are, but the fact that God yearns to communicate with you. His desire is to have a loving relationship with you, full of laughter and banter. Before you start reading this, can you say this prayer with me?
“Dear God, I want to learn about you as a loving God who desires to speak with me and communicate with me. Please help me drop every idea I have of you that is not true and reveal yourself to me as I read this article as a Father and a friend, in Jesus name I pray, amen”
This guide is for every single person. Whether you’re a Christian already, or you’ve drifted away from God or you don’t even believe in God. This is for YOU. So please keep reading!
God is love
God calls me his beloved. And he is mine. He introduced himself to me as love. The purest form of love I have ever encountered. Then he became my friend. I never had a relationship of fear with God and I have the Holy Spirit to thank for that. If you want to hear God, you have to believe these things and accept them:
He loves you.
He wants to talk to you.
The terrible things you’ve done in the past don’t matter, he came and died to take the punishment for EVERY SIN you have committed no matter how terrible so you can have a clean slate with him.
He wants you more than you want him.
He wants to be your friend.
Hearing him is very simple.
Genesis tells the story of how God created heaven and earth and the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. He made them in his exact nature, so he could relate with them, love them and be loved by them in return. He also gave them free will so they had the choice of responding to his love and being his friends or deciding not to.
God regularly came down to converse with Adam and Eve. In the verse below, he asks them a direct question, so it’s quite clear that they knew his voice because they had spoken with him several times before then and he usually came to the garden to hang out with them.
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3 vs 8
Then Adam, Eve and God have a full-blown real-time conversation with God in the verses that follow.
Right from the start, God’s design and plan was to talk to human beings one on one. Just like you talk with a friend. But Adam and Eve disobeyed God and brought sin into the world. Sin is like a virus and it contaminated the relationship that God had with human beings.
However, because of the great incomprehensible love that God has for mankind, he kicked in his plan for redemption and that plan plays out throughout the written story of God’s deeds (The Bible) and culminates in THE STORY- Jesus Christ the messiah.
Throughout history, God still spoke to people. However, he used mediums like prophets. Why?
Because God is Holy (without sin or evil in him) the nature of sin that we inherited from Adam and Eve (without doing anything, it just became part of our DNA) meant that we could no longer approach him freely and without fear or without being conscious of our sinful nature. In fact, when God tried to speak to the children of Israel directly (because he wants each and every one of us to KNOW him), they ran away in fear and begged Moses to communicate with God on their behalf.
‘And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”’ Exodus 20:19
The Prophets God spoke to weren’t the most perfect human beings or the most worthy ones, by the way. They just responded when God spoke to them and trusted that he wouldn’t destroy them. They trusted HIM to make them righteous, knowing that whatever they could do by themselves would not be enough.
Here are some examples:
Before God spoke to Moses by appearing in a burning bush, Moses had committed murder. Arguably the worst sin, but God didn’t even bring it up when he spoke to Moses.
Jacob deceived his Father and conned him into giving him the blessing that was due to the firstborn. Yet, the night he ran away from home, he had an encounter with God.
When Isaiah appeared before God, his first reaction was that he was a sinful man who didn’t deserve to stand before God or even hear him speak, but God immediately cleansed him.
David killed a man and committed adultery, yet God didn’t stop speaking to him.
Samuel was a child when he heard God speak to him for the first time.
Abraham sinned by lying and deceiving Abimelech, yet God didn’t stop conversing with him.
Mary was an average girl living in Jerusalem and God spoke to her through an Angel.
Jeremiah was only a youth when God spoke to him and when he protested about being too young, God said to him “Before you were even formed in your mother’s womb, I KNEW YOU”
Gideon was a coward who hid to thresh grain and the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and called him Mighty warrior.
Cain had just committed murder by killing his brother and God still spoke to him and even gave him a mark of protection
I could go on and on. God’s desire is to speak to you, no matter what you’ve done, what you’re doing or what you will do. He talks to you because he loves you and he wants to have nice private conversations with you. In fact, he desires this so much that he became a human being like you and me, to be able to completely relate to our struggles, understand our fears, understand how we feel, how we think and be fully acquainted with us.
Then he represented the entire human race (just like Adam did) and took on the punishment and consequence of Adam’s sin by shedding his blood on the cross and dying so that through him, our original God-like nature that had no sin and could come before God freely would be restored.
Immediately Jesus took his last breath, something really profound and symbolic happened. The curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn into two: from top to bottom.
‘At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. ‘ Matthew 27:50–51
This curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. The Holy of the Holies was the most sacred area of the temple and hosted God’s presence and the Ark of the Covenant. This place was designed to be an earthly replica of God’s throne room in heaven. Only the High Priest could enter this area ONCE a year.
The High Priest served as an intermediary between the people of Isreal and God and was the representative that atoned for their sins with the blood of a lamb once a year.
Jesus himself became a sacrificial lamb and made it possible for every single human being to come before God. By accepting Christ, his record of righteousness is imputed to you. You become like God. You don’t have to do anything to earn this. You just have to believe that Jesus died for you and rose again on the third day and confess that he is LORD and SAVIOUR. That’s all!
Jesus sacrifice means that enmity and strife between God and man because of sin have ended and God wants to reconcile ALL men to him through Jesus Christ.
The only reason you and I can speak to God and hear him talk back to us without worrying about sin is that Jesus took the position of High Priest and Sacrificial Lamb and then paid the price.
So now, we can come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. Where we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4: 16
We no longer need any middle man or intermediary! God himself will speak to you!
Jesus affirmed this when he said:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.”
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.”
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. John 10: 27–28
Jesus wants to talk to you so much that he died to make it happen. Now that this very important foundation about God’s loving nature has been laid, we can delve into how you can hear God speak.
God Speaks In Different Ways
It’s important for you to know that God speaks in diverse ways.
For example, Elijah was used to seeing the MIGHT of God. He saw God respond to his prayer by sending fire down even after Elijah had wet the logs of wood. Then God revealed another side of him and spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper. This means that you must remain open to hear from God through whichever way he chooses to speak.
‘“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”’ 1 Kings 19:11–13
Here are some of the ways God speaks to people.
Through the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is God. The Spirit of God. He was there at the beginning of creation.
‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.’ Genesis 1:1–2
Because we have been sanctified by the sacrifice of Christ. He comes to dwell inside of us.
‘And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. ‘ Ephesians 1:13
‘Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? ‘ 1 Corinthians 3:16
Jesus has left the Earth but sent the Holy Spirit to be with us always, teach us and commune with us. The Holy Spirit is a very friendly person. He loves to talk and laugh and share jokes.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever
This means that the moment you accept Christ, God himself comes to dwell inside of you and you can have uninterrupted real-time communication with him 24/7. This isn’t usually an audible voice that you hear with your physical ears. But a voice on the inside of you. Like a thought. It takes practice to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and distinguish between his voice and your own thoughts and trust me, it’s something everybody struggles with at some point no matter how long you’ve walked with God.
The first thing to remember is that the Holy Spirit wants to converse with you and he’ll keep speaking until you hear what he’s saying. He’s a loving God and he’s aware when you’ve genuinely not heard him. So don’t be afraid of missing him.
Practice through obedience.
Sometimes you’d hear the Holy spirit say something really wild, and one of the ways to learn to trust his voice is by obeying what he says. The first time I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me very clearly, he asked me to fetch water into the buckets in my bathroom which was really weird because I always have running water. It seemed silly but I obeyed. The next day, there was no running water, but I had water because the Holy Spirit prepared me ahead of time.
Involve him in the small things
When you hear him in the small things, it’s easy to hear him in the big things. Ask him what outfit to wear, what to eat, what song to listen to. And then proceed to do the first thing that comes to mind. That’s him speaking!
Get ready to look crazy and do hard things.
The Holy Spirit knows all things and will only tell you to do what is good for you. Sometimes, that means looking crazy to other people. Sometimes the Holy Spirit asks me to pick trash that I didn’t leave on the road. Imagine walking on the road and picking trash on the streets of Lagos? Sometimes he asks me to apologise when I’m not in the wrong. I have to go against every natural inclination and human logic, just to obey him. Sometimes he asks me to give things I love very much to other people. It’s always worth it though! Every time I obey, his voice becomes more distinct and my relationship with him becomes richer.
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes
One time, I was so afraid of making mistakes or hearing the wrong thing that it caused me intense paralysis. The Holy Spirit said to me, I am always with you and even if you take a wrong turn because I am sovereign, I will reroute you. So every time I’m afraid, I remember this.
Check with the word
The Bible is an awesome guide. Whenever you’re unsure about what you’re hearing, use the word as a guide. The voice of God will never contradict his written word and God will never ask you to commit sin.
For example, if you get overpaid and you hear a voice saying “that money is my blessing to you” You can be sure it isn’t God because, in his word, he clearly warns us against cheating or stealing of any kind.
In fact, the word was a great guide for Jesus and he used it to defeat Satan when he was tempted. Satan said all the right things but Jesus knew the truth because he knew God’s word.
‘Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Matthew 4:5–7
As you begin to act on what the Holy Spirit says and converse with him, you will begin to see some unique patterns and understand the way he speaks to YOU as an individual. God relates with us on an individual basis so his communication with you is unique.
Your relationship with the Holy Spirit is the most important relationship in this world. It’s the Holy Spirit who helps you make sense of EVERYTHING, including the word of God, dreams or visions. Jesus said:
‘When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. ‘ John 16:13–14
If you’re curious about navigating a relationship with the Holy Spirit, I recommend “Good Morning Holy Spirit” by Benny Hinn.
God doesn’t like us to share pirated copies of books, so you can get it at any Christian bookshop or you can sign up to Scribd here and read it for free.
I’m currently writing a book with the Holy Spirit called “Holy Spirit My Best Friend” and it’ll be a comprehensive guide to interacting with the Holy Spirit and being his friend, so you can look forward to that too!
The Bible
The Bible tells the story of God’s people throughout history and is always relevant!
‘The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”’ Isaiah 40:8
One of my favourite discoveries in the Bible is that Daniel, who was born hundreds of years after the Prophet Jeremiah, knew what to pray for because he read the recorded prophecies of Jeremiah.
‘During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.’ Daniel 9:2–3
Even Jesus read the scriptures and used it as a guide.
“Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.” ‘ Luke 4:14–16
The Bible spans events that happened over thousands of years. It shows us the character of God through his interactions with human beings like you and me. More importantly, it shows that God has always been interested in communicating with man and throughout scripture we see him go to great lengths to do so. In fact, he once spoke to a man through a donkey. True story.
‘Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam. “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!” “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted.’ Numbers 22:28–30
The best thing about the Bible is that the Holy Spirit makes it come alive and he will show you the treasure hidden in words that were written thousands of years ago. He will show you how the scripture applies you, how you can live it out and a new dimension of Himself.
My favourite thing about the word of God is that it transforms you from the inside out. Once you study in partnership with the Holy Spirit, you will definitely become a new person. You will start to trust God more because reading the bible shows you who he truly is. You will understand his love and know that it’s not a feeling but his very nature. You will get answers to the tough questions that you’ve had. God becomes more real to you. The best part is, how a random scripture can provide comfort and resolve a challenge you’ve been facing.
I’m sure David had this same revelation and this is why he said:
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119 v 105
God just whispered to me right now to tell you this:
I’m not mad at you because you’ve not read your Bible in a while. I haven’t stopped loving you. My love for you is not dependent on whether you read your Bible or not. I want you to enjoy reading my word and learning new things about me. Whenever you open your Bible, invite me to read with you and you’d encounter a whole new world.
How cute is God?!
I know reading the Bible is something a lot of people struggle with. One thing I’ve learned from talking to a lot of people over time is, they try to STUDY it, like a textbook, so it feels stiff and boring. Yes, there’s a place for study but to enjoy studying the word, you have to enjoy reading it first.
I’m just going to share a few things that have worked for me and how the Holy Spirit has helped me.
- Read with the Holy Spirit.
Always ask the Holy Spirit to read with you and show you something new. I do this every time I sit down to read the word and it has been life-changing. He’s your teacher and he loves teaching!
2. Read it like a story
Don’t sweat things too much. Just read. God will always meet you where you are.
3. Find a translation you love
Read a translation you understand and are comfortable with. You don’t get bonus points for reading King James Version. The Bible wasn’t even written in King James Version. It’s old English that can be really tough to understand sometimes. I tried a few translations and fell in love with New Living Translation. You don’t have to buy 10 bibles to find the translation you enjoy. The Youversion app contains hundreds of translations so you can experiment, try different ones and see what works best for you. The goal is to understand it and live it out.
4. Obey
Commit to obedience. You have to make up your mind to obey what God says to you through his word. His word is filled with lots of instructions that will make you like him. For example,
‘“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. ‘ Matthew 5:43–45
This is a tough thing to do. Last year, I had to live out the scripture and pray every day for someone who had hurt me very deeply. It wasn’t easy and I grumbled about how unfair it was. In fact, it took me a while to start. When I asked the Holy Spirit to help me, it became easier to pray for the person and the heavy weight of anger I was carrying got lighter with every prayer I said.
God’s love language is obedience.
‘If you love me, obey my commandments’. John 14:15
Train yourself in obedience by obeying his word and then you will be able to discern his voice more clearly. Reading scripture also helps you to recognise the voice of God accurately. You learn about his character so you know what is from Him and what isn’t.
5. Journal
Writing out what stands out to you as you read always helps. Write what YOU want. It doesn’t need to have a specific structure or format, just write what you’re learning. As a new believer, journaling helped me make sense of the scriptures. I’d write out what stood out to me, write sentences of prayers from what I had read, ask tough questions, write out promises and confess my fears to God. Sometimes, when I’m sad I go back to those journals and I take comfort in what God spoke to me through those scriptures. Please try not to overthink this too much, just write what you feel God is saying to you and don’t bother about whether you heard right or wrong.
6. Ask questions!
You’re not just supposed to swallow everything you read. God loves it when you ask him questions about scriptural events because he was there! This means he can give you even more context. Now, note that he can answer your questions in different ways and answers may not come the very moment you ask. He wants you to build your muscles, search out things and piece them together with his help. Dad doesn’t always spoonfeed haha.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter
Some of the ways he has answered for me have involved more research and study. He has led me to books, youtube videos, and bible commentary. Sometimes He answers through random conversations with friends. Other times he whispers the answer to me as I read.
I remember being a new believer and reading the Book of John. I asked God how I could be sure the disciples weren’t lying about seeing Christ rise from the dead. He laughed and said to me, “Would they lay down their own lives and suffer so much hardship to defend a lie?” I’ve never had to ask that question again because when doubt arose, I asked my question and God gave me a very convincing answer. Don’t be afraid to ask.
Earlier this year I was reading the book of Genesis and I asked God why he closed Sarah’s womb but still allowed Abraham to be fertile enough to impregnate his maid. It seemed unfair to me. Why didn’t he just make both of them infertile?
I won’t tell you what He told me, but you can ask him yourself! :wink:
7. Collate your favourite scriptures
Sometimes, the way to hear God is by going back to what he has said to you before. You can bookmark the scriptures you love the most in the Youversion app and add tags. I tag mine “comfort scriptures”. You can also go the old fashioned route and write them out by hand.
One of my favourites:
‘But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.’ Isaiah 43:1–2
God speaks through other ways such as dreams, visions, through nature, songs, an audible voice, prophecy, and other believers. However, if you don’t have a strong relationship with the Holy spirit and familiarity with his word, it’s easy to make mistakes here. That’s why I won’t be delving into all of these other ways. I’ve experienced them but only through the Holy Spirit. If you develop your relationship with the Holy Spirit he will give you your own unique experiences and train you through them. If you’d love to read more about how to hear from God, I recommend “How to hear from God” by Joyce Meyer.
Hearing God is really simple. Remember that he wants to speak to you. Remember that he loves you.
If you’ve read this and you’re ready to say YES to God and begin the best adventure of your life, say this prayer:
Dear Jesus, I thank you for being love. I thank you for creating this moment of encounter just for me. I thank you because you know me and you love me. I thank you because you died to save me. I admit that I am a sinner and without you, I cannot be saved. I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Saviour and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Thank you for making me a completely new person.
If you said this prayer, congratulations! Right now, Dad is throwing a welcome party in heaven for you with the Angels. Welcome to the family brother/sister. I love you and I can’t wait to get to know you. I’d love to help you as you start this journey. Please send me a dm on Instagram. My handle is @adenikeraks
I really hope this guide has helped. We’re going to take it a step further. I’m going live on my Instagram page with my Best friend (the Holy Spirit) on April 11th by 7pm. We’re going to have a practical session on hearing God’s voice clearly and you’ll definitely hear him speak to you. That is a promise. So tell a friend!
Please feel free to ask any questions you have by leaving a comment. Please share this guide with your friends too!
God loves you. I love you.
