Hearing God’s Voice: A Guide for Beginners

Hearing God’s voice is something every believer should pursue wholeheartedly. According to the book of John, Jesus clearly stated that His followers know His voice (John 10:27). Yet, it can be a confusing and intimidating task for new Christians to discern the voice of God. It takes time and a dedication to growing in relationship with God to become familiar with His voice. 

Are you new to hearing God’s voice? Maybe you’re not sure if He’s speaking and how to discern if it’s Him or your own thoughts. In summary, you can learn to hear God’s voice by understanding God speaks in many different ways, getting in the habit of reading the Bible, cultivating peace in your life, fasting, and being patient while getting help from other believers. 

If you want to learn more about these tips, please keep reading below!

Tip #1: God Speaks in Many Different Ways 

When we think of hearing God’s voice, we often think of just an audible voice. While God has spoken using an audible voice in the Bible—and can still speak to us this way—God can use a multitude of methods to speak:

• He can speak through the Bible 
• He can use someone to speak a word of wisdom into our lives 
• He can convict us through the Holy Spirit
• He can speak through dreams 
• He can speak by directing our circumstances 
• He can speak using a vision

As you can see, there are so many ways that God can speak.  If you’re interested in seeing examples of these, check out my blog about how God speaks.

Tip #2: Hearing God’s Voice Means Getting in the Habit of Reading the Bible 

This tip is so important. The Bible is one of the major ways God speaks to us. It is also our reference point for whether or not God is speaking to us another way. This is because the Bible is a written record of what God has already spoken to us. For example, if I wanted to learn how I can honor God with my finances, I don’t necessarily need God to speak to me personally. I can read some of the many Bible verses about money to learn God’s principles for money management. He has already said so much about this topic! 

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pay attention in case God chooses to speak to us in another way. Personally, I often pray with a listening heart while searching the scriptures for God’s wisdom when I want to hear from God. Instead, it means that reading the Bible is an integral part of hearing from God. It’s so important that I’d say that it’s difficult to get comfortable with hearing God’s voice in other ways if we don’t invest in reading the Bible regularly.

Another reason why reading the Bible is important is because God never contradicts the Bible. Knowing the Bible can help with discerning whether or not God is speaking when He uses another method. For example, the Bible is very clear about God’s thoughts on sin. If we thought God was “speaking” to tell us something about sin that contradicts the Bible, then we can be sure that it is not God who is speaking to us. Once again, the Bible is the reference point for any other way that God may speak. This means that we can use the Bible to gain clarity when we’re not sure if God is speaking.

Tip #3: Hearing God’s Voice Requires Cultivating Peace in Our Lives

Hearing God’s voice requires that we create a peaceful and restful spiritual atmosphere in our lives. This is because it’s hard to hear God when our lives are full of busyness, drama, and junk that threaten to drown out God’s voice. 

One of my favorite passages of scripture that reminds me that I need to quiet myself to hear God is 1 Kings 19:11-12. These verses are about the prophet Elijah who witnesses God’s presence as a strong wind, earthquake, and fire before God spoke to Him in a still small voice (v. 12). I won’t go into a lot of detail here, but I do have a devotional about Elijah’s experience if you’d like to check it out. To keep things short, I’ll say this: Elijah knew that God wasn’t in the wind, earthquake, or fire—He was in a peaceful, life-giving whisper.

If God were whispering to us today, would we hear Him? Or would His voice be drowned out in hectic daily routines, constant anxiety and stress, mental exhaustion, and mind numbing entertainment? In order to hear God, we’ve got to live a lifestyle of peace. This doesn’t mean that bad things don’t happen to us or that we never feel any negative emotions. These things are an unfortunate part of life. However, we can choose to do our best to live in a way that doesn’t invite unnecessary distractions, stress, or heartbreak. We can live in a way that we cultivate a listening heart for God’s quiet voice.

Tip #4: Hearing God May Be Easier When You Fast

Fasting is a way to draw close to God and better hear His voice. During a fast, we can give up something—a meal or a hobby (ex: watching TV)—to spend more time with God in the Bible and in prayer. This dedicated time of seeking God often results in hearing God’s voice. If you’re new to fasting, be sure to consult your doctor before deciding on how you’d like to fast if you’re thinking about altering your diet. Also, you can check out my guide to fasting to help you figure out the best way to get started. 

There are many different ways that you can fast, which allows you to pick a method that works with your lifestyle. As long as you use your fast to focus on spending more time with God, it doesn’t really matter what method you choose.

Tip #5: Be Patient and Get Help from Other Believers

It’s important to be patient when learning to hear God’s voice. Even mature believers have periods when it’s difficult to hear from God. It takes time to become familiar with how God speaks and to discern when He is speaking. As we start our journey to hearing God’s voice, we’ll need to connect with believers who have been walking with God for a while. More mature believers can help us understand when God is speaking. 

In 1 Samuel 3, God speaks to a young boy named Samuel who is serving the current high priest, Eli. Samuel had never heard God speak, and he got confused. He mistakenly thought that it was Eli who was talking to him. Eli, who understood what was happening, helped Samuel to understand that it was God who was calling him. Sometimes we need the wisdom of a more mature Christian to help us on our walk with God. 

Hearing God’s voice is something that we’ll all be continuously learning to do. We’ll make mistakes, need help from time to time, or totally miss when God is speaking over the course of our lives. How wonderful it is that we serve a loving and patient God who delights in communicating with His children!

Do you have any tips on how to hear God’s voice? Please share them below!