5 Ways to Recognize the Voice of God When You Are Desperate

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Are you desperate to hear God’s voice? Do you have an issue that you desperately need wisdom on how to solve? Do you hunger to hear God’s voice for yourself?

You are not alone. We all struggle (even the great men and women of faith) with hearing God’s voice at different points in our relationship with him.

So, what’s going on? Is God playing some sort of game? Is he trying to make it difficult to have a conversation with him?  You ask, “If he truly loved me why can’t I hear his voice clearly?”

One of the reasons we might have a hard time hearing Gods voice is that we barely slow down long enough to hear our own voice. We have a problem and we want ANSWERS yesterday! We rush around bemoaning the fact that we can’t hear from God when we haven’t allowed him to get a word in edgewise. 

We are so busy moving, talking with others, and talking at God that no wonder we can’t hear his voice. We want a thunderbolt from heaven when he is talking in a still small whisper.  I love this reminder to slow down and be present with the one, who is ever present with us.

1 Kings 19:11-13, “And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

We are in a relationship with a God who is always talking. He loves us. Period. When you love someone with a never giving up, beyond comprehension love, you don’t hide from them, but delight in spending time with them.

 Jesus said it this way in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

So how do we hear from God?

We need to practice recognizing his voice. God lives life with us. He is always talking to us. And he is endlessly creative. God can and is speaking to us in a PLETHORA of ways we just need to become aware of his voice.  

Here are five basic ways to recognize his voice. They are to serve as guideposts to help you practice noticing God voice in your everyday life. This is just a starting place, as you come to know God in deeper ways, you will see that he is literally talking to you ALL the TIME and in a multitude of ways.    It’s awesome because you go about your ordinary life having an ongoing internal dialogue with God about EVERYTHING!

By taking the time to practice you are taking an active role in participating with the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Here are 5 basic ways to recognize his voice: 

1. In the Quiet

I have found that in our fast-paced culture that the very act of carving out space to meet with God can feel like an uphill battle. We are a culture that focuses purely on doing, not the being.  

 Jesus modeled how we should come before God in Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” And in Luke 5:16, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”.

Make it priority to spend time with Jesus in quiet. Just be with him in silence for 5-10 minutes (it’s more challenging than you think).  And then let him know what’s on your mind. You have to make spending time with Jesus a priority or it will never happen. 

2. Godly Council 

 We always want to jump to getting Godly council but I would encourage you to spend time with God on your own FIRST before you talk with others.  You will be more in tune with listening to the Holy Spirit and will be able to weigh the advice of others.  It’s a given but always make sure that any advice you receive lines up with Scripture.  I would also seek people that you know are pursuing a deep relationship with God.

3. Intersecting Thoughts

Have you ever been thinking along one path and all of a sudden you are shocked with some thought you know wasn’t from you (typically because it is super Godly :))?  I have had multiple situations over my life where I will be thinking about work, my children, or what to fix for dinner and all of a sudden, I will randomly have someone’s name come to mind.  I know that I wasn’t thinking about that person AT ALL, but I realize that God was trying to get my attention for a reason, and I immediately stop and pray for that person.  I have a number of times where I have had a chance to talk with that person later only to find out that they were going through a crisis at the very moment I was led to pray.  

*Always make sure that any intersecting thoughts line up with scripture.