Hearing God’s Voice: A Spiritual Spam Filter

by Marilynn Chadwick

Have you discovered that every voice in your head is not from God? The enemy of our soul often tries to sneak in his lies, sometimes disguised as our own voice. So how do we recognize when it’s really God speaking to us? Jesus tells us, “My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27). Your most important job is to train your heart to hear God’s voice. Get to know him. Spend time with him. When David calls, I easily recognize his voice—because I spend a lot of time with him.

God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us discern truth from lies. Among other descriptions of the Holy Spirit, he is called the “Spirit of truth.” It’s worth repeating. Not all voices are from God and not all spirits are the Holy Spirit. That’s why we need a “Spiritual Spam Filter.” God has provided us with several guardrails to bring clarity to our hearing: The Word of God; the inner witness of the Holy Spirit; the character of God as revealed in Scripture; the testimonies of other believers, both now and throughout the ages.

Before Jesus went to the cross, he encouraged his disciples to eagerly anticipate the “Spirit of truth” that would soon come their way (John 16:13). “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).

This same Helper, Jesus promised, was “the Spirit of truth” who would guide them (and us) into “all truth” (John 16:13). “The Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you” (John 14:26 AMP).

Did you catch that? Jesus said the Holy Spirit will even help us remember what he has spoken to us. Good news as we are learning to discern the voice of God!

Hearing God’s Voice: When God Seems Silent

by Marilynn Chadwick

"What do I do when God seems silent?" The question came from a good friend and a sincere follower of Jesus. We were on a weekend retreat where I had just delivered a message about learning to hear God's voice. Her question hit a chord. How do we handle those times when we have prayed and prayed? Perhaps we have even sensed God's promise to fulfill a hope or dream. But the answer is so slow in coming.

I thought back to my own time of what I call “wait training.” In our early years of marriage, David and I had looked forward to the day we'd have children. Imagine our dismay when hopes for a baby stretched into six months, a year, two years, and eventually four years—forty-eight straight months—of drugs, surgeries, tests, and more tests. And still no baby.

We eventually had our daughter and two sons. But the years of waiting proved to be a good time to seek God and to wait on him. Strength came as I rested in the Lord, studied his Word, held fast to his promises...day after day after day. I learned what Jesus meant when he encouraged believers to "abide" in him (John 15:5).

I also found surprising comfort as I stepped out of my own pain to serve others. I discovered that if I would give my life away to help someone who was hurting worse than I was, a mysterious joy would spring forth.

By seeking God and serving him wholeheartedly, I learned that times of waiting can give birth to a larger purpose. Turns out not getting what we want when we want it may be one of the best tools to sharpen our hearing of God's voice. We may also discover that our seasons of waiting—those times we thought were barren—can become our most fruitful.

Hearing God’s Voice: Will You Listen?

by Marilynn Chadwick

God is always speaking. The question is, “Will you listen?” It’s a question I ask myself every day. Will I take the time to listen in our busy, noisy world? I have discovered that if you truly commit to listening to God, amazing things can happen.

David and I have shared over four decades of marriage and ministry (I once vowed that I’d never become a Christian, and most definitely, I would never marry a minister. Funny how things turn out, isn’t it?). Along the way, we have discovered that listening to God is not just about hearing his voice. It’s also about doing his will.

My life, I realized one day, was either a “so what?” or a “so that!” If listening to God took me no further than my own little world, then so what? The point of hearing his voice is so that I’ll do his will. So, I told God that I would give my whole heart to listening to him. And I committed to pray, starting with my own family right at home, but with an eye for the needs of God’s larger world.

What happens when you begin to take seriously the call to listen to God’s voice? That’s when the adventure begins! You could end up traveling to genocide torn regions in Africa as David and I did. Or you might come face to face with the needs of your neighbor next door. You just might meet people and go to places you never knew existed—starting within your own community.

Everyone's journey will look different. You can read more about my experiences in Sometimes He Whispers, Sometimes He Roars: Learning to Hear the Voice of God. The book started out as simply a memoir of my own adventures in prayer. But friends kept urging me to add some practical content to this journey—some footsteps— so others could follow along.

I firmly believe that if you will listen to God daily and watch for him at work right where you are, your ordinary days will no longer feel ordinary.