Command 24 : Hear God's Voice | Day 168

Confirm God's Voice!

A young man met an attractive girl and desired to marry her. He began attending her church and getting acquainted with her family. He was aware of her deep commitment to God, so one day he said to her, "I have been praying about you, and God has given me assurance from Scripture that you are to be my wife." The girl was impressed by his apparent spirituality and flattered by his attention, but she wondered, "Was his assurance truly from God, or did he simply find a verse to support his own desires?"

Fortunately, she sought confirmation from her father, who diligently "interviewed" the young man and discovered that he had major character flaws and moral struggles. He realized that this man was not at all ready for marriage, especially to his daughter. Her mother confirmed his wise counsel, and the daughter was spared much heartache.

God's voice will never contradict His written Word.

It is very easy for a person to say, "God told me to do something," when God never said it. So how do we know for sure when it is God speaking to us? Several factors will guide us in making sure that it is God speaking and not our flesh or the deceptive voice of Satan, who often appears as an angel of light. (See II Corinthians 11:14.)

The first and most important factor in hearing God's voice is making sure that we have clean hearts and unbroken fellowship with the Lord. If we allow sin to rule in our lives, the Holy Spirit will be grieved, and we will not receive the direction that He wants to give us. We then will be driven by our own sinful desires. (See Psalm 106:14-15.)

When God speaks to us from His Word, He often gives confirmation by a second or third witness. The principle of confirming truth is given in the Mosaic law: "… At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established" (Deuteronomy 19:15). In his letter to the believers in Corinth, the Apostle Paul reaffirmed this principle. (See II Corinthians 13:1.)

God pleads, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (I John 4:1).

One day a businessman was offered a higher paying job with a good company, and he was inclined to accept it; however, acceptance of the job would require relocating. How could he know if this was God's will?

One of his first confirmations would be in the counsel of his wife. Together they can go to God's Word and Godly older Christians to seek further confirmations and counsel. (See Proverbs 11:14.)

This week in your journal, record some of the situations in which God specifically spoke to you about important matters and how you were able to confirm that you were hearing God's voice.