How To Recognize The Voice Of Godናሙና

Day 5 - The Inward Witness

The main way you and I hear the voice of God is not audibly, it’s through an inward witness. By that I mean the Spirit of God will give you promptings in your spirit, your inner man, which is the part of you that has been born again and made a new creature in Christ.

Promptings are inclinations, or thoughts. I like to describe it as a “knowing in your knower.” It comes as you’re reading the Word, seeking God in prayer, or listening carefully for His guidance. As you feel a prompting, you’ll either begin to feel a peace as you consider it, or an uneasiness. Some describe that peace as “a smooth, velvety feeling” in your spirit, and the uneasiness as a “scratchy” feeling. I think that’s a good way to describe it. 

The Bible clearly shows that you and I have an “inward” and an “outward” man. As Christians, we are to look inside for guidance—to the born-again part of us—not to the outward man or to what our physical senses tell us. We need to be more aware of our inward man and pay attention to those promptings. That’s the inward witness.

I have been led by the inward witness many times. I will often say, “Holy Spirit, which way should I go?” or “What should I do here?” And then I listen. Not for an audible voice, but for that “still, small voice” on the inside, in my spirit. I listen for His prompting.

I also do this when I’m counseling someone. As they tell me their problem, I’m listening to them, but silently I’m asking the Holy Spirit: “How do I help this person? What should I say? What’s the answer here?” In essence, I have my spiritual antenna up, giving attention to the inward witness that will give me answers about how to best help the person.

Sometimes when I’ve lost something, I’ll ask the Holy Spirit where it is (because He knows everything!). And I’ll get a thought like, “Go look under the front seat of the car.” I might think, “That’s silly. It couldn’t be there.” But when I look, there it is! The idea comes to me as a thought, but it’s actually the inward witness, and it guides me.