Listening To GodSample

The Primary Ways God Speaks Today 

In the last devotion, we explored eight ways in which God has spoken to men and women through the ages. While we must never limit God in the methods He uses to speak to us, from my experience and observation, I believe there are three main ways God speaks to us today:

1. Through His Word — The Bible is the Word of God, His complete revelation, and it’s His foremost way of communicating with us today. The Bible is His Word for all people because it speaks to the basic human condition, and it addresses every emotion, human relationship dynamic, problem of the heart, aspect of the psyche, temptation or desire, heartache or joy, and issue of faith, hope, and love. The Bible covers it all! Whenever we face difficulties, experience heartaches, or have questions, we should go first to Scripture. There, God will speak to us directly, personally, intimately, and effectively (Josh. 1:7-8).

2. Through His Holy Spirit — As we walk daily in the Spirit, surrendered to His power, we have the right and privilege to expect anything that we need to hear from God. The Holy Spirit living within us and speaking to us reminds us of what God has said and done for us in the past. His Spirit gives us the words we need to say, the direction we need to go, and guides us in our prayers for ourselves and others. By His Holy Spirit, God guides us each day, saying “no” to everything that would bring us harm, delivering us from evil and temptation, and speaking in our hearts a “yes” to everything that will bring us blessing.

3. Through Other Believers in Christ — God uses people to speak to each of us. Some may be total strangers. Others may be dear friends, members of our immediate families, pastors, teachers, or Bible study group leaders. God gives us comfort and counsel through the words of other believers to encourage and admonish us when we need it most. 

Look for God to confirm His Word. He may direct you to two or more passages of the Bible that convey the same meaning. He may cause you to hear a sermon or a Bible lesson that’s right in line with what He’s said to you in His Word. He may bring a total stranger across your path to speak a word that seems amazingly on target with last Sunday’s sermon. The multiple messages to you are part of God’s assurance plan that He’s the One who’s speaking and that He wants you to get His message without question or doubt (Rom. 8:26).