How to Hear God's VoiceSample

Way #3: Spiritual Gifts

A third way God can speak to you is through spiritual gifts.

In 1 Corinthians 12, we see that there are many gifts of the Holy Spirit.

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” —1 Corinthians 12:7–11

There are three revelatory, or “seeing,” gifts: word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and discerning of spirits. There are three gifts of power: faith, miracles, and healings (note that’s healings, plural). And there are three “speaking” gifts: tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and prophecy. If you are sensitive enough, perhaps you will be able to hear the Lord’s voice through one of these spiritual gifts. However, we must test all things to make sure everything we hear aligns with the Word of God. This is why I say the primary and most effective way to hear God is through Scripture, followed by prayer, then spiritual gifts.

Years ago, I was in a situation and desperately needed to hear from God. During that season an elder from our church approached me in private and reached out to hug me. Then, he began to speak in other tongues. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, I understood those tongues as if they were a known language, and they were exactly what I needed to hear at that moment.

There was another time when I ran away from the Lord. My heart began to harden, and I stopped fellowshipping with the Lord. I was burdened by so many trials. I felt defeated. I was living with my grandmother at the time, and one day early in the morning I heard her praying and sobbing uncontrollably. I was about to leave my room when the Spirit of God spoke to my spirit and said, “You sit down because I’m going to speak to you right now.”

My grandmother was praying in other tongues in her room, and when I sat down on my bed, she opened the door with great urgency and exclaimed in a loud voice, “My son, why have you forsaken Me? Why have you abandoned Me? Don’t you know that I have a good plan for you? Don’t you know that I have a purpose for your life? But you cannot receive the blessing if you’re not in communion with Me. Now repent and turn back to Me.”

I knew that was God. My grandmother had no idea I had fallen away from the Lord. But I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and that day I was gloriously delivered from so many bondages. You see, God spoke to me through my grandmother using a spiritual gift, and God can work in your life using spiritual gifts too.

There’s a wonderful story in 2 Kings 3 that also illustrates the power of spiritual gifts in hearing from God. The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom banded together to fight the Moabites. They set out for battle with their armies and after seven days found themselves without water for themselves or their animals. The king of Israel thought God was delivering them into the hands of Moab. But Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” (2 Kings 3:11; see also verses 1–10).

They found the prophet Elisha, and the king of Israel told him they wanted to hear from God. Elisha essentially replied, “Well, I’m not going to prophesy to you.” But the king of Israel said, “Please, we need to hear from God” (2 Kings 3:13, paraphrased). And Elisha said, “Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician” (2 Kings 3:14–15). When the musician began to play, the hand of the Lord came over Elisha, and he began to prophesy (vv. 15–16).

God spoke to the kings using the gift of prophecy, but Elisha needed a musician to get to a place of communion where he could hear from the Spirit.

This reminds me of another story in Scripture. In 1 Samuel 10:1–6, the prophet Samuel approached a man named Saul and anointed him king, saying:

“Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.”

When Saul left Samuel, God gave Saul a new heart, a sensitive heart. Why? Because there was a turning. This is what worship does. It turns our hearts in the Lord’s direction. When Saul saw the prophets “coming down from the high place,” they were praising and worshipping. There was an atmosphere of adoration, and that atmosphere was contagious. It got to Saul, and he was changed into another person. He began to prophesy. The Lord spoke to him and through him.

What does this mean for the everyday believer?

The same thing can happen to us today. When we go into the presence of God and we’re sensitive and discerning, when we worship and praise Him, we will receive a new outlook. Our hearts will be changed, and God will begin to show us things.

Be aware that when He speaks, it is not always through words. Habakkuk 2:1 says, “I will stand my watch…to see what He will say.” Habakkuk doesn’t say, “I will hear what the Lord will say.” He says he will “see what the Lord will say.” There is a revelatory, inward vision—a spiritual gift—that the Spirit can use to enable you to hear from the Lord.