Cultivation & Discerning the Voice of the Lord

If we really want to be able to recognize the Lord’s voice, we will have to make lifestyle changes, rearranging our schedule and beliefs to make room for Him first. The more time and attention we give to God, the more fine-tuned our senses become to His leading. He reveals Himself, we spend time with Him, then we begin to act on what we’ve heard. As we test what we’re hearing, His voice will likely change in character. His direction, encouragement and comfort is likely to become unspoken and subtle the more intimate our relationship with Him becomes. The more we work to know Him, and labor to enter into His rest, the fewer specific words are needed.

Now that we know the stages in developing our ability to hear, we can look practically at learning how to recognize His voice for ourselves.

His voice has been revealed to our spirit, and our spirit is perfectly communicating with His Spirit at all times. Let’s assume we have decided that we want a more intimate knowledge of Him and want to be able to hear Him more clearly and more often in our conscious awareness. We decide we want to cultivate, put the necessary time and attention into developing a relationship with God. How do we start?

As we spend time with the Lord, both throughout the day and at specific times we’ve set aside, we objectively evaluate what we are sensing, discerning and hearing using the following guidelines:

1. Identification (WHO is talking)

The first step in hearing the voice of the Lord is recognizing that you are hearing something! 

Say you hear (in whatever sense) what you believe to be the Lord. You ask, “Is that You, Lord?” You hear, “Yes.” How do you know this is the Lord? There are two voices that speak to the sheep: the butcher and the shepherd. Is the voice you’re hearing reflecting the qualities of the Lord, and His unconditionally gracious, loving stance toward you?