How to hear from God…

So, I used to go to a Pentecostal church. Pentecostal churches strongly believe in the gifts of the spirit, specifically the gift of speaking in tongues. The gifts I’m referencing are found in 1st Corinthians 12. Because Pentecostal churches embraced the gifts of the spirit, we were taught that anyone that has been baptized in the Holy Spirit can operate in any of the gifts of Spirit. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for someone to tell you something that the Lord told them to say. They would prophesy over your life, proclaiming what thus sayth the Lord.

Because this was such a regular occurrence, it became incredibly important to know if what they proclaimed was really coming from God. People get “moved” in the spirit and think that because they may know something about your current situation, they are proclaiming the Word of God. In my experience most people mean no harm but just because it’s encouraging news, doesn’t mean it’s from God.

So how do you know if a “word” is from God or from their own opinion or perspective? Great question!

The Bible says “…In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” I’ve found that when a Word has come from the Lord, I heard it first in my prayer time. The person is merely confirming something I already heard in the Spirit. I’ve had instances where I’ve been in my prayer and study time and God spoke to me, but I felt that I needed confirmation or even clarification. I’ll pray for God to confirm and in a conversation or even a commercial on tv will speak to the matter of concern. It first came to me then from another; two people establishing the word. When God has already spoken something in your spirit and a person gives you “what thus sayth the Lord” you can be assured that God is speaking to you using that individual.

Another accurate way to determine if a “word” is from God or not, is to confirm it in scripture. The Bible is the infallible Word of God. It’s how we get to know His love for us, His voice, character, and instructions for living a life pleasing to Him. So, if a word comes to you from someone claiming thus sayth the Lord, find out if it contradicts the Word of God!

The Lord will never go against His Word.

God is not a man that He shall lie nor the son of man that He should repent. Hold tight to that Word! It’s incredibly important to study your Bible so that you know when something is in contradiction or not.

The prophets of old were all about correction and driving the people to repentance, so if the Word of the Lord is coming to you bringing righteous correction and convicting you to do right according to the Word of God, then you can also bet that it came from the Lord. Don’t be deceived into thinking that just because something is morally right, that it’s Biblically right. There is a difference. You’ll only know the difference by spending time with God in His Word.

Ultimately, the best way to know if a Word is from the Lord is to be in relationship with the Lord.

Think about it. If someone came up to you and said your mother or someone very close to you said, “this and that” but you know your mother would never speak in that way. You wouldn’t be quick to believe that person. But how could you be so sure? It’s because we have spent time learning those closes to us. Some of us can even hear(imagine) their responses to a matter before we even bring it to them. Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I knew you were gonna say that!”, that’s because you KNOW that person? No one can lie on that person in front of you because you know their character, even their mannerisms. That’s how deeply we need to know God! The Bible says, “my sheep know my voice…” We know His voice because we know Him. If you’re unfamiliar with the voice of God, fear not! You can get to know Him through His Word! The Bible is there for you to get to know Him.

Now I know I’ve been a bit repetitive in this writing, but that’s because above all, I want you to be able to know God as much as you possibly can!

There is one that seeks to deceive you!

We must be able to discern the difference between God and the deceiver! We do that by getting in relationship with God!

Okay yall! That’s all I have for you today. Be blessed and be a blessing to others! Love Yall! Bye!