Hearing Voices
I have a history of depression, and this makes me uniquely qualified to talk about hearing the voice of God.
If this seems counter-intuitive at first, let me explain. Many people who have never heard God’s voice, or never experienced mental illness, make no distinction between the two. In my experience they are very distinct.
There are many types of mental illness, and each one offers a counterfeit reality. I’m only qualified to talk about depression, since that’s what I’ve experienced. During bouts of severe depression, I’ve heard other ideas that present themselves as internal voices. I think other people who aren’t severely depressed probably have too. Depending on your theology, there are different views on the origin of those ideas. My own views are beyond the scope of this post, we’ll get to them later.
I also have years of experience hearing God’s voice. How do I know? How do we know anything, really? We perceive, we observe, we verify according to the perceptions of others. But we don’t ever really know. We’re finite, and we’re very susceptible to perceptual errors.
But if I were a betting woman, I’d bet on a God who is real and speaks to people. In fact, I’ve bet my life on it.
My first attempts to hear God’s voice were born out of confusion. I remember being about 10, sitting in mass ,suddenly being overcome with panic. I realized that I had no idea how to please God. My mom, at a loss and unable to comfort me, suggested I read the bible. So that afternoon I let my bible fall open and begged God to speak to me.
Nothing happened.
Well, that’s not true. I landed in some surreal passage in the book of Ezekiel, and my confusion compounded. A parent or a pastor could have guided me to a more straightforward gospel presentation. I might have read it, prayed a prayer and been appeased. Millions of people have been offered an easy way to know God, and, thinking they know all there is to know, they quickly get bored. But God gave me a great gift that day. He piqued my curiosity.
” I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel who call you by your name” Is.45:3
God was elusive at times, and very mysterious. But sometimes, as I read the bible ,the words were suddenly infused with meaning. I saw things I hadn’t noticed before, even if I had read the passage many times. Other times, I heard what’s been described as the “internal audible voice” of God. I think that’s an apt description, but it needs clarification.
The internal audible voice of God is not:
- The thundering sound Charleton Heston heard in “The Ten Commandments”
- your own thoughts
- the voice of your conscience
- the “good” angel that sits on your shoulder and tells you what you should do, while the “bad” angel reminds you of what you really want.
These all strike me as inaccurate. First, God doesn’t need to shout to get our attention. Second, the concept of your thoughts or your conscience implies knowledge you already have, but God’s voice can reveal what you previously didn’t know. Finally, the cartoon image of the two angels arguing on someone’s shoulder is biased. The bad angel almost always makes the more convincing argument. The truth is, the more you listen to any voice, the more attuned to it you become. The more you listen to (obey) God’s voice, the easier it is to hear, and the less convincing any counterfeit sounds.
There are several ways to distinguish God’s voice from an imposter. First of all, God says things I would never think of. No, really. I once felt God tell me to punch a complete stranger (in church!). One of the best ways to discern what God is saying is to share what you’re sensing with someone whose judgement you trust. Usually God reveals one facet of truth to an individual, but to see the whole picture we need to be in ongoing communication with him and each other.
I’ve spoken about how reality becomes distorted when you’re in the grip of depression. Even when I couldn’t trust my own thoughts, I could still distinguish God’s voice from other thoughts or ideas. Even when I didn’t obey his voice, it was sometimes the only stable element in my topsy-turvy inner life.
I know some atheists believe that weak people imagine themselves relating to a loving God because this delusion provides them comfort. Here’s the problem with that idea:
God’s voice is not comforting.
At least not in a sugary, escapist kind of way. The voice of God in my life confronts me, challenges me with hard truth, sometimes forces me to alter long held opinions. The comfort I receive is the kind of comfort you might feel in being convicted of a crime you did commit. It’s the comfort of being totally exposed for who you really are, and not having to waste energy pretending to be somebody else. This may not sound particularly loving to some of you. I feel God’s love when He speaks to me, but it’s a consuming love. It’s a costly love. The cost is your life. You can’t hear God’s voice or experience his love without being permanently and painfully altered.
We’re celebrating the biblical feast of Shavuot (many of you know it as Pentecost) this weekend. It commemorates God’s revelation to Moses on Mt Sinai. Christians also celebrate the outpouring of the Holy spirit on the infant church years later on the anniversary of that event.
It’s troubling to me that many Christians celebrate the historical events, yet believe that the days of hearing God’s voice are over. They have the Bible, and they claim to need no further revelation. But Jesus said, when speaking of the people who would follow him, that they would follow because they know his voice. I can’t imagine a life worth living without a relationship in which I hear his voice and know I am heard by him.
How has God revealed himself to you? When have you heard his voice clearly in your life? If you’ve never sensed him speaking to you, what hopes or fears do you have about what it might be like? The bible says (and my experience has been) that God rewards those who earnestly seek him, and I believe hearing his voice wasn’t just for a few people in the distant past. You don’t even have to be crazy.
(but it might help)
towardabundantlife 
While it doesn’t always seem helpful to explain to people…sometimes it is just “you know when you know”. No other way to put it-I just know.
Maybe it is because I wouldn’t have thought it myself (and it is non-condemning as the enemy or myself would be), maybe because the circumstances afterward confirm it (or another person might), maybe because it is His words (Scripture) that come to mind, sometimes it is just with the peace and confidence in the doing what I believe He has asked me to do, I don’t know, but yet I know! 🙂
And it is important to remember it’s not some big “voice” like you said…often it is in the same way your voice sounds to you.
A time I heard…this one was of great comfort (you’re right they aren’t always so warm-gushy feeling). I had just had shared something and the other person reminded me of what God would say, not what I thought He “should” because I wasn’t good enough. As I sat later and tried to just be still I felt a circular pressure around my forehead. And after what it was that I had just been through, I knew it was God reminding me about the crown He will have for me one day in heaven. I asked Him, “Am I to believe this is my crown from you and for you? That I am going to get one/deserve one after all this, the way that I have failed?” And there was peace. The song “I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me, make the lame to walk and the blind to see, opens prison’ doors, sets the captives free, I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me.” I had chosen to listen to condemnation and perfectionism and let them judge me and determine my path and worth. God provided what I needed when I needed it.
In our whole Africa thing, there were times when I thought I just couldn’t do it…things seemed wrong or scary but there was this constant peace/confidence that I was to be doing what I was doing in spite of my own feelings.
Not sure if that helps anyone else know His voice, but this was a good reminder for me today! 🙂
I wish more people could get a taste of that peace/confidence that you talked about. Thanks for sharing your experience, especially about the crown. It was a powerful, much needed reality check.
I think my favorite time that I “just knew” was the very first time I know I heard His voice. I had been praying for something in earnest. I can’t remember what it was now but boy o boy was I petitioning the Lord for whatever it was. And after a long monologue of me telling Him what I wanted and why He should do whatever it was and me begging Him for that thing I thought I wanted or needed so badly … When I finally spent all I had and was finally at a loss for words I found myself asking, “why can’t I hear Your voice? Why won’t you speak to me?”. And then, exhausted, I stopped. I figured my prayer time was done because I has said all there was for me to say. And then in the next breath I heard very clearly, “because you don’t ask me any questions.”
What would happen if we all listened as much as we talked? To God and to each other. Can you imagine?
Not really. Would everyone feel honored and blessed like I do after talking with our friend Aric? Is that how God feels when I listen to him?
Hannah,
WOW! WOW! WOW! I agree about the voices during depression, how loudly they can spew their lies and yet they are not the voice of God.
And I have heard God’s inner voice, too. And it has NOT been comforting. He confronted my sin. But it was what I needed desperately. You explain this whole process so beautifully. How thankful I am for the times God has spoken to me and His Word becomes alive and He puts fire in my bones that I must share His truth.
Thank you for sharing your story and for pointing people to Christ! May God continue to empower you to do so!
Thank you for your encouragement, and the boldness with which you share your convictions.