Perhaps you have been in prayer and wondered whether God is talking to you or if you are just supplying “God’s voice” with your own thoughts. If so, you are not alone. One of the earliest challenges in building a spiritual life is coming to terms with the fact that we undoubtedly will interject our own thoughts and feelings into prayer. To prevent confusion, let’s discuss three ways we can tell if a thought comes from God or from our own heads.
Detachment
The simple fact that you are wondering about this shows that you are interested in knowing what God is asking of you. Now, I often notice that people start talking about a desire to grow in their relationship with God, but they fail to consider the need to clear obstacles from their lives that prevent them from going deeper. When we fall habitually into sin, we make it much harder for ourselves to hear the voice of God. So, before even going through the following steps, be intentional about rejecting sin in your life. Only once we have committed to rejecting sin and seeking God with sincerity, can we begin to recognize His voice more clearly through Scripture.
In line with Scripture
When we pray, we speak to God; but when we read, God speaks to us (St. Jerome).
One of the greatest things we can do for our spiritual lives is to read Sacred Scripture. The Word of God is powerful and lets us know God’s mind. This does not mean that we should open Scripture randomly and point our fingers blindly to know God’s will for us. Rather, as we immerse ourselves in Sacred Scripture, God reveals himself to us through his Word. Since all of Scripture is divine revelation, reading it with a prayerful heart attunes us to God’s voice.
Peace or Confusion
But how can we tell if what we hear is truly from God? One key indicator is the presence of peace. Once we have watered our souls with the living water that flows from Sacred Scripture, it is important to run the idea that we have in our heads through the criterion of peace or confusion. When we come to know God’s voice in our lives, it leads to peace. This doesn’t mean that it is necessarily comforting. For example, the prophet Jonah knew what God asked of him, even though he did not want to do it. God wanted him to go to Nineveh, so he took a boat to Tarshish (cf. Jonah 1). Just as Jonah’s attempt to escape led to stormy seas, resisting God’s will often brings inner turmoil. When we try to mask our desires with His voice, we experience confusion rather than clarity.
Seeking Good Advice
Once we find peace in what we believe is God’s voice, we should seek confirmation from a spiritually mature Christian. It is worthwhile gathering advice from people that we trust. In some cases, this may be a spiritual director. It is often helpful to ask someone more advanced in spiritual life, not just a peer. We see this in the story of King Rehoboam (cf. 1 Kings 12).
Ignoring the advice the elders had given him, the king gave the people a harsh answer. He spoke to them as the young men had advised: “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will make it heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions” (1 Kings 12:13-14).
Trying to see the best way to govern, he asks first the elders who had advised Solomon, his father. Then, for some reason, he asks his peers, who advise the opposite. He follows the advice of his friends over that of the elders, and it leads to disaster. Even with wise counsel, our ability to hear God’s voice can be clouded by sin and attachment to our desires. If we want to make sure that we hear God’s voice, we need to reach out to people with spiritual and human maturity.
Listening to God’s Voice
Listening to God’s voice could be summarized by another word from the Christian vocabulary, which is conversion. Conversion is key because this is the action where we open ourselves up to the action of God in our lives and allow his inspirations to govern us. Reading Sacred Scripture often, even daily, puts our souls in a place where we are better attuned to God’s voice. When we have a particular decision that is weighing on us or we think that God might be speaking, we should discern whether this is bringing peace or confusion. Finally, we should seek counsel from someone who can help us make sure that we are listening for God’s inspiration and not merely reflecting on our own thoughts and feelings.
Ultimately, discerning God’s voice is not just about decision-making – it’s about drawing closer to him. When we live in daily conversion, we become more attuned to his whispers. Are you actively listening to the Lord? Keep reading his Word, seeking peace, and surrounding yourself with godly counsel, and you will learn to recognize his voice more clearly.
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