How Does God Speak to Us?

🤔 Does God still speak to us? Often, when people ask this question, they are talking about an audible voice. Job 33:14 says:

" For God speaks - now in one way, now in another - though no one perceives it. "
Job 33:14

We can expect an audible voice who shows us the direction to take, but maybe the Lord has spoken to us in several ways and we have not perceived His voice.

"Listening to God speak" "can mean different ways for different people. That makes sense. God treats each of us as unique children, so" "He does not speak the same way to everyone 🤷‍♂️."

"But he constantly turns to us to listen and go in the right direction, acting according to his perfect will."

"7 WAYS GOD SPEAKS TO US TODAY"

"God is not limited to just one way of speaking." "The Word testifies that God, since the creation of the world, has spoken many times and in many ways."

"In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways."
"Hebrews 1: 1"

"The question is what are they? 🧐 I present to you here" "7 ways by which" "God speaks to us" .

"1) PRAYER"

"God often speaks through prayer." "God not only hears our prayers" ", but he answers according to his will 🙏🏻." 

"A prayer of David. Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy."
"Psalm 86: 1"

"We can pray with the same confidence as the psalmist, knowing that God tells us that his spirit intercedes for us with unspeakable groanings."

"In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words";
Romans 8:26-27

Through a combination of fasting and prayer, our minds become clearer and our hearts more sensitive to the Spirit of God ❤️.

"While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then, after fasting, praying, and laying hands on them, they sent them off."
Acts 13:2-3

As distractions fade, His Spirit will remind us of a truth or promise written in His Word that we can apply to the situation.

Does it happen right away?

Not always. It can take days, weeks, or even months. We may not hear the literal voice of God, but His Spirit confirms an address or an answer for us at the right time.

2) HIS WORD

God speaks through His Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that all Scripture is God-breathed. In it comforts, promises, convicts, judges, justifies, and gives life 📜. 

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17

His Word shows you the way to go , the answer to your requests or the comfort in the circumstances you are going through.

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12

We must believe with conviction that the Word is the preaching of God. Remember that if God speaks in another way, they will NEVER contradict His Word 🙅‍♀️. 

3) BY OTHERS

God can use a friend, a teacher, a relative, or a preacher to deliver a message to our lives. Whether it is the preacher's message that was specially addressed to you.

"For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth."
Malachi 2:7

Or that someone you met gave you a message addressed to the situation you are living through 🤔. 

"For since in God's wisdom the world did not know him through its wisdom, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe."
1 Corinthians 1:21

And often, this person was not even aware of the situation you are experiencing in your life.

Whether inside or outside the congregation, God can use anyone to to speak a truth, a warning, or a blessing. We must be attentive and carefully discern what comes from God from what is not in accordance with His will and also keep God's message in our lives.

4) UNIVERSAL CREATION

In Romans 1:20, we are told that God's qualities, power, and divine nature have been clearly revealed so that people have no excuse 🌍. 

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
Romans 1:20

God speaks today through creation, and in turn, nature reminds us who He is, and also His love for us. By studying the sky, cultivating a plant, observing the behavior of an animal, we see God's original design.

5) THROUGH CIRCUMSTANCES

God sometimes uses our circumstances to draw our attention, test our faith, teach us a life lesson, or prepare us for a supernatural blessing. The downside is that we often do not know how to interpret the things that come from God. 

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  
Romans 8:28

As believers, we must be prepared, see situations in the light of the Word, and persevere in faith and prayer, with obedience and patience, and not be distressed 😇. 

If it comes from God, He will confirm it Himself by other means to give us the assurance that accompanies it.

6) DREAMS AND VISIONS

God has already spoken through dreams. In Genesis 20:3, He warned Abimelek about taking Abraham's wife.

But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."
Genesis 20:3

He then speaks to Jacob to remind him of his vow (Genesis 31:11-13). In the New Testament, God speaks to Joseph twice (first in Matthew 1:20-21, then in Matthew 2:13).

"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.'"
Matthew 2:13

And the magi who returned to their country by another way:

"And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their country by another route.
Matthew 2:12

He also speaks through visions, but these differ from sleep because the person is awake and aware that it is not a dream, but a true experience with God.

In the Word, we read many visions, from God’s vision to Abraham in Genesis 15, to the prophets, to the vision of Ananias

(Acts 9: 10-12), Peter and Cornelius, and Paul in Corinth (Acts 18: 9-10). The book of Revelation is even based on a vision of the apostle John.

7) SUPERNATURAL MANIFESTATIONS

Many supernatural events are documented in His Word as undeniable proof that God speaks through these facts. One of them is miracles, when He glorifies Himself in the lives of others. Other times, He appears as an angel to communicate His will to humans 🧖‍♂️ (Genesis 18 and Acts 8:26).

He can also speak audibly, as shown in 1 Samuel 3:10:

"The Lord came and stood there, calling like the other times: "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said: "Speak, for your servant is listening."
1 Samuel 3:10

With Moses in Exodus 19 and with the apostle Paul in Acts 9: 4:

"He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
Acts 9: 4

These are just a few of the many ways God speaks to each of us 🤗.

HOW TO HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD?

In an era saturated by the media, we often wonder how to hear the voice of God 🔊? I remember in 1 Kings 19: 8-13 the story of Elijah, when he went to meet God, but it was not in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire. Then I hear "a gentle whisper."

To hear the voice of God , it is necessary to have a willing heart and a spirit gentle and humble to understand it. Lead a life devoted to prayer, meditation on His Word, fasting, and worship.

With faith and sincere love, not fake. Give us completely to His Holy Spirit and let Him flow, take control of our lives, our minds, and our hearts completely.

Be like Samuel when he said that God speaks because your servant hears (1 Samuel 3:10).

The ancient prophets and Jesus understood it, which is why the New Testament tells us not to be grieved by the Holy Spirit.

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
Ephesians 4:30

CONCLUSION

God continues to speak to us today, although in such a different way for us. God uses all means to speak, He generates them to surprise us because He loves us as God and Father ✝️. 

Human beings complicate life by trying to understand God through ideas, doubts, and questions, but His Spirit speaks to us at all times and above all.

When one is ready to accept it without understanding and without listening by faith, the perfect combination is made. God is simple and not complex.

It is more up to the human being to let God speak and listen more than to their own stubbornness 😉.