How to Hear God'S Voice: A Practical Guide
It was a typical day of prayer when I heard God's voice clearly say, Roma, I want you to run an online challenge for five days. Call it The Prophetic Plan. My immediate response was not joyful obedience. It was panic. I am not particularly fond of going live on social media, and the idea of running an online challenge seemed daunting.
But I said yes. Much to my surprise, a few thousand joined in the first year. Last year more than thirty thousand joined the live challenge at the same time. I have been absolutely and consistently amazed as to where baby steps in hearing God’s voice leads me on a daily basis. Now, I am nobody special, and I share this story because it is the clearest way I can answer the question I am asked more than almost any other: How do I actually hear God's voice? My honest answer: you already can. The capacity is in you because the Spirit of God is in you. What most of us need is help recognising the many ways He is already speaking.
Maybe you have been told that hearing God is only for prophets or super-spiritual people. Or maybe you have seen the other extreme - people making bold claims that feel ungrounded or manipulative. Neither is what I want to talk about here. What I want to offer is something practical, biblical, and grounded in thirty years of walking with God and teaching thousands of others to do the same.
DOES GOD STILL SPEAK TODAY?
Scripture is unambiguous. In Jeremiah 33:3, God promises, “Call to me and I will answer you. I will tell you marvellous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” Jesus says it even more plainly in John 10 verse 27. My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. If you belong to Him, hearing is part of the inheritance.
And it is not reserved for the spiritually elite. Revelation 19:10 tells us that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” If you have a testimony of Jesus, the spirit of prophecy lives in you. You do not need to be a designated prophet to hear God. You just need to learn to recognise the ways in which He speaks. I want to help you with some suggestions if you continue reading.
THE MANY WAYS GOD SPEAKS
Most of us are not failing to hear God. We are listening for the wrong sound. Ezekiel 43:2 gives us a beautiful image: “The sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters.” What does this verse mean? Sometimes, he sounds like a gentle stream. Sometimes a roaring waterfall. Sometimes an ocean. And, if we have decided in advance He will sound like a river, but he decides to come like a waterfall, we will miss it. This is a simple explanation simply to say that God is often speaking but we don’t hear his voice because we are expecting him to sound a certain way: he is trying to communicate in a way we don’t expect, so we don’t hear in the way that we should. Even though that may sound complicated – there are some simple ways you can redirect your attention to hear his voice!
Before we go through the list, I want to answer the question I get asked most often: What does God's voice actually sound like? Most people are waiting for something dramatic. A booming voice. An unmistakable sign. But in my experience, and in the experience of thousands of people I have walked through this, God's voice most often comes as a quiet inner impression - a thought that feels slightly different from your usual thinking. Often it is more peaceful. Often more loving. Often pointing somewhere you would not have gone on your own. It may sound like your own voice inside your head. That does not mean it is not Him. He can also speak from within you because He lives within you. That is not to say that people have not heard a booming, external voice, but generally, the voice comes from inside you.
Here are some of the most common ways He speaks, drawn from years of teaching this and from what I see in my own life.
Scripture. This is the primary way. Sometimes a verse will keep returning to your mind. That is often the Lord saying, pay attention, there is treasure here for you. The scriptures are a primary way in which the Lord can speak to you.
An inner whisper. Years ago I was offered a contract with a major record label in Nashville. We were asked to move there as part of the contract. It was my dream. It made complete sense on paper. But every time I visited, I felt a whisper in my spirit: This is not for you, Roma. There was no thunder. No angel. Just a quiet, persistent unease that wouldn't leave. So I declined. It hurt. But looking back, if I had moved I would never have started our online schools that now teach thousands worldwide. I would never have begun the Prophetic Plan live challenge. I would have missed out on so much that the Lord had in store for me. If you are facing a big decision and feel a persistent “inner check”, even when everything looks right on paper - do not dismiss it. That whisper may be the most important thing you hear. It takes time to trust this, but….as I mentioned at the beginning, baby steps go a long way!
Through other people. My friend often says, “I'm not a prophet, but this is what I'm sensing.” Ten years ago over coffee she told me, “Roma, I have such a strong sense that you're about to move into a new house with land, and the Lord says you will have your ministry there.” I laughed because that was an impossible thought due to our financial challenges at the time. Much to my surprise, it came to pass within twelve months! God will speak through the people around you, sometimes through the ones who would never call themselves prophetic.
Through circumstances and creation. Once I was in the car asking the Lord for my word for the year. I heard inside of myself the word, “Freedom.” Then all of the sudden, my husband, who was driving, suddenly said out loud, “Freedom.” I was shocked! I asked him why he said that. He told me he had just looked up and seen a huge new sign on a furniture store called Freedom. I shared what had just happened and we thanked God for such a simple way of communicating to us. Now, I do not believe in coincidences. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.” He can use any of it to speak to you – a sunrise, a forest, an ocean… a sign while you’re driving. The problem is, we often dismiss it or doubt it.
Dreams. The dream realm is one of the primary ways God speaks to me. Scripture is full of God communicating through dreams, from Joseph in Genesis to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus in Matthew. If you dream vividly, do not dismiss it. Write it down. For more information on the topic of dreams, you can read my other blog about that HERE.
Through your senses. My father-in-law Pastor Bill Waterman had a healing ministry. The Lord would bring physical sensation into the part of his body that needed healing in someone else. From that word of knowledge he would pray, and people would be healed. God created all five of your senses and he loves to use all of them to speak to you, when he wants to.
HOW DO I KNOW IT IS GOD SPEAKING AND NOT JUST MY OWN THOUGHTS?
Once you start opening up to the many ways God can speak, the next question is fair: how do I know it is actually God and not my own thoughts? Three quick tests:
Does it align with scripture? God will never contradict His written Word.
Does it produce the fruit of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. The enemy's voice produces fear, condemnation, and confusion, even when it sounds spiritual.
Does it persist? God's voice tends to be patient and consistent. He will say the same thing in different ways over time.
One more thing, because it has saved me a lot of frustration. Sometimes we are not hearing God speak because he wants to talk about something else! I have come to Him with something weighing on my heart, asking and asking, and heard nothing. He wasn't speaking about that thing because it wasn't on His heart. Try asking, “Lord, what is on Your heart for me today?” Then linger. I often tell my students that our relationship with God is like a slow-cooked roast, not a microwave meal. Some things take time for the full flavour to come out.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU CAN’T HEAR ANYTHING
Let me speak gently to the person who has tried and feels like nothing comes. The very act of seeking is itself a sign that God is at work in you.
Sometimes the block is internal. The Carmelite mystic Teresa of Avila described the heart as a castle with many rooms. Unforgiveness, old wounds, and sin can lock rooms that God is gently asking permission to enter. If there is someone you need to forgive, or something you have been holding onto, that may be the first prayer. Not a request for more clarity. A simple: Lord, I give you permission to go wherever you need to go in my heart.
More often, though, the answer is simpler: slow down. We are not struggling to hear God so much as struggling to notice He is speaking. Two minutes in the car before you drive off. A breath prayer at work. A single verse with a cup of tea.
Here is where to start today. Sit quietly for two minutes. Ask Him one simple question: “Lord, what do You want to say to me right now?” Then write down whatever comes, even if it feels like your own thought. Review it against scripture. Sit with it. This is how the practice begins. Not with a dramatic encounter, but with one small, faithful act of listening.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HEARING GOD’S VOICE
What does God's voice actually sound like?
For most people, most of the time, it is not an audible voice. It is a quiet inner impression: a thought that feels slightly different from your usual internal chatter. Often more peaceful. Often more loving. Often persistent. It may sound like your own inner voice, which is why many people dismiss it. The way to grow in discernment is to write it down, test it against scripture, and track it over time. The more you practice noticing, the more familiar the sound becomes.
How can I tell if it is God's voice and not my own thoughts?
Three tests. Does it align with scripture? God will never contradict His written Word. Does it produce the fruit of the Spirit, things like love, peace, kindness, and patience? The enemy's voice produces fear, condemnation, and confusion. Does it persist? God's voice tends to be patient and consistent over time.
Do I have to be a prophet to hear God's voice?
Not at all. Revelation 19:10 says the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. If you have a testimony of Jesus, the spirit of prophecy lives in you. Prophetic ministry is a specific calling. Hearing God is a basic feature of relationship with Him.
What if I have heard wrong before?
You will. We all do. Getting it wrong sometimes is part of how we learn to recognise His voice, the same way a child learns the voice of their parent through countless small interactions. The remedy is to keep listening, in the company of trusted friends and the anchor of scripture.
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Want to Go Deeper?
Want to go deeper with what you just read? Start by discovering how you specifically hear God. Take my free Prophetic Listening Style quiz and find out whether you are a Seer, Listener, Feeler, Knower, or Doer.