Knowing God's Voice

Because of certain recent events, I find myself again wondering why so many people miss the moving of the Holy Spirit. It absolutely staggers me when this happens- more so, because we say we are a holiness movement. You would think people who especially concern themselves with the Holy Spirit would be more attuned to what he is doing at any given moment. Unfortunately this is not the case and I find myself agonizing over these times when God moves in our midst, but we are woefully ignorant of his presence and miss out entirely on what He has for us.

I’ve been seeking God on this issue a lot lately and that means He will eventually lead me to a better understanding of it all. I believe this, because I believe the scripture that tells us ask (and keep asking) and it will be given; seek (and keep seeking) and you will find; knock (and keep knocking) and the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7). Here’s what I have so far:

Knowing when the Holy Spirit is moving is basically an issue of hearing/discerning God’s voice. If He moves and you know it, you are discerning God’s voice. If He moves and you miss it, you are not discerning God’s voice (for now, let’s sidestep the possibility that you hear His voice and choose to ignore it- that’s another whole can of worms!).

This is such an important issue for me, because to “know God’s voice” is one of my life goals. Whatever happens in my life, I don’t ever want to miss God! When He moves, I want to be right there with Him! Therefore when we miss God and I have no control over it (I’m not leading the service or I don’t have the authority to interrupt), I am crushed. I believe never wanting to miss God should also be a legitimate desire for every Christian. After all, if God is trying to tell us something or do something specific in our midst and we miss it, should that not break our hearts?

When God is near He often manifests Himself for our benefit (“manifest” means a clear, obvious appearance, perhaps even in a physical way). This “larger than life” sense in us that informs us God is near can be quite powerful. I have rarely seen people ignorant of God in His most powerful manifestations. Haven’t we all been in (what we call) “special” meetings when and all of a sudden- perhaps after a powerful testimony, song, dance, message, etc, everyone seems to be struck with God’s presence? Perhaps the altar is lined with people seeking, perhaps many are crying, perhaps there is a huge silence that no one dares to break. These are what I call “God’s two by four moments!” In other words, He breaks out His Holy two by four plank and wallops us upside the head! We can’t miss Him then! We often speak of this sensation as a “heaviness in the air” or “in our hearts.”

A few years ago, I was teaching a Bible study on God’s presence. I was trying to get this very point across when all of a sudden- wham! God was there! I stopped and tried to breathe, but I was worried that any small movement might spoil the sensation (yes- sensation. Despite what some think, our emotions and senses really do play a vital role in our experiencing God*). I looked around the circle and everyone’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates! Then I realized this was the best possible illustration I could have asked for, so we talked about what God was doing and had everyone take note of what this specifically felt like and what was happening. Our time was running late, but no one wanted to break the peace and well-being with which God was covering us in those few precious moments. Then slowly, He began to withdraw the manifestation. Soon we were all “back to normal,” but God had taught us something very important that we would not soon forget. In fact, we sought this experience as often as God would allow it, because actively seeking God and the knowledge of His presence is vital to our relationship with Him. If God is moving and/or speaking we can be sure it is with a purpose! That’s why we listen- to know what to do and follow His lead.

But what if God sometimes chooses to move with less obvious power? Doesn’t it make sense that there would be times when God is moving, but not everyone present “gets” it? Or to put it another way, when only some people sense His moving, while others are oblivious? I believe these are times when only those who are actively seeking His presence actually discern His moving. Maybe someone is preoccupied with keeping the meeting flowing smoothly or their upcoming participation. I have sometimes found myself almost missing God just because I was more intent on my part than on what He was wanting to do. This is how many people miss God- they are simply not paying attention to Him at that moment; other things are preeminent in their minds and hearts. We would expect this to be the case with people who have not yet become Christian, but it should never be the case with those who have given their lives to Jesus.

There are those who believe we must focus on Jesus all the time and not give the Holy Spirit the attention. Is it important to discern between God’s voice, Jesus’ voice and the Holy Spirit’s voice? I’m not sure you can do that! Aren’t they all one-in-the-same? Remember, they are The Trinity. If you focus on one, you are focusing on them all. The Holy Spirit is a part of the Trinity and as such deserves our worship just like God and Jesus. Certainly the Holy Spirit points us toward Jesus, but that does not exclude His participation in the personhood of God.

Back to my original premise: Knowing when the Holy Spirit is moving is basically an issue of hearing/discerning God’s voice. Everything I am talking about here hinges on believing God speaks today. If you are a Cessationist and believe God stopped speaking directly to His people after the original 12 apostles died and only speaks today through the Bible, you are going to have to come up with some scripture to back up this erroneous belief. “Good luck” (it’s not in there, by the way)!

Here are my suggestions to help us not miss God when he moves in our meetings today:

1) Believe God speaks today through any means he chooses, including His Word, other people (especially kids), writings (blogs), sermons, testimonies, dreams, visions, music, nature, prophets, tongues, words of knowledge, coincidence (God-incidence!) and direct messages to our hearts. Sometimes He even speaks in an audible voice! {gasp!}

2) Learn to discern God’s voice. As His sheep, we can learn to know His voice (John 10:4). This is Jesus’ promise to us. It comes with time in His presence, practice listening and seeking the confirmation of others about what you are hearing (if you’re the only one hearing the truth in something, you can be sure it’s not God speaking).

3) Expect God to manifest Himself in your midst. Watch for Him; He will show up!

4) Obey. When you finally do start rightly discerning God’s presence (voice) and what He wants you to do at that particular moment . . . do it! Disobedience is the fastest way to anyplace Jesus isn’t.


I will continue to wrestle with the issue of missing God as long as I witness it happening. I pray each of you reading this will learn to discern God’s voice and obey Him. Never let His voice fall on deaf ears.

May all who have ears hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.


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* Footnote: We in The Salvation Army have roots in the teachings of John Wesley, who taught what some have termed “The Wesleyan Quadrilateral.” His teachings are based around his belief that there are four sides to our understanding the things of God- The Bible, Reason, Experience and the Tradition of the Church.

Unfortunately, some have chosen to ignore three of the four sides and often insert the Tradition of The Salvation Army (or their own denomination), which makes for a very two-dimensional theology.

Certainly, the Bible is the most prominent of these sides, but it does not stand alone nor should it. We can no more ignore our feelings (experience) than we can ignore scriptures we don’t like. If we forget the Tradition of the Church and insert our own denominational traditions as a basis to understand spiritual matters, we will always fall short of the truth God intended for His people. It takes all four sides to get a proper balanced view of God and His Kingdom. We cannot ignore any side and still expect to come to God’s truth.