Embassy of the Kingdom
Embassy of the Kingdom
Many people pray and feel like they are talking to the ceiling. The Bible says something different: God speaks, and His children can learn to recognize His voice. Here is how — plainly.
Jesus said it without hesitation: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). He did not say “my prophets” or “my pastors.” He said my sheep — every person who belongs to Him.
Hearing God is not a special talent for a spiritual elite. It is part of being a son or a daughter: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). A servant gets orders passed down the line. A child knows the Father’s voice.
But recognizing a voice takes time. Young Samuel heard God call him three times and thought it was the old priest in the next room. He had to be taught to answer: “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:10). If you are not sure yet what God sounds like, you are in good company.
Here are the main ways God speaks today.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is the one place where you never have to wonder whether it is God speaking. Everything else is measured by it. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). If you want to know what God is like and what He would say, look at Jesus — what He did, what He taught, how He treated people. God’s voice always sounds like Him.
Jesus promised that the Spirit “shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). Often it is a verse that suddenly comes alive, a quiet knowing, a conviction you cannot shake. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15). The word “rule” here means to act like an umpire. When you are walking in God’s direction there is a settled peace, even if the step is hard. When you are not, something inside stays restless.
God often confirms His word through people who walk with Him. “In the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). This is one reason no ambassador is meant to serve alone — the embassy is a house full of people listening to the same King.
“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.”Isaiah 30:21
An ambassador does not invent the message. He lives on foreign soil, but he stays in constant contact with his own King and speaks what he has been given. Learning to hear God is learning to live that way.
First, get quiet. Elijah looked for God in the wind, the earthquake, and the fire — and found Him in “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). Turn off the phone for ten minutes. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
Second, open the Bible and ask. Read a short passage — the Gospel of John is a good place to begin — and ask one simple question: “Father, what are You saying to me here?” God invites that prayer: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).
Third, test what you hear. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1). God will never tell you something that contradicts His written Word (Galatians 1:8). His wisdom has a recognizable character: “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits” (James 3:17). A voice that pushes you toward sin, panic, or hatred is not His.
Fourth, obey the last thing He told you. Many people ask God for a new word while ignoring the one they already have. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). Jesus tied understanding to willingness: “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17). Hearing grows with obedience.
Fifth, do not listen alone. Share what you believe God is saying with mature believers. Let them pray with you and check it against Scripture. This protects you — and it is how the first Christians lived (Acts 13:1-3).
If you want words for this moment, you can pray something like: “Father, I want to know Your voice. Open my ears and my heart. Speak through Your Word, and give me the courage to do what You say. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Yes. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). God has spoken finally and fully in His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2), and He keeps leading His children by His Spirit: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). He will never say anything today that contradicts what He has already said in Scripture.
Often it is not silence but noise. Elijah did not find the Lord in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). Make room: open the Bible, be quiet, and ask. Sometimes there is also a step of obedience we already know and have not taken — and God waits for us there (James 1:22). And sometimes He is simply teaching us to trust what He has already said.
Test it. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1). Does it agree with Scripture? Does it sound like Jesus? Does it carry the character of heaven — “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits” (James 3:17)? Do mature believers confirm it (Proverbs 11:14)? God’s voice convicts and leads you home; it does not crush you with condemnation (Romans 8:1).
He can — He did with Samuel, with Moses, and with Saul on the road to Damascus (1 Samuel 3; Exodus 3; Acts 9). But these are rare even in the Bible. Most of the time God speaks through His written Word and the quiet inner witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16). Do not wait for something dramatic before you obey what is already plain.
Yes — He is the one who calls you in the first place. Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). If you feel drawn toward God, that pull is Him speaking. The first thing He says to every person is the same: come home through His Son (Matthew 11:28).
Start with the Gospel of John, a few minutes of quiet, and one honest prayer: “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:10). Then do the next thing He shows you. If you are in Miami, you are welcome at our Bible study every Wednesday, 7:00 – 8:30 PM — write to us for the address. You can also send us a private prayer request, and if you leave your email we will write back.