How God Speaks to Us (Episode 25)

God primarily speaks to us through His Word. He and His Word are one. That means whatever God says to us through His Word will always agree with what He would say to us if He were to speak to us in an audible voice. Hence, if someone claims to have heard from God but speaks counter to God’s word, he or she has not heard from God.

In this episode, Evangelist Frank King takes the subject of how God speaks to us to another level. He says that if the Word of God is the only way you hear from God, then you are not hearing everything God’s trying to say to you.

Other Ways God Can Speak to Us

A good example of how God speaks to us in ways other than the Bible is recorded in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. During Paul’s third missionary journey, a vision appeared to him at night. In the vision Paul saw a man of Macedonia saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9, NASB). This vision was preceded by the Holy Spirit forbidding Paul and Timothy from going to preach in Asia and Bithynia. Putting these two experiences together, they concluded that God had called them to preach in Macedonia.

We know Paul wrote most of the NT. And we tend to think he always heard a crystal-clear voice from God. But it was not always that way. In the case above, Paul and Timothy didn’t hear a voice from heaven. They had no angelic visitation. Their direction came solely from acts of the Holy Spirit and a vision.

God’s word is the pillar of truth. It is the standard by which all conduct and all so-called prophecies are to be evaluated. God never acts counter to His Word. It is the means by which we can know whether or not we are walking in the lanes of truth.

But within those lanes, God can speak to us through the Holy Spirit, through prophecies, through dreams and visions, and through divinely orchestrated events in our life. It’s important that we have ears to hear what He is saying to us through these means.

Practical Implications

If we limit how God speaks to us to His Word only, we will have to figure out some important things on our own. And we know that’s not a recipe for success.

For example, a pastor can’t find out from the Bible when is the right time to leave a church as its pastor. Or you can’t determine from the Scriptures whether you should leave your job for a new job opportunity. Sometimes, it’s a no-brainer, but what about when it’s not?

If you are single and looking for the right person for a mate, you will find priceless guidelines in the Bible. But you won’t find the person’s name listed in the Bible.  But God has means of speaking to us and giving us more direction in such cases—just as He did for Paul and Timothy.

That’s one of the vital roles of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. When Jesus was about to leave and return to the Father, He said this, regarding the Holy Spirit:

“When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” --John 16:13, NASB