Hi Learn,
I wanted to add this caveat about hearing God's voice. Whenever we hear from our Father, we ALWAYS need to use discretion, as John said, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but try the spirits to see if they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world," 1 John 4:1.
Jesus Himself had to be acutely aware of the spirits that were speaking to Him. The wrong spirits spoke to Him even through His disciples, for example, in the cases of both Peter and John himself (the writer of the above). Jesus speaking to "Peter" said, "Get behind Me, Satan." Speaking to John and his brother, he told them they didn't know what spirit they had.
Also, when Satan came along quoting Srciptures and otherwise tempting Jesus to miraculously manifest aspects of His rightful destiny (but in incorrect ways), Jesus had to discern who was speaking to him, and the correctness of the message being brought by the speaker.
Hebrews 4:15 says, " We have a high priest, who can sympathize with our weaknesses, One who was tempted in everything like us, but without sin" (double negative omitted for clarity). Jesus was not tempted in everything in some way not like we are, but exactly like we are. He had to discern everything He read and heard (whether in the natural or spiritual realms) to discern to true person behind the voice. This should also give us a hint of how common it is for other spirits to speak through us.
So, to discern His voice, this is the simplest way:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7.
When we hear from the demonic that "voice" is accompanied by fear, doubt, anger ... all of the negative emotions that form the character of the demonic and darkness. But, when we hear from our heavenly Father, His voice is accompanied by confidence (faith), courage (the power and authority of our Father), love ... all of the positive emotions that eminate from the character and being of our Father.
The exception to the above rule is when we are in rebellion from our Father and in harmony with darkness. At that time, it is not that His voice is accompanied by the aspects of darkness, but in our rebellion, we will reject Him and what He is trying to tell us, and at that moment, we can sense our refusal of Him. We know quite well what that feels like as we recall the days of our youth and teenage years when we did not want to hear what our parents told us. This is the simplest way to discern His voice.
The above is discernment from the emotional side of our soul. Discernment from the intellectual side of our soul is to use Scripture. of course, using Scripture is the most reliable test (as Jesus did). The problem is that modern doctrine is such a convoluted distortion of Scripture, that we mistake our beliefs for the teachings of Scripture. Given that, when we try to evaluate His message to us, we try to fit it into our doctrine rather than His Word, and that leads to a degree of confusion in our minds.
So, whenever you hear a voice, in whatever form it comes, be sure to discern the source. If your heart is in humble submission to Him, when you feel that unmistakable love and confidence, you can be better assured that it is from your Father. _________________ Robert Sands
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