Hearing God’s Voice

How to hear God better in everyday life

By Andreas and Susanne Vogel, team leaders of Restoring the Foundations in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Most people know and believe that God speaks—through the Bible, through a pastor, and sometimes even directly to us. We have all experienced God. But in the Bible, we also read how Abraham negotiated with God, how God spoke face to face with Moses, and how David received fascinating battle strategies when he asked for them. Well, that’s not what we first learned when we reached out for more of Jesus. Perceiving His direct speech was more a matter of chance.

Our journey to follow His voice began in 2007 when we sold our house after Andreas had been suffering from burnout for two years. In our search for more of God, we ended up at Restoring the Foundations, a ministry for emotional and spiritual release. Already during our restoration, and then in training, we experienced and learned to hear Jesus not just for a few words a month, but whenever we turn to him.

How does God speak?

God speaks through spontaneous thoughts, inner knowledge, images, or memories. He always uses this channel, whether He speaks through the Bible, other people, nature, or directly to us. It often begins with a gentle impulse that we give in to. It is important that it comes spontaneously and that our focus is on Jesus rather than on problems or our own ideas.

Let’s briefly examine your imagination—where thoughts, memories, but also God and, unfortunately, other spiritual influences are at work.

Imagine a banana. Mine is hanging alone in front of me in the air; yours may still be on the tree or already half eaten. As simple as the example is, it shows that God speaks to everyone a little differently. He uses individual imagery because he is not an encyclopedia, but a person with feelings who created us in his image (Genesis 1:27).

You can expand the imagination. Imagine someone you like calling your name. How you hold the handlebars of your bike. How your favorite food smells and tastes. Finally, imagine your favorite place. Immerse yourself in it. What is where, what is the atmosphere like?

Encountering Jesus…

Now for the next step: we invite Jesus in and see how he encounters us and what he says to us, and we want to enter into dialogue with him. “But won’t I then form an image of him?” Apparently, Jesus himself was not afraid of this – neither in John’s Revelation nor in the dreams of many people. Most people cannot describe his face afterwards, only how they felt, his clothing, or his actions. We and many hundreds of people we have accompanied have experienced how such encounters give freedom and lead to a deeper relationship—with Jesus, with the Father, or with the Holy Spirit. Our God wants to be so close to us that he even compares himself to a hen gathering her chicks (Matthew 23:37). He gives us the image of a father running toward his wayward son and kissing him (Luke 15:20) because he wants us to experience him in the same way. Above all, it is an invitation for our hearts to experience the same thing, because our minds are so limited. “What good is it for me to know everything but not have love …” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Love must be experienced through his actions before we ourselves can fulfill the most important commandment in his sense. It remains important that we do not control or tell Jesus what to do, but rather hand over the leadership to Jesus and respond to his next impulses.

Is it from God?

How do we distinguish God’s words? Jesus respects your boundaries. He never contradicts the Bible and always remains true to his character. While the enemy pushes, confuses, or condemns, God exhorts, comforts, and builds you up (1 Corinthians 14:3). He brings truth and clarity (John 16:13). God’s words feel good and uplifting—even when He corrects us. That’s why we test them: Does it fit with His Word, His nature, and His peace?

How do we get closer to God?

One thing we know for sure: Everyone can learn to perceive God’s words better. He created us all equal, with spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). God is spirit, we are spirit, so we communicate in spirit. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Do not rely on your own understanding, but trust in the LORD with all your heart.” The terms used in this verse mean:

Binah (בִּינָה) – “understanding/discernment” – the human ability to understand
Lev (לֵב) – “heart” – trusting God with your whole being

The highly praised rational thinking only becomes fully available to us at around the age of 12. That is why Jesus said that we must become like children (Matthew 18:3) so that we can see with our hearts.

Hebrew thinking is not only about facts and logic, but also about relationships, intuition, and experiencing God. But why is this so difficult for us? Because our minds give us a false sense of security. Our perceptions are also always shaped by our experiences. In our case, no matter how hard we tried to internalize God’s unconditional love, we reacted as usual in stressful situations: first with shame, then with anger or justification, no matter how much we “internalized” God’s unconditional love. Our hearts need healing through Jesus, who heals broken hearts (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:28), so that we can trust with all our hearts.

The best attitude for perceiving God accurately is therefore positive expectation with our hearts. He is perfect love and drives out all fear (1 John 4:18). The Letter to the Hebrews (11:6) exhorts us: “…For whoever would approach God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Steps briefly described:

How we can better perceive God’s words can be derived from Habakkuk 2:1-2, as described many years ago by Pastor Mark Virkler:

Be still. Put aside your own ideas and trust wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ wants to speak to you.
Focus on him, feel his presence, and ask an open question, such as, “Jesus, what do you want to tell me?” Take the FIRST thought/knowledge/inner image/memory and sense what he wants to tell you with it. So don’t think about it.
Let him show you more. If it is unclear to you, ask, “Jesus, what do you want to tell me with this?” or “Jesus, what do you mean?” Keep asking questions and talking to him (and listening to his answers) until everything he wants to tell you is clear.
Write it down so you don’t forget anything.

Try it again right now. Go back to your favorite place and ask Jesus to visit you. Remember: He and His words will be felt more through spontaneous impulses on His part than through an overwhelming apparition, as recorded in the Bible in encounters with angels.

Please note: Hearing God’s voice takes practice and sometimes requires help from people who are more experienced in this.

***

Since 2009, Andreas and Susanne Vogel have been building up the DACH region of Restoring the Foundations, a ministry for emotional release. Their hearts beat for one thing above all else: that people of all ages encounter Jesus and get to know him as he really is. They live in the Winterthur area (Switzerland) with their adult daughter and dog Gigi. Contact via: jchelps.org or restoringthefoundations.ch /.de /.at