How Do I Know When God is Directing Me?

Different people have asked me the question, "How can we know when we're hearing from God?" Well first I want to stress that this is something I am still learning about as well, but I thought that I would share with you some of what I have learned so far.

I associate a sensation in my chest with a stirring of the Holy Spirit. And for anyone who has felt this for themselves, you know what I mean. For anyone who has not experienced this, it is a little difficult to describe it except it is a light, peaceful sensation. I have noticed that I feel the Spirit most while in praise and worship, repenting, and when I am studying the Scriptures and come across something that has really grabbed my focus and attention. I can feel it when I have messed up and let in some form of sin. When you do sin, the Spirit will let you know. Our minds can try to deny it and rationalize it, but the Spirit will keep bringing it to your attention, not letting you forget it for too long.

If you are a Christian and sin has entered your life and you are NOT feeling anything, then I recommend you stop and examine yourself. If you are a Christian and you are not feeling the grievance of the Holy Spirit, then that means you have been ignoring Him for some time. You are going to have a difficult time hearing Him at all until you repent and get back on track.

I will also feel the Holy Spirit when I am praying over something or receiving guidance from Him in some manner. For example, a few months back I came across a passage in Scripture talking about how once you have been saved and forgiven and then turn away from that, then there is no further sacrifice. That actually had me concerned for a little bit because I had backslidden for a good while in the past. When I read this I began to wonder if I was really back on track like I thought that I was, or was it possible that I had just been going through the motions of it only thinking I was okay, when in reality there was no way for me to get back on track? This had troubled me for a few hours actually, and I finally brought it to God in prayer. When I did that almost immediately I could feel the Holy Spirit rising up in me as if to say, "Why are you so concerned? You know this already. You see I'm with you." Needless to say, receiving this kind of a response quieted that concern entirely.

I have noticed the same type of response with other things as well. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as a Teacher, Comforter, and Counselor. I believe that it is through being able to understand when you are receiving this guidance from the Holy Spirit that we can understand what it is that God is trying to get across to us. So what I have been doing to grow in this area, in understanding and learning how to listen, is simply to ask God questions while I am praying about things that have been troubling me. Like I will ask what He is wanting me to do, or something along those lines. You will not always be able to feel this kind of leading. Sometimes this guidance will occur at a different timing than you expect it to. Or maybe He will choose another manner to answer you. Maybe it will be through circumstances in your life. Maybe you will find that one door closes to you and another one will be opening up.

So let's say you are having trouble feeling this guidance at all. Say you have been trying, praying, and paying attention, but still struggling to understand what it is that God is trying to get across to you. Maybe you have a question about something and you wonder what is the right answer. What is it He wants you to do about a particular situation? My suggestion is look and see what it is you have going on in your life. Sin will be something that makes it hard to hear Him. Though it can be other things too, such as distractions. Look and see if you have anything placed between you and God. It might be something that you do not even realize is there. Something that is causing this muffling effect. It could even be something simple as regular daily life that can cause these distractions. Just look at what has your focus. What has your attention? How does this compare with the focus and attention that you give to God?

There is one illustration I came across recently I thought really made a lot of sense...

Imagine yourself in a big spacey room. You are on one end of it and God is on the other end. The more stuff you have placed between the two of you, the more cluttered and distracting it becomes. Then you find it isharder to hear this gentle voice that is calling to you. When God is directing you it is a gentle pull. If you have something on your mind that feels intrusive. It is dragging you to a certain point or conclusion, then I would be questioning whether that is the voice of God at all. When you have God's guidance, it is gentle. So when you have clutter and distractions between you and Him, you are going to have a hard time understanding Him. Though when all of it is cleared out, suddenly you find it much easier to hear and to understand what it is that He has to share.

You only have this type of guidance though, if you have the Holy Spirit. If you have not been saved, you will not experience guidance in this manner. You are only saved if you have confessed your sins and received Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you have not done this, I urge you - do not wait! Do not put it off. I know it sounds cliche to say that you do not know how long it is you have, but it is true. If you are not saved, and you figure you will wait until later, sometime down the road . . . can you say with absolute certainty that you will have that chance later? If not, why wait?


²⁵These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

²⁶But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

~ John 14:25-26 (KJV)