Does anyone hear the voice of god or have prophetic dreams?
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Hi @nancy3, appreciate your question because wanting to hear the voice of God is often a desire for a closer walk with the Lord. Throughout the Bible, individuals from all walks of life, prophets, priests, kings, and ordinary people such as David, Daniel, Eli, Jacob, Peter, Cornelius, Paul, and John, experienced hearing from God in a variety of ways such as dreams, visions, audible voices, and prophecies.
Sincere Christians today hold different perspectives on how God communicates.
- Cessationists generally believe that God no longer gives new direct revelation through prophecy, tongues, or audible voices. However, they affirm that God guides believers through inner promptings, life circumstances, advice from other believers, and the Bible speaking to the conscience.
- Continuationists maintain that the miraculous spiritual gifts continue today. They believe the Holy Spirit may also still speak through dreams, visions, prophetic words, and, on rare occasions, an audible voice. This view is based on interpretations of passages such as 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, which states that prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will only cease “when the perfect comes”, which can be understood as at Christ’s coming, because verse 12, speaks of seeing God "face to face”.
While holding the continuationist view, I couldn’t emphasize enough the importance of exercising caution regarding claims of hearing God’s voice. Counterfeit revivals and individuals speaking from their own imagination rather than divine inspiration can lead to deception, and it is akin to divination. Some ways to discern truth from error are:
- To check the alignment of the message with the Bible.
- To consider if it promotes the glory of Christ and holiness.
- To evaluate the character, background, and track record of the person delivering the message.
- To assess the manner and means by which the message is communicated.
True prophecy according to the Bible, is a gift of the Holy Spirit, marked by orderliness, accuracy, non-coercion, and cannot be acquired as a technique (see 1 Corinthians 14:37-40).
God may communicate supernaturally to warn, direct, or convict our hearts, but discerning His will ultimately requires a steadfast life of obedience (Romans 12:1-2; Psalm 25:8-10). There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. At times, God may remain silent to test our faith and that leads us away from reliance on circumstances or ourselves, toward dependence on Him (James 1:3-4).
I would also caution that seeking revelatory experiences from God every time we pray can open the door to subjective imagination or even false spirits (1 John 4:1; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Excessive expectation for direct communication of the Holy Spirit may suggest a lack of trust in God’s faithfulness to act according to His will and timing. As Christians, if we pursue a life of faith and obedience, we can trust that God will communicate clearly when the need arises (Luke 12:11-12). We do not need to fear missing God’s voice; His sheep will hear and follow Him (John 10:27). Obedience offers protection against deception and false teachings. It’s those who refuse to love the truth and be saved most at risk of being deceived (2 Thessalonians 2:10).
Thank you again for your question. I hope this response is a helpful start. I look forward to hearing from others.
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