Competing Voices

The first step to learning to discern God’s voice is to identify the competing voices, both in the physical realm and in the spiritual realm. The devil, demons, and evil spirits have a voice in the spiritual realm. Their voices can seem like your own thoughts if you don’t know yourself well enough to assess your unshakeable values. (Read about Adam and Eve talking with the serpent in the Garden in Genesis 3.)

When I first started hearing God’s voice in prayer, I made the mistake of telling those closest to me that God was speaking to me. They jumped to conclusions that I was delusional and that I would hear “god” tell me to kill them. So, for the record, God has never told me to kill anyone. He’s perfectly able to speak it into existence and make it happen without my involvement. So if He wants you dead, well that’s what will happen. He doesn’t need me to do it.

Why did I write that paragraph? Well, it’s unfortunate but even your most trusted friends and family can turn against you for hearing God. Read the story of Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37). Joseph had dreams from God. He made the mistake of telling his family the content of those dreams. Their resulting jealousy made them throw him in a pit, leaving him for dead, and then selling him into slavery. Really, there are not many people that you can trust to talk to about hearing God. Even many pastors will demand that you’re not hearing from God (because they don’t). Secular psychiatry will most certainly condemn you because in their minds God isn’t real.

So, are you courageous enough to step into an unfamiliar realm of listening to God in prayer? Can you shake off all the secular lie-labels of mental illness? Can you stand strong against the giants, like young King David did? What is your faith level? You’re not going to get to a place of hearing God daily if you shrink away every time the devil sends his minions to accuse you.

If you’re ready, then step 1 is to situate yourself in a distraction free area. No phones; No television or music; No panoramic views to draw your attention away. Nothing should compete with your ability to listen to God’s voice. God sees everything. He knows if you have a phone set on vibrate so that you don’t miss an “important” notification or call. If you aren’t all in, then He isn’t either. Earnestly seeking Him means to earnestly seek Him. He’s always looking for wholehearted investment. If you can’t do that, then you aren’t going to hear God. I’m sorry but you are going to have to make God priority. And that might mean that you are going to need to get off your self-made kingdom throne.

When you are positioned to really listen for God in the physical realm, then you are going to need to thwart the enemy’s voice in the spiritual realm. This is a good time to ask the Lord to silence the enemy. It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a spiritual warfare “freak” or a deliverance expert. All you need to do is ask the Lord to bind the enemy so that you can hear from Him. If He truly is your God, then He will silence the enemy for you. Remember God wants you to be able to hear Him so that you can know Him and walk intentionally with Him. The devil doesn’t want you to hear God because he loses all power to deceive you when you can fact-check with God.

In earlier posts, I have talked about the need for covenant relationship with God. If you have pledged on oath to God that He is your only God, then you have initiated the covenant relationship. If you’re not sure if you have asked God to be your God, then do it as you begin the conversation with Him. It never hurts to restate your allegiance. In step 2, we will review how to restore a broken covenant through having a sincere forgiveness conversation.

Did this answer any of your questions? Do you want to privately ask me about this? You can contact me at TammieEdwards@therogueprophet.com. I want to help you learn to discern God’s voice. I do know that it can be scary to approach this subject. But listen, I’m not the most courageous person ever, and I did it against all the maneuvers of the enemy. So you can too.

Attached are two pages from The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “The Covenant Voice of God” (pages 29-30, dated August 2024) that outline Step One of Discerning God’s Voice in Prayer.