CHARIS MINUTES
How to know the voice of the Holy Spirit
Audrey Mack provides insights into how individuals can learn to recognise and differentiate the voice of the Holy Spirit from their own thoughts. She emphasises the metaphor of the Holy Spirit as flowing water, illustrating the spontaneous and dynamic nature of divine communication. Drawing from John 7:37-39, this article reassures readers that they can indeed know the voice of the Holy Spirit, as God tailors His communication to each person’s unique understanding and experiences. Through this guidance, individuals are encouraged to become more attuned to the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The good news is that we can know the voice of the Holy Spirit.
How to know the voice of the Holy Spirit, is He the same with everyone?
God knows us intimately; He created us and understands how we can comprehend and hear Him. He tailors His communication according to who we are and how we process things. But there is one thing that I have learned in hearing the voice of God, because I hear this asked often,
‘How can you know the difference between your mind’s own thoughts and when God uses your thoughts to speak to you?’
It is clear that many want to know the voice of the Holy Spirit.
How to know the voice of the Holy Spirit by looking at Scripture
I love a verse in John 7:37-39,
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus invites anyone who is thirsty to come to Him, promising that out of their belly will flow rivers of living water. In this statement, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit and gives us insight into the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Bible uses various terms to describe the Holy Spirit, such as:
- Holy Spirit as water flowing
- Holy Spirit as rivers flowing
- Holy Spirit as flow
When you examine the Holy Spirit in the Bible, you discover that the flow of water characterises the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit communicates a thought to you, it manifests as what I call spontaneous.
You can become familiar with the Holy Spirit’s voice by observing thoughts that do not originate from your intellect. In this case, your thoughts do not stem from your efforts to think and meditate on something. Instead, the Holy Spirit’s voice spontaneously flows from your spirit, seemingly out of nowhere.
I recall a time when I was at an airport, following my usual routine as a missionary. That day, I suddenly heard a prompt: “Stop at the bathroom.” I typically bypass that particular bathroom, waiting until I reach the next gate. Thinking, “Well, that’s not me,” I decided to follow the prompt.
Long story short, I found myself in the middle of the airport, literally stopping a shooting because I was in the right place at the right time. I brought the peace of God into the situation simply because I listened to the instruction to “stop at the bathroom,” which was completely out of my norm. The voice of God speaks to you in many different ways, but it does not come from intellect or calculation; it is spontaneous.
