“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:27 ESV
Simply put, according to the Bible and the experience of many Christians around the world throughout history, yes.
It’s one of the best bits of evidence for the continuing existence of the Christian faith today, two thousand plus years after Christ: if God doesn’t speak to us individually or answer prayer, why would the international church still be growing? I’m sure you’d like some evidence, not just my word for it… so let’s read on.
If we take the Bible as our leading authority on God-relationship (which I do, and will throughout this blog), it gives us lots of examples of people who heard directly from God and were instructed and guided through their lives. Let’s look at a few, and then some modern day examples that should get your interest.
Abraham, often referred to as the father of our faith, heard regularly from God (Genesis 12–25). He heard God’s voice, was met by angels and witnessed miraculous signs. His faith was credited to him as righteousness, because he obediently and practically followed God’s instructions once he received them. One such example is Genesis 12:1-4 and Abraham’s righteousness is explained Hebrews 11:8.
Samuel was the Israelite priest Eli’s apprentice, given to God’s work by his mother Hannah in recognition of the Lord’s blessing in her life (Hannah was barren, until she prayed fervently for a child and God gave her one; Samuel). The account in 1 Samuel 3:1-19 tells us Samuel heard God speaking audibly to him in the night and came to recognise God’s voice, with the help of the old priest. (Sometimes we need help discerning what God is saying…). Samuel became a key prophet and Judge, a guiding light for the Israelites.
King David was a man after God’s own heart, a warrior king, passionate worshipper and sensitive writer of many moving psalms. He was also an adulterer and murderer. (An amazing insight here into God’s grace and depth of purpose for us.). David spent his life in union with God and achieved significant earthly and spiritual success through his (mostly) faithful service. A key principle of David’s was to make strategic decisions based on seeking and obeying God’s direction. The Bible recounts several times when David enquired of God, heard directly and acted accordingly (1 Samuel 23:1-5, 23:10-12), 30:8-9, 2 Samuel 2:1). A fundamentally important spiritual discipline we can all learn from!
An unremarkable man called Gideon, the least in his family line, who is famous in Christian tradition for being fearful, timid and initially unwilling to do God’s work, and was then witness to God’s empowerment and purpose through several intimate and encouraging conversations with God. (Judges 6:11-39). These also involved Gideon’s requests for peculiar signs which were granted by the gracious and patient Almighty, as evidence to help his initially weak faith. Gideon went on to defeat the significant Midianite army with only 300 men. Some life-lessons for us here.
Acknowledging these are examples from a long time back – what about more recent times, and today? Here are some notable people you may have heard of who claim to have known God’s voice in their life. Remember, God’s ‘voice’ doesn’t always have to be audible; although sometimes it is).
Gandhi (Father of Indian Independence, a practising Hindu*)
“For me the Voice of God, of Conscience, of Truth, or the Inner Voice or ‘the Still Small Voice’ mean one and the same thing. I saw no form. I have never tried, for I have always believed God to be without form. But what I did hear was like a Voice from afar and yet quite near. It was as unmistakable as some human voice definitely speaking to me, and irresistible. I was not dreaming at the time I heard the Voice. The hearing of the Voice was preceded by a terrific struggle within me. Suddenly the Voice came upon me. I listened, made certain it was the Voice, and the struggle ceased. I was calm. The determination was made accordingly, the date and the hour of the fast were fixed…”
Craig Groeschel (International speaker, Founder and Senior Pastor of Life.Church, USA)
“…there are those people who know God intimately and serve him with their whole hearts. For me, I know this is happening when I’m becoming increasingly aware of God’s presence within me, his provision, his power, and his peace. I don’t feel like God’s “out there,” waiting for me to direct a prayer his way every now and then. It’s more like an ongoing conversation: “Hi, God. Hey listen, what do you think of this?” Then I honestly believe God speaks to me through his written Word and by his Spirit. It’s like somehow my spirit is connected to him, and I can hear what he’s saying. There’s kind of a buzz, a constant conscious awareness that as my day unfolds, God is orchestrating things and sending people into my life. That’s doing life with God.”
Martin Saunders (Deputy CEO of the charity Youthscape and Contributing Editor for Christian Today).
“I was 25, in Dallas at a conference, and two days from taking a flight to another part of the USA for a meeting which could have had a fairly exciting impact on my writing career. I woke up suddenly – it’s important to really stress that I was absolutely awake at this point – and heard that same voice telling me to forget the meeting and go home. It was so clear and sure that my body rushed with adrenaline – and even though I was desperate not to cut short my trip and miss the meeting, I just knew I had to. I was immediately entirely awake, and so roused my travelling companion and shared my story with him. He was a little unsettled but agreed that it was probably God’s voice that I had heard, so I called the airline (and called the meeting off, which never got rearranged), and went home. And when I did, all I can say is that my early return was vitally needed by my family, in a way that I couldn’t possibly have anticipated. It was a moment where I believe indisputably that God chose to intervene in my life, and l believe that he did it through speaking out loud.”