You Can Hear The Voice of God

REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION
YOU CAN
HEAR THE
VOICE
OF GOD
HOW GOD SPEAKS
IN LISTENING PRAYER
STEVE SAMPSON
G
Steve Sampson, You Can Hear the Voice of God, revised and expanded edition
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 1993, 2003, 2015. Used by permission.
(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Sampson_HearVoiceGod_NS_djm.indd 5
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1993, 2003, 2015 by Steve Sampson

Original edition published by Sovereign World Limited of Tonbridge Kent, England
Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy,
recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception
is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sampson, Steve.
You can hear the voice of God : how God speaks in listening prayer / Steve
Sampson. Revised and Expanded Edition.
pages cm
Summary: Uncomplicated, unique, and incredibly practical, this book
prepares readers to enjoy two-way conversation with God; now revised and
expanded with even more real-life instruction Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-8007-9614-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Spiritual lifeChristianity. 2. HearingReligious aspectsChristianity.
I. Title.
BV 4509.5.S25 2015
248.4dc23
2014041709
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.
Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identied Amplified are from the Amplied Bible, copyright
1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture identied niv1984 taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan.
All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identied kjv are from the King James Version of the Bible.
The names and other identifying details of certain individuals
have been changed to protect their privacy.
Cover design by Gearbox
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17 18
19 20
21
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4 3
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Contents
Introduction: Learning to Know His Voice 9

1. Hearing God through the Written Word and the
Proceeding Word 13
2. Hearing God through His Thoughts 28
3. Hearing God through Words of Knowledge 40
4. Hearing God through His Words in Your Spirit 48
5. Hearing God through Holy Spirit Pictures and
Visions 61
6. Hearing God through Dreams 72
7. Hearing God through His Peace 85
8. Hearing God through the Inner Witness 90
9. Hearing God in Your Conscience 97
10. The Need to Come Boldly 103
11. Live with Expectation 114
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Contents
12. Keep It Simple 123

13. Look beyond the Spectacular 130
14. Find Your Spiritual Equilibrium 141
15. Inquire in His Temple 147
16. The Power of the Creative Word 154
17. Practical Guidelines for Hearing from God 162
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Introduction
Learning to Know His Voice
Part of me wanted to title this book Ten Ways to Hear from

God, because through my years of personal experience, I have
recognized at least ten ways that the Holy Spirit speaks to
us. My thinking was that in reading these pages, you might
reason, I may not be able to hear God in all ten ways, but
maybe I can hear Him in at least one or two. Listening for
God in a couple of ways is certainly better than not expecting to hear from Him at all, but it is still too limiting. I am
condent, however, that if you will apply the simple principles
I present in these pages, you will hear Him in many ways.
In this new and revised edition, I will be sharing rsthand
illustrations of my own experiences over the years. This book
is easy to read, and the principles are simple, yet profound.
They have proven true repeatedly in my experience for over
thirty years. I have been blessed with so much positive feedback from those who have related how these truths have
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Introduction
changed their lives and enabled them to begin hearing the

Holy Spiritdaily.
Henry Ford had an amazing vision. He wanted every person to be able to own an automobile. Toward that end, his
company manufactured millions of affordable Model T and
Model A Fords. My vision is similarthat every Christian
be able to hear the voice of the Lord.
If you have an earnest desire to hear from God, this book will
be life-changing for you. Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice
(John 10:27). He did not say certain sheep or special sheep. You
can hear His voice. Yet hearing Him is not just about prayer,
but about listening when we pray. Hearing the voice of God
should be the most basic, foundational thing we learn as new
Christians. Little is written on the subject, however, at least
in any practical sense. Learning to hear is a process. Just as a
child learns to talk and walk, we all grow in our condence
when it comes to hearing God. The key is not to let religious
activity become a substitute for intimacy with God.
This book is not a work to convince the skeptics, but rather
to feed and equip the hungry. I am in no way trying to be a
theologian, but rather, I am sharing with you the principles
the Lord has taught me (combined with experience). This
entire book gives practical instruction on how to stir up the
Holy Spirit and begin to hear His voice daily. Christians are
weary of eshly hype and hoopla; they desire to hear the
Masters voice. There is a divine desire kindled afresh in the
hearts of believers everywhere to know the mind of the Spirit
and to expend energy only on that to which He has called
them. Hearing God is encountering life. Yes, it is possible to
hear from Himdaily.
As a pastor, I noticed rsthand something about those who
were growing spiritually. They would always relate how they
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Introduction
had heard the Holy Spirit speak to them through a Scripture,

or in some other way, that made them aware that they were
communicating with Him. As a result, their spiritual growth
was phenomenal, while the growth of others seemed stunted.
Hearing Gods voice has a huge impact on your growth rate
as a Christian.
At rst, it seems easy to grow. New converts always seem to
have wonderful experiences in the rst days of their Christian
experience. They may not have a lot of wisdom, but their
receptivity and response to the Holy Spirit is precious and
priceless. They may not know Genesis from Revelation, but
they have an amazing awareness of the Holy Spirit talking
to them.
As weeks turn into months, however, new believers generally experience hearing the Lords voice less and less. Distractions begin to take over. Sincere Christian leaders involve
baby Christians in church activities and quickly give them
a job title, involving them in special projects and immersing them in all manner of religious busyness. Yet nothing is
done to train those spiritual babies to exercise their spirits by
listening to the Lord. All the emphasis is placed on looking
outside, not inside. The spiritual growth of new believers
stops because communion with the Holy Spirit stops. Instead,
they are taught to trust a prominent Christian magazine, the
denominational headquarters or a popular and gifted teacher
rather than trusting the Holy Spirit within. The simple truth
has been forgotten, the most basic New Covenant principle,
None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother,
saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know Me, from the
least of them to the greatest of them (Hebrews 8:11).
Frankly, I believe Christians do hear God; they just have
not been taught to recognize His voice. All manner of things
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Introduction
have clogged our ears. The devil has issued a universal assignment to obstruct our hearing, because he knows that
Christians who are in intimate communion with the Holy
Spirit are a serious threat to his kingdom. Those who hear
God are capable of knowing the mind of the Spirit and receiving strategies in prayerstrategies that will expose the
enemys tactics.
Yet we cannot solely blame the devil, for it is really the lack
of proper direction that has robbed us. We have substituted religious gobbledygook for training our young believers spirits
to be resilient in hearing the Lord. Even the writer of Hebrews
laments you have become dull of hearing (Hebrews 5:11,
emphasis added). The implication is that we were born with
good spiritual ears, but we have not trained and disciplined
ourselves to pay attention to the Holy Spirit, thus we have
become dull of hearing.
Although we may grow in our knowledge of the Word,
our spiritual man does not necessarily grow. Information
about the Bible does not guarantee revelation of the Spirit.
Yet you and I can learn to hear His voice in so many ways.
There is nothing more exciting than hearing the Holy Spirit,
so get ready for the adventure of your life! Yes, you can hear
the voice of God.
Steve Sampson
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1
Hearing God through the Written
Word and the Proceeding Word
Man shall not live by bread alone; but man

lives by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3
Pastor Michael was on a weekend ministry trip in the Carolinas. Traveling with him was his music minister, Jason. They
both had been looking forward to a weekend of ministering to
an excited and expectant group of people. They began Friday
night and ministered all day Saturday; then they agreed to
stop for a little refreshment before the Saturday night meeting. As they walked into a famous fast-food establishment,
Michael ordered a shake. Jason liked the idea and ordered
one, too. Unfortuntately, in the thirty-minute drive back to
the church, they both began complaining of nausea.
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You Can Hear the Voice of God
They pulled into the church parking lot just minutes before
the meeting began. After several worship songs, Michael was
introduced. As he began to preach, his horrible feelings of
nausea increased. He prayed under his breath that he would
not get violently sick in front of everyone.
Strangely, in the middle of his struggle he sensed the Lord
drawing his attention to a young lady on the worship team.
Unable to ignore the urging from the Holy Spirit, he heard
himself saying to her, The Lord is telling me that He sees
you as pure and innocent, and what you have been through
will be as if it never happened.
Michelle, whom he had never met, began to cry loudly.
Her mother, who was on the back row of the church, began
to wail. Pastor Michael prayed for a few other people and
closed the meeting. He felt so sick by then that he turned
down the church pastors invitation to get something to eat
afterward. He and Jason went to their motel, where they both
vomited excessively. They drew the obvious conclusion that
they were suffering from food poisoning.
The following morning, they returned to the church. The
pastor could not wait to tell Michael about the effect of the
word he had spoken the night before on nineteen-year-old
Michelle. Her story was tragic. A few months earlier she had
met a man on the Internet, and they had agreed to meet in
her small North Carolina town. On a date, he had drugged
her soft drink and brutally raped her. Her sister found her
naked body on the front porch the following morning.
A few days before the ministry weekend, Michelle had nally gotten up the courage to tell her mother about the entire
horrendous experience. Her mother was reeling from grief.
Then right before the Saturday night meeting, Michelle told
her mother that this would be her last church service because
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Hearing God through the Written Word and the Proceeding Word
she just could not deal with the guilt and shame of her rape.
The only reason she agreed to go to the meeting that summer
night was that the music team desperately needed her help,
but Michelle had already determined that this would be her
last appearance in church.
When I heard the story, I marveled at the ministry of the
Holy Spirit. Michelle had reached her end, but God spoke
through Pastor Michael to bring her a message of hope and
healing. The prophetic word to Michellethat God saw her
as clean and innocentliberated her from the devastating
shame and guilt that made her want to surrender to a life of
hopelessness. The change in her life was immediate.
The story made me think of how deviously the powers of
darkness had strategized to make Pastor Michael so sick that
he would become ineffective. This was not unlike the severe
storm that the disciples encountered when crossing the Sea
of Galilee, just before Jesus cast the demons out of the man
living in the cemetery of the Gadarenes (see Luke 8).
It made me wonder how many desperate people attend
church, despairing over a situation and needing to hear God
speak to them, but then leave the meeting just as they came
empty and discouraged.
The Proceeding Word

Michaels experience of giving that word to Michelle is a
perfect illustration of a powerful truth in Scripturethe need
to hear the proceeding Word of God. Scripture tells us,
And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all
the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you
and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you
would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you,
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allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did
not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you
know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives
by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 8:23 (emphasis added)
The truth is that God wants to speak to all His people,

and even more important, He wants to speak through all His
people. Michelle needed to hear more than a sermon. She
needed to hear a personal word from the Holy Spirit that
would release her from her deplorable encounter. Thankfully,
Pastor Michael was available for the Lord to speak through
that summer night.
There is no question that God speaks to us through the
written Word (the logos), which is the established mind of
God and the will of God. It is one thing, however, to know
what God has said in His Word, but it is also another thing
of great signicance to know what the Holy Spirit is saying
to us daily through the proceeding word.
Think of it this way: The Bible is our road map, while the
Holy Spirit is our transportation. Growing up in an evangelical church, I cannot tell you how many times I heard entire
sermons on the importance of the written Word of God, and
statements such as, All we need is the Word. Personally, the
only time I heard the Holy Spirit mentioned was at water baptism, when the preacher would say, In the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. Some evangelicals claim that the
gifts of the Holy Spirit are not for our day and time, but ended
when the apostles and disciples died. They say that God does
not speak today other than through His Word, and they seem
to view the Trinity as the Father, the Son and the Holy Bible.
This attitude makes my blood boil. As we read and study
the Bible, it tells us that God is willing to speak to us in a
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variety of ways and will give us personal instruction and

guidance in everything that concerns our lives. The Bible is
full of miracles and demonstrations of the active power of
the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts is a great example of that.
It is amazing how many times the disciples had to listen to
direction from the Holy Spirit in that book.
The Bible instructs us to be led by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:14). Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice (John 10:27).
Multiple Scriptures tell us to listen to and obey God. But how
can we obey God if we never hear Him? Do we just read the
Word, or do we start believing it and acting on what it says?
Most everyone can relate experiences of how they have
merely opened the Bible and had a verse of Scripture seemingly jump off the page at them. Those experiences, of which
God has graciously given me many, are priceless. The Bible
is what some call the Manufacturers Handbook. As Peter
states, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
protable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16
17). Yet it is one thing to read a book and quite another to
know the author. Until the Author, the Holy Spirit, makes the
Word come alive, it is only ink on paper. Without the help of
the Holy Spirit, we will not experience the ow of life that
comes through the written Word.
Again, the best way I nd to express this is that the Bible
is our road map, but the Holy Spirit is our transportation.
I thank God for the Bible; it is our map and our pathway to
life. But it is one thing to have a road map, or a GPS system,
and another thing to have a car to drive. What good is a GPS
without transportation? A GPS will give us directions, but
ultimately we have to get in a car and drive.
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Romans 8:14 says, For as many as are led by the Spirit

of God, these are sons of God. Sometimes when I read the
Bible, it helps me to read what it does not say. Notice it does
not say, as many as are led by their Bibles. It says led by
the Spirit of God. It also does not say, Trust in the Lord
with all your brain in Proverbs 3:5; it says Trust in the Lord
with all your heart. Every Christian should study, memorize
and absorb the words of Scripture, but we must also have a
relationship with the Holy Spirit. Again, man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God. We need the written Word, but we also need
the proceeding word, which comes out of our relationship
with the Holy Spirit.
The early Christians did not have the luxury of a New
Testament to read, but they did hear the Holy Spirit. For
example, look at how the Holy Spirit directed Paul, Silas
and Timothy:
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of
Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the
word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go
into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing
by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared
to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded
with him, saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us.
Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to
go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to
preach the gospel to them.
Acts 16:610, emphasis added
Forbidden by the Holy Spirit? How did they know the

Holy Spirit was forbidding them to preach in Asia? I thought
it was always Gods will to preach anywhere.
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The Spirit did not permit them? How did they know that
the Holy Spirit was not permitting them to go to Bithynia?
A vision appeared to Paul in the night? How did they know
that meant they were to preach in Macedonia?
The answer to these questions is that they were hearing
the voice of God.
You Did Not Believe My Words. . . .

Zacharias and Elizabeth were wonderful, God-fearing people
with a awless reputation. Luke 1:6 says, And they were
both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But when the angel
Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, he had trouble believing the
angels words.
Gabriel told Zacharias, Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for
your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you
a son, and you shall call his name John (verse 13).
Zacharias questioned the proclamation, which was a proceeding word from God. He said to the angel, How shall I
know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced
in years (verse 18). (We know we are in trouble when we are
trying to give God unknown information.)
Gabriel was not happy with Zachariass response and
made it clear that he had been sent from God Himself with
the message. Then he said, But behold, you will be mute
and not able to speak until the day these things take place,
because you did not believe my words which will be fullled
in their own time (verse 20).
Notice the angel did not say, because you did not believe
the Bible. He said, because you did not believe my words.
We can easily be guilty of the same kind of disbelief. Of
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course we would never reject the Bible . . . but we ignore the

Holy Spirit when He speaks to us. The Bible is full of places
where the Holy Spirit gives commands, and God still gives
us commands today through His Spirit. We need to keep in
mind John 15:14: You are My friends if you do whatever I
command you.
God Thinks He Is Right

Keith was the pastor of a small church in a sleepy town in
the southern United States. He and his wife had worked hard
getting the church off the ground for several yearstheir biggest struggle being with religious strongholds in the area. By
this, I mean people who were self-sufficient and satised in
their Christian or religious experience.
Every week for several years, Pastor Keith and his wife
prayed for breakthrough over spiritual blindness and broke
the powers of spiritual darkness over their town, knowing
that this was where God had called them. One afternoon,
Pastor Keith walked into the church and noticed someone
had left a message on the churchs voicemail. It was a man
named Jerry. Jerry expressed that although he and his wife,
Jackie, had driven by the church many times, they had never
attended a meeting. On voicemail, he left a prayer request
regarding Jackie. She had had a stroke a few days earlier and
had totally lost her sight. Jerry related that the neurosurgeon
had told him that if Jackie was blind for more than 48 hours,
her sight would never return.
As Pastor Keith listened to the message, he had a strong
prompting from the Holy Spirit to call Jerry. When he dialed the number, however, Jackie answered. Pastor Keith told
her that he had received her husbands message about her
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blindness, and that as he was listening to the voicemail, the

Holy Spirit had spoken to him. He was to give her the message that he was hearing in his spiritthe Lord was saying
that she would have her eyesight back in two weeks.
Pastor Keith struggled for a way to explain to Jackie what
was going on, thinking she might hang up on him. But to his
amazement, Jackies comments in reply were full of faith.
At one point, Jackie told him, Oh, then I wont have to
wear my Stevie Wonder glasses.
Pastor Keith laughed. Before the conversation ended, he
invited Jackie and Jerry to attend a church picnic the following weekend. They came, and Jerry gently guided Jackie
around as the church people introduced themselves. Jackie
was totally blind. But in exactly two weeks, a guest evangelist was scheduled to speak at the church. When he came,
he prayed for Jackie and her eyes immediately opened, two
weeks nearly to the hour!
Since then, for the last three years Jackie has worked for
the church, using the computer daily. That is just one of the
many ways she and Jerry have been a blessing to the church.
Her eyesight is perfect.
When Pastor Keith heard from the Lord that day, it was
life-changing for Jackie. One thing is for surewhatever the
Holy Spirit says is true. He is the Spirit of Truth, and He
will never lie. There is nothing more exciting on earth than
to recognize that the Holy Spirit is talking to us daily. Pastor
Keiths experience reminded me of the crippled man in the
book of Acts:
And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was
sitting, a cripple from his mothers womb, who had never
walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him
intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with
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a loud voice, Stand up straight on your feet! And he leaped

and walked.
Acts 14:810
The Holy Spirit showed Paul that the man had faith to be
made well. The knowledge was so strong that Paul boldly
commanded the man to stand up, and he did. Paul got results
when he spoke to the crippled man. We still see those kinds
of powerful results today, for example when God spoke to
Michelle through Pastor Michael and to Jackie through Pastor Keith. To God be the glory!
Gods Words Are Creative

Everything God says is lled with creative power. Just as from
the beginning, when God said, Let there be light (Genesis 1:3), the same Holy Spirit speaks things into existence in
our lives. It is human nature to question and to second-guess
our situation, but when the Holy Spirit talks to us, the results
are guaranteed. His words are true and will come to pass.
Most every Christian who enjoys an intimate walk with
God will begin the day with prayer and meditation, anticipating being drawn to a specic Scripture that contains a
message the Holy Spirit is speaking to him or her that day.
But it is possible to hear the Holy Spirit in many other ways
as well. The bottom line is that we must have the bread
of the Word of God, but we also must have communication
and relationship with the Author.
When Jesus said to Simon, Your name is rock (petras;
see Matthew 16:18), Peter was not acting like a rock. In fact,
the name Simon means a reed blowing in the wind, unstable
and vascillating. But as soon as Jesus changed Simons name
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to Peter (rock) it was a reality, although Peter did not act like
a rock immediately. In fact, in most of His responses to Peter,
Jesus rebuked him.
Ultimately, though, Peter acted like a rock. He was a rock
when he laid his life on the line on the Day of Pentecost,
announcing to the Israelites, Jesus of Nazareth . . . being
delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucied, and put
to death (Acts 2:2223). He was a rock when he confronted
Ananias and Sapphira, saying, Ananias, why has Satan lled
your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the
price of the land for yourself? (Acts 5:3). And he walked in
Gods authority when people were healed even by being under
his shadow: They brought the sick out into the streets and
laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of
Peter passing by might fall on some of them (Acts 5:15). In
fact, more miracles are attributed to Peters ministry than to
any other disciple or apostleall because Jesus prophesied
to him, taking him from a reed to a rock.
What Is God Saying?

I would like to say to all preachers and Bible teachers, and
really to all Christians, that we do not need more information,
we need more understanding. We should not be as concerned
about what God said yesterday as we should about having a
fresh hunger for what He is saying today. Fresh understanding
and insight from God is to the Church what new technology
is to the business world. We need to hear the heart of God.
Look at 1 Peter 4:11:
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If
anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God
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supplies, that in all things God may be gloried through Jesus

Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever
and ever. Amen.
An oracle is something fresh that is coming from God. It is

mandatory that we be listening to the Holy Spirit for the subject and emphasis He wants to bring out. Numerous pastors
have told me excitedly, The Lord has given me a wonderful
word for the people this weekend. Some pastors fall into a
rut, however. Since they are not hearing the Holy Spirit, they
drone on and on with an old message. Their message is not
evil or false; it is merely lifeless because it is not coming from
the heart of God for the present moment. It is out of season.
Following tradition is nothing more than honoring what
God did at one time, but is no longer doing. In other words,
religion honors what God did, but resists what He is doing.
And many Christians practice safe church their entire lives,
their attitude being, God, dont make me pregnant with Your
plan and purpose.
Tradition is so deceptive. Many churches are in such a rut
that you can set your watch with accuracy by when each step
of a meeting or service happens. It becomes the same thing
week after week, year after year. The freshness is gone. The
Holy Spirit is limited to a back room, if He is allowed in at
all. We need to make room for the Holy Spirit to move.
Spiritual Noise Pollution

One of the most diabolical strategies of our adversary, a
strategy that keeps us from hearing the proceeding Word,
is noise pollution. The enemy of our souls resists our experiencing this dimension of hearing God daily, so there is
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a war going on in the spirit world to keep us from hearing.

The competition for listening and available ears is erce. The
devil is competing for our attention.
Just as McDonalds, Burger King and Subway compete for
our business, the enemy competes with God for our attention. The battle is raging, and with so many technological
advances available to us, we have to be more determined than
ever to listen. Hundreds of television channels, the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, iPods, MP3s, cell phones,
computers, iPads and numerous other items of technological
advancement compete for our attention. It seems as though
everyone is preoccupied with some type of technology. But the
world and all its stimuli have nothing to offer the inner man.
While God waits patiently for each of us to draw nigh to
Him and pay the price of taking time to listen, the devil uses
distractions, sensation, social media and all manner of ways
to lure us, in order to keep our minds and hearts occupied
with other things. We are inundated by noise pollution continually, yet to live triumphantly and productively within the
Kingdom of God, people must listen to the King.
My passion is that Christians really know and discern the
voice of the Holy Spirit. To learn to hear from God is the
greatest asset any Christian can possess. Certainly everyone
has seen misuses and abuses by those who claim to have heard
God. However, no one stops spending money because there
is counterfeit money out there. It should be part of normal Christianity to walk in fellowship with God intimately
enough to enable us to hear from Him on a daily basis. Jesus
did not say that His sheep would listen to CDs, read books
or memorize Bible verses, although these things are all good.
But He did say, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,
and they follow Me (John 10:27).
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Well-intentioned Christians make Kingdom decisions

that are derived from a human perspective and not Gods.
But I love a sign one pastor posted in his office: For God so
loved the world, that He didnt send a committee.
Hearing on the Inside

As I was seeking God about the need for quality of ministry in
the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit spoke these words: When
ministers are not led by the Spirit, they get into works.
Works become a substitute for living water. Jesus words to
Martha about that were compassionate but rm: Martha,
Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good
part, which will not be taken away from her (Luke 10:4142,
emphasis added).
Martha had a need to feel useful and accepted. She had a
need to be needed. She was not hearing the Holy Spirit inside
her. Christians who are not hearing the proceeding word will
always be caught up in performance, trying to satisfy that inward ache through religious accomplishment. There is nothing
wrong with hard work and being a servant in the house of God,
but it must be done with the right motive. Marthas motive
was her need to be needed, and because she was not hearing
and communing with the Holy Spirit, she lacked peace on the
inside. She was struggling to nd fulllment through serving.
Something happens on the inside, though, when we begin
to tune in and hear from God. Peace comes. Rest comes. No
longer present are the nagging doubts about whether we are
pleasing God, or the fears that God is disappointed in us.
Gone is the feeling that we need to expend endless energy in
order to gain Gods approval.
26

1/13/15 8:36 AM
Believers who are being honest with themselves are weary

of expending energy on anything that God has not specically called them to do. It is time we realize that each of us
has different callings and that we are not obligated to be a
jack-of-all-trades working to meet any possible need in the
Kingdom of God. Feeling obligated to try to function in areas
we are not called to leaves us feeling guilty and unsatised. I
have to remind myself that not everything has my name on
it. I can only aim for what God has called me to do. What an
awesome freedomto do only what He is calling each of us
to do. We are only anointed to do our specic part.
Grow up in all things into Him who is the headChrist
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what
every joint supplies, according to the effective working by
which every part does its share, causes growth of the body
for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:1516, emphasis added
Paul proclaimed in 2 Timothy 4:7 that he had nished his

course. I do not desire to follow Pauls course. I want to follow and fulll the course to which God has called me. That
is the course in which I will experience the grace and fulllment of God. It will bring fulllment that is too wonderful
to put into words.
How do I know the course God has put before me so that
I can follow it and accomplish what He has called me to do?
By hearing His voice. We have looked at two ways we can do
that so farby hearing Him speak through the written Word,
the Bible, and by hearing Him speak through the proceeding
Word. Lets go on from here to look at several other specic
ways in which God speaks to us.
27

1/13/15 8:36 AM

You Can Hear The Voice of God

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REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

1993, 2003, 2015 by Steve Sampson

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Introduction: Learning to Know His Voice 9

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

12. Keep It Simple 123

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Part of me wanted to title this book Ten Ways to Hear from

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

changed their lives and enabled them to begin hearing the

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

had heard the Holy Spirit speak to them through a Scripture,

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Man shall not live by bread alone; but man

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)