Recognizing the Voice of God
Now that we have (hopefully) been enthralled by a clear vision of what life can be for one who routinely communicates with God, it is time to learn how to recognize God's voice. At this point in the book several readers are no doubt wondering, "How do I know if a thought, circumstance, message from somebody, passage or Scripture, etc, is a word from God to me?" The answer, says Willard, is by experience. One must, through the normal stages of relationship development, come to discover when God is speaking and when it is another voice (including your own).
Voice recognition is one of the most remarkable things. If one really takes time to ponder how powerful it is, one would come to see what an amazing gift it is. It allows you to respond to someone personally without even having to see them. Before caller ID there were some people who would call your phone and, before they even said their name, you would know who it was based on of the way they said, "hello." Animals, as Willard illustrated, have this capability as well. Check out this amazing YouTube video of a shepherd with his sheep.
The shepherd of the sheep . . . calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. . . . He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. . . . I am the good shepherd. - selection from John 10
Those sheep did not just instinctively know their shepherds voice, they had to familiarize themselves with it. Through many experiences with the shepherd, they came to recognize his voice in such a way that they could distinguish it from the other voices. The same is true for us with our Shepherd. Thus Willard says:
We may mistakenly think that if God spoke to us we would automatically know who is speaking, without having to learn, but that is simply a mistake—and one of the most harmful mistakes for those trying to hear God’s voice. It leaves us totally at the mercy of any stray ideas we have picked up about what God’s speaking is like."
Therefore, we must learn to profit from our experiences. There are many helpful guides, including this book, for one who would like to learn to recognize the voice of God. One book that was especially helpful for Dallas was called, The Three Lights. In it he brings forth 3 key aspects to develop for a hearing life:
Circumstances
Impressions of the Spirit
Passages from the Bible
The main idea of the three lights is that, "When [they] point the same direction... we may be sure the direction in which they point is the one God intends for us." Willard cautions those who are seeking to hear God and would use the three lights as a formula. Doing so, he says, might lead one to use them as a "gimmick or quick fix. They will then fall prey to the desire to get their own way and to secure their own prosperity and security."
It is helpful, I think, to remember that God is a person. We wouldn't use formulas to get to know a person deeply—perhaps as an introduction, but they fail past a certain level. Since God is a person, we must approach Him personally, not formulaically. A problem with the three lights is that some may use it formulaically. They may look for each "light" to function independently of one another, and therefore be reliable. But they are interdependent.
"It is, therefore, simply not true that we can get a reading of what circumstances say, a separate reading of what the Bible says and yet another separate reading of what the Spirit says. Consequently, we cannot strengthen our reading of God’s will from one of these sources just by mechanically checking it against the other sources, as we might get a safer reading of the time of day by consulting three clocks running independently of each other. Also the three lights tend to be limited to guidance, not to helping us understand the conversation."
However, if one uses The three lights responsibly, one might discover its power in helping recognize when God is speaking. Responsiblity is a big factor in hearing God. "Listening to God does not make our own decision-making process unnecessary. We ourselves, as well as others who come under the influence of God's voice, are still the ones who make the decisions... The three lights are simply the factors that we must consider in the process of making a responsible judgment and decision about what we are to do.This approach will allow one to grow familiar with a voice that is guiding them. "We do not recognize it because we are good at playing a guessing game about how the occasions through which his direction comes do or do not match up with each other."
So then, what about the voice? How will one begin to recognize it? One will begin to recognize God's voice by the quality of it. It's really not that different from how we recognize other people's voices. (If you know me, I bet you are reading this blog post in my voice... STOP IT! Just kidding.) Let's return to the sheep from the YouTube video. How do they recognize their shepherds voice?
The shepherd calls them.
They do not recognize.
The shepherd cares for them and keeps calling them.
They slowly begin to make a connection between the voice and the result connected to it.
The shepherd keeps calling them and caring for them.
They respond in recognition of the shepherds voice because it is a voice they can trust.
Through their experience they come to recognize the quality of the shepherds voice, and distinguish it from the quality of another persons voice. Thus it is with God, but there is more. With God the quality, spirit, and content of His voice lead one to recognize it in an unmistakable way. Thus E. Stanley Jones (another favorite of mine) says, "The voice of the subconscious argues with you, tries to convince you; but the inner voice of God does not argue, does not try to convince you. It just speaks, and it is self-authenticating. It has the feel of the voice of God within it."
I hope that makes sense to you. If it doesn't, read through the gospels and pay attention to how Jesus spoke. Did he ever argue with anyone; even one time? No. Since he was truth, he simply spoke, and allowed people to deal with the truth of his word. "He taught them as one having authority" (Matthew 7:29). Willard says that this means Jesus didn't use any footnotes! Have you ever heard someone speak as if they had authority; as if they expected obedience, but would not bother convincing? That's how Jesus spoke. He just said stuff, and let it remain out there. Meanwhile, those who heard were left standing there, amazed.
This is why Jesus can speak peace to a storm, and peace happens. It's because his voice carries the weight of authority. It's why he can command sickness to leave a body, or life to return to one. It's because his word is authoritative truth. His voice carries the calm confidence of one who has all power and, therefore, doesn't need to thunder in order to be obeyed.
Finally, the content of his voice are always consistent with the truth of who God is, as revealed perfectly through Jesus Christ and the Bible. This means one should make a habit of seeking God through the prayerful study of Scripture. By doing so, one will begin to see the principles that are presented through Scripture, and once one sees those principles they will begin to know the kind of things God would say.
Again, this is no different from other personal relationships. The longer two people are married, the more they can anticipate how their significant other would respond. Haven't children often "heard the voice of their mommy" when their mommy wasn't even their? It's because they have familiarized themselves with the thoughts and intentions of their mother, by spending time with her. So it can be with God and you, as you spend time in the Bible.
Willard goes on to talk about the voice of Satan. I, for one, don't think it is necessary to focus on learning to discern his voice. I've heard that those trained in detecting counterfeit bills do not do so by studying every counterfeit bill. They do so by familiarizing themselves with the genuine article. That way when a counterfeit comes along, it will not pass the smell test. Something will seem off about it.
I think this is the approach one should take with learning to recognize God's voice. Once again, this means placing ones life under the authority of the Bible. This will enable them to learn who God is, and what God does, and finally they will begin to recognize God's speech as they pay attention to their experiences. And when this happens, one will begin to experience in their very life, the qualities of one who regularly listens to God speak. And, consequently, all other imposter voices, including your own, will be revealed for what they are.
Take some time to hear God in Scripture by reading and praying through 1 Chronicles 14:8-17.
If you like you can use the method I adopted from Jeanne Guyon.