I love to spend time listening to God in prayer. Sometimes I will get an impression or a thought that I think it from him. Yet, how do we know? I want to pass on to you this week some wisdom I found on the topic of listening to God from some Rick Warren's blog entries entitled "How to Recognize God's Voice." (links to blog entries are below that expand on each point) How to Recognize God's Voice - Rick Warren When I get an idea in my mind, how do I know if it’s from God? How do I know it’s not my own desire or even a lie from Satan? The answer is clear in 1 John 4:1 – I must test it to find out. "Don’t believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God; test it first to see if it really is!” 1 John 4:1 (LB) I want to share with you the seven biblical ways to test an impression and find out whether it is from God or not. These seven tests form a filter and you need to make sure that the idea you are testing passes all seven of them. When it does, you can have absolute confidence that the idea is from God. 1. Does it agree with the Bible? "God's truth is consistent. He is not going to tell you one thing in the Bible and then tell you something different in an impression." 2. Does is make me more like Jesus? 3. Are there other people who can confirm what I believe God is saying to me? 4. Is it consistent with how God shaped me? 5. Does it concern my responsibility? 6. "Is it convicting or is it condemning?” If it convicts, then it is from God, but if it condemns then it is from Satan Here’s the difference between the two: The purpose of conviction is to correct you on a specific issue in order to bring a change in your life, and it is motivated by God’s love. Because God loves you, when he sees an area in your life that needs change – a relationship, a habit, an attitude – he will nudge you and say, “You need to work on this thing that’s out of whack in your life."
Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT). God will never attack you; he will never say you’re worthless or unlovable. In fact, in Revelation 3:19 God says, “Those whom I dearly and tenderly love, I tell their faults and convict and discipline. So be earnest and repent (changing your mind and attitude)” (AMP). The purpose of condemnation is to criticize and make you feel guilty, usually in a vague way. If you’ve ever felt guilty but you couldn’t point to anything specific, or if you’ve ever had a feeling of worthlessness, that is condemnation from Satan. As soon as you start to confess and change, you will no longer feel any conviction. It’s short-term. But condemnation is Satan’s way of making you feel worse and worse. It doesn’t go away even after confession. It’s like the American court system. First there is the conviction of a crime in the court; then comes the condemnation, or sentencing which can last for years. But God doesn’t work that way. In God’s justice system the Holy Spirit convicts us of what’s wrong in our life and we admit it. Jesus pays the condemnation. He serves the punishment for our sin through his death on the cross. And we are free to live the way God created us to live, to live the way Jesus enables us to live. That’s the grace of God. 7. Do I sense God's peace? If you think you’ve heard from God, it measures up to God’s Word, you’ve gotten advice from other people and passed the other tests, but you still feel confused or anxious, then it doesn’t pass the seventh test. Lord, we want to hear your voice. Thank you that you speak to us in so many ways.. We love you and want you to be glorified. Amen.