Voice of God

edited July 2006 in Faith Issues
How does one tell the difference between the voice of God, the voice of oneself, and the voice of the devil? Would God ever speak to one, nowadays, concerning their eternal life revealing to them His Heavenly foreknowledge concerning the matter of whether they would be saved or not? Would the devil ever trick anybody into believing that he/she will be saved in order to make them fall into spiritual delusion or spiritual laziness, or is this surely the voice of God? Could it be true that God would speak to one saying that he will be condemned eternally, to try to make them attain one of the heavenly virtues or to try one or worse yet speak to one like this in truth, or is that surely the voice of the devil? Please help me my brethren to begin to understand this matter.

Please pray for me always,
Believer in God

Comments

  • look usualy god send u a lo of messeges to help u get more spruitual like sermons some one giving u advise. and the holy spirit is always in u u hear it all that time. dont wory if u think that ooh i am good i will go to heaven i dont need to pray or anything thats the dvevil he is trying to make u not pray. truse me u would know when its Gods voice or the devil
  • Is there some feeling that you would feel if you knew it was God? How wuld one know if that feeling was true? What about if in the beginning one feels peace and then when he thinks more and more about it he falls into despair again. What about if one hears a voice or sees a sign or something that tells one that condemnation awaits them and that they will be condemned.
  • if u are not so sure about it then u should ask ur father of confession he will tell u more about it and how to be sure that that voice is from GOd
  • Your question is very relevant and sincere.....thank you. The matter you are bringing up hinges around the difference between various experiences and their relation to the verity of Christianity. Nevertheless, experientially we may believe something is true when it is no more then a deceptive illusion and other times believe something to be illusory or too vague when it is in fact Truth speaking to us. When the prophet David had struggled with the afterthoughts of his emotions and intent for God's presence in his life, he dictated how he "meditated on God's word day and night". Our Lord declared that whoever believed in Him was truly "set free", even from the suspicions of our minds. Most importantly Saint John declared Christ to be the Logos incarnate...the very Word of God--His irrevocable decree--that came down and "lived among us".
    Your question is well taken.....however it is also resolved in the very Word of God itself. The ultimate decipherment of God's mystery and will is revealed in His attempt to communicate with us. As the Lord Himself demystified the spiritually lost by His presence, so too, even now, He answers our deepest questions by His word. Saint John was declaring that God did not only speak to men through His Son, but lived out the very words He preached. Now whenever you judge Christianity and it's relation to your personal life you never judge it upon the very experiences you face. Rather you judge every experience you face by the ultimate Word and Truth which has been passed down to us in the Scriptures.
    Whatever voice you hear must first be deciphered using the guidelines of the Holy Scriptures. The word of God is the only absolute unchanging reference point that reflects the very image of Christ Himself. Is there truly a more accurate way to tell whether or not a person is speaking to you, then by actually seeing him speak before you? Likewise, the very image of Christ is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures so that we may see Him within us. So too, must the voice that you hear within your head reflect the very image of Christ: the identity manifested in the Holy scriptures..

    God Bless You.
  • well we learnt in sunday school that any thought..that needs to be done in a rush..u r not able to be patient on it...IS NOT A VOICE FROM GOD!!
  • I feel and know this is very possible.
    First one must find and know God.
    Having achieved this, one must learn, understand and observe HIS commandments.
    Knowing and appreciating God s commandments is one of the greatest source of spiritual strength as one can easily counter the decieving devil.
    We can draw example from Jesus Christ when the satan tempted him.
    Be it by our actions, words or thought, that which makes our heart weary, must be avoided.
    "That which is lawful is plain and that which is unlawful is plain and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which not many people know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly God 's sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be whole, all the body is whole and which, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart."
    The ways of the Lord are plain and the Lord will not confuse His faithfuls.
  • [quote author=tk link=board=1;threadid=4146;start=0#msg57693 date=1152952867]
    The ways of the Lord are plain and the Lord will not confuse His faithfuls.


    Isn't it true although that the Lord speaks to one plainly but the devil fights back and complicates the situation by offering a thought of contradiction to the words and the voice of God? In that case how does one decipher which one is from God and which one is from the devil? Forgive me for my stubborness but I feel that this is a very important issue to discuss.

    Please pray for me always,
    Believer in God
  • You are right in your position that the deveil keeps tempting but like I said, your weapon against this is learning and appreciating every commandment...by this I mean understanding the applications and implications. If you go back a little to read Jesus temptations by the devil you will get some understanding of what I mean.
    The truth always prevail.
  • Believer,

    I may have something to add.

    Think of your regular relationship with fellow human beings. Imagine that you have just made a new friend on a trip or something. You exchange phone numbers in order to get back in touch.

    First of all, if you save your new friend's number, you'll probably recognize it when he calls. Otherwise, you'll just look at the caller ID screen and wonder who the caller is.

    Second, the more you bond with your new friend, the more you'll get some knowledge and understanding of him. In the beginning, if he calls you from a number that you don't know, you will probably fail to recognize his voice right away. He might have to tell you his name. But after a while, you'll know his voice and recognize it as he says hello. After many, many calls, if you say "who is this?", he'll probably even feel a bit sad or insulated that you don't recognize the voice of the person who talks to you on such regular basis.

    Third, when you know your new friend and build a relationship with him, you'll be able to "feel" his mood and his thoughts. If he's used to wearing a cretain perfume and you smell that perfume somewhere, you'll remember him or think that he was just there. Also, when someone delivers a message from him or reports his behavour to you, you'll be able to distinguish if the message or report is true or false. If someone says to you, yourfriend has done so and so", you will immediately be able to say "Yeah, that does sound like him" or "N way, he wouldn't do such thing. You must be mistaken". If strange message is delivered from him, you'll immediately know if it has been twisted about or not because you know very well how your friend speaks and communicates his thoughts.

    My point is, the more time you spend with a person, the better you get to know them and the easier you're able to trace their footsteps. If you have a best friend, you'll know what I mean. In fact, anyone who's married should know what I mean.

    Now, if you don't spend enough time with God, you'll never be able to recognize His voice and get His messages. It's just like any relationship, it needs bonding and trust. And don't you worry about how you'll learn to recognize His voice in the beginning or learn about Him when you are still starting out. This is an effort that He Himself does for you if you are truly sincere in your quest.
  • Thanks Sorehearted,
    your explainations put to rest any doubt as to what is truth and false and how to determine when God is calling on His faithfuls.
    It follows that when you get to know a person, then you can almost and always know his or her ways reactions to certain issues.
    And in this case how can we know about God if not through learning His commandments,observing them and encouraging others to do same.
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