“The Lord told Habakkuk to write the vision that God had given him… I encourage you to write down the things that God imprints on your heart to do.” — Joyce Meyer, Starting Your Day Right
If you’ve ever wondered how to know if you’re hearing God’s voice, you’re not alone.
A few mornings ago, I was sitting with my devotional when I came across those words. Normally, I read the day’s devotion, reflect on it for a few minutes, and move on with my morning. But this time was different. I had to stop reading because it felt like I was looking at the very question I’d been carrying around for years.
So how do we know if we’re hearing God’s voice when it isn’t obvious? Not through a burning bush, an audible voice, or some dramatic sign that leaves absolutely no room for doubt, but through the ordinary moments of everyday life?
As Christians, we’re often told to “follow God’s calling” or “listen for God’s voice.” That sounds comforting until you realize that most of us don’t know exactly what that looks like. How do we know whether a thought is from God or simply our own desire? How do we know whether we’re pursuing something He has placed on our hearts or something we’ve convinced ourselves to chase?
If I’m honest, I don’t know that I have the answer. I’m writing this article because I’m still searching for it too.
For the past seven years, I’ve poured my heart into this blog. There have been seasons when I’ve written consistently, seasons when I’ve disappeared for months, and seasons when I questioned whether I should stop altogether. Every time I considered walking away, though, something kept pulling me back. I couldn’t let it go.
Was that persistence God asking me to continue? Or was it simply because I loved writing and sharing parts of my life with you? I genuinely didn’t know.
Then, about two or three years ago, I had a dream that I’ve never been able to forget. In the dream, I was talking directly to God. I remember telling Him that I didn’t have any money. At the time, I wanted to create more family adventures, restaurant reviews, and travel content, but I felt like I couldn’t because I simply couldn’t afford to do it all.
His response in the dream was short: “Start where you are. Use what you have now.” I vividly remember it and remember sharing it with a friend. I’ve thought about this more times than I can count.
Now, I want to be very careful here. I’m not saying that dream was a direct message from God, and I don’t believe we should build our faith on dreams or emotions. Scripture is our foundation, not our experiences.
But I also can’t ignore that those words have stayed with me. Every time I think I’m not equipped enough, don’t have enough money, or need to wait until everything is perfect before I begin, they come back to me: “Start where you are. Use what you have now.”
That’s what made the devotional I mentioned earlier stand out to me so much. Reading about Habakkuk being told to “write the vision” felt especially significant because it spoke directly to the question I had already been carrying.
Did that answer my question completely? No. But it made me pause, it made me pray, and it made me wonder if maybe learning to hear God’s voice isn’t always about receiving dramatic signs. Maybe it’s about bringing every thought, every opportunity, every desire, and every dream back to Him with an open heart and asking, “Lord, is this from You?”
What Does the Bible Actually Say About Hearing God’s Voice?
One thing I’ve learned is that it’s easy to search for signs while forgetting that God has already given us His Word. When I started looking through Scripture, I noticed something important: the Bible doesn’t promise that every believer will hear an audible voice telling them exactly what decision to make.
Instead, Scripture repeatedly points us toward something deeper. Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. Psalm 119:105 reminds us that God’s Word is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
I love that picture because a lamp doesn’t illuminate the next twenty years of your life. It gives you enough light for the next step. Maybe that’s why God so often asks us to walk by faith instead of by sight.
How to Know If You’re Hearing God’s Voice
Maybe hearing God’s voice is about becoming so familiar with His character through Scripture that we begin to recognize the direction He’s already pointing us. The more we know God’s Word, the easier it becomes to recognize when something simply doesn’t sound like Him. God isn’t going to lead us toward something that contradicts what He’s already said.
Prayer matters too. Sometimes I think we approach prayer wanting an immediate yes or no, when discernment may happen over time. We pray, we read Scripture, we pay attention, we ask for wisdom, and sometimes we simply wait. James 1:5 tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God, who gives generously. That doesn’t necessarily mean the answer will arrive exactly when or how we expect it, but it does mean we’re invited to ask.
Learning how to know if you’re hearing God’s voice may take time, which is why prayer, Scripture, wisdom, and discernment matter so much.
And then there’s peace. Philippians 4:6–7 tells us that the peace of God can guard our hearts and minds. I do think peace can be part of how we discern God’s direction, but I’ve learned that peace doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of fear. Something can scare us and still be something God is asking us to do. Sometimes the peace is deeper than the nerves; a quiet sense that even though we don’t know how everything will work out, we’re willing to trust God with it.
I also think it’s important to pay attention to what a decision is producing in us. Is it drawing us closer to God or farther away from Him? Is pursuing it requiring us to compromise something we already know is right? Is it feeding pride, greed, bitterness, or obsession? Or is it producing patience, love, humility, generosity, and a greater dependence on God? Galatians 5:22–23 gives us a picture of the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, and I think that’s worth considering when we’re trying to discern what we’re being led toward.
Sometimes wise counsel matters too. Proverbs repeatedly speaks about the value of seeking counsel. If I’m convinced God is telling me something but the mature Christians I trust are noticing something concerning that I refuse to acknowledge, that’s probably worth slowing down and praying about. Other people don’t get to decide God’s will for our lives, but godly wisdom can sometimes help us see what our own emotions are preventing us from seeing.
And maybe one of the hardest parts is accepting that we might not get complete certainty before we’re asked to move. We may pray and pray and still never receive the giant flashing sign we’re hoping for. That’s where I come back to that image in Psalm 119:105. God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, not necessarily a spotlight showing us everything that’s coming.
What If I Get It Wrong?
I think this is another part of the conversation that we don’t talk about enough. Sometimes we’re so afraid of misunderstanding God that we become afraid to do anything at all. We worry that if we choose the wrong job, pursue the wrong opportunity, start the wrong business, or make the wrong decision, we’ve somehow stepped completely outside of God’s plan for our lives.
But God is bigger than our ability to misunderstand Him.
If we’re sincerely seeking Him, studying His Word, praying for wisdom, and trying to make a decision that honors Him, I don’t believe we have to live terrified that one wrong move will ruin everything. We can move forward with humility while remaining willing to be corrected. If a door closes, we can pay attention. If something begins contradicting Scripture, we can stop. If God reveals that our motives need to change, we can change them.
And if we’re wrong, God is fully capable of redirecting us.
That thought gives me a lot of peace because following God doesn’t have to mean living in constant fear of making the wrong decision. It means trusting Him enough to lead us, and trusting Him enough to correct us when we need it.
I’m Still Learning What It Means to Follow God’s Leading
I’m still learning what it means to follow God’s leading. I don’t have every answer, and I definitely don’t have a perfect formula for how to know if you’re hearing God’s voice. There are still times when I wonder, Is this God, or is this just me? But maybe discernment isn’t about finding one magical clue that removes every ounce of uncertainty. What if it’s learning God’s character so deeply that, over time, we become better at recognizing what sounds like Him and what doesn’t?
That’s something I’m learning with this blog. The fact that I’ve continued coming back to writing for years doesn’t automatically mean God ordained it. My dream doesn’t prove it. A perfectly timed devotional doesn’t prove it either. But those things have made me pay attention. They’ve made me pray about what I’m building instead of simply assuming that because I want it, God must want it too.
Maybe hearing God’s voice isn’t one single moment. Maybe sometimes it’s Scripture, prayer, wisdom, peace, the fruit something produces in our lives, and a willingness to keep surrendering our plans back to Him. After we’ve done all of that, there may come a point when we have to stop waiting for a direct answer and take the next faithful step we know how to take.
I don’t know exactly where this blog will lead me. I don’t know for sure whether it’s something God has called me to build or simply one part of a much bigger story He’s writing in my life. But seven years later, I’m still here. I’m still writing, still praying, still asking questions, and still trying to listen.
Take it from me, I would literally love nothing more than for God to physically tap me on the shoulder and tell me exactly everything to do. I mean, how simple would life be! But unfortunately for us, that’s not the way it works.
For now, I think the best thing we can do is keep coming back to what God has already given us in His Word.
When we’re trying to figure out how to know if we’re hearing God’s voice, this is a good place to begin: we can pray, study Scripture, ask for wisdom, examine the fruit, pay attention to God’s peace, and seek wise counsel. Then we can take the next faithful step we know how to take, trusting that if we’re headed in the wrong direction, God is fully capable of redirecting us.
Perhaps. that’s what hearing Him actually looks like.
I pray that whatever you’re seeking God about today, you’ll have the courage to listen, the patience to wait, and the faith to take the next step when it’s time.
Thanks for doing life with me,
— Lexi 🤍
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