How Do You Know When God’s Speaking to You? (Learning to Discern God’s Voice. part 1)

Lesson #5 on a Journey to a Water Well…

The question most people want to ask but don’t have the courage to say is “What makes you think God told you to drill a water well in Africa?” How do you know when the prompt, the thought or conviction, is really God speaking to your spirit? It’s a fair question. After all, even the prophet Samuel didn’t recognize God’s voice the first time God spoke to him. (I Samuel 3)

Let me share one example of how I have learned to discern His voice.

Several months after Ben mailed his infamous letter and $3 to Katie, life moved on with three children in elementary school and one two-year-old by my side. One September morning in 2014, I climbed on the treadmill, more exhausted than energized, and turned on TCT Christian television.

Joyce Meyer Ministries aired a segment on overseas missions and highlighted a family’s journey to a water well in India. They sponsored a water well, traveled to India to dedicate it, and returned to share their adventure through pictures and stories with their children.

Immediately, I sensed the Spirit saying You are to sponsor a water well in Africa but take your children with you to dedicate it and cast vision in your lives for Me. For me, this was like a thought originating in my chest as opposed to my head. I felt “compelled” like this was something I was supposed to do even though I didn’t necessarily want to do it. The “thought” made my heart and mind race and stomach twist. I had a visceral response to the thought.

The only thing I could think was, that I don’t want to sponsor a water well in Africa. I don’t have the money to sponsor a water well, much less take six people halfway around the world to dedicate it. I glanced at Henry playing on the floor beside me and thought the obvious; he’s too young to take to Africa.

But I also remembered how God had been teaching me to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. He had been teaching me to submit to each prompt of the Spirit, no matter how trivial or inconvenient. I remembered how Katie said yes. I remembered the difference between believing in God versus believing God.

 I fought through the hesitations and finally yielded, “yes, Lord.”

 Lord, if this is You, if You want me to drill a water well in Africa and take my children to dedicate it and cast vision in our lives for you, then I will. I don’t know how or what to do. It may take years to save enough money, but I’ll do it.

Immediately, fear gave way to peace.

I continued to wrestle over the prompt for days, weeks, and months.   Am I crazy? Have I completely lost my mind??   

Each time I wrestled with the prompt or fear or voice in my head telling me I was crazy for even entertaining the notion, the Holy Spirit whispered truth. He built His case by reminding me of His Word.

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26 (NIV)

He reminded me:

• “We live by faith and not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

•  “I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.” Mark 9:41

• “’ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” Matthew 25:36

The truth is there’s no verse in the Bible saying, “Dana, thou shalt drill a water well in Africa.”. And there may not be a verse clearly stating what God’s calling you to do either.

It will probably be a little more subtle and require you to dig into God’s Word to discern His voice and will. But this is how God works. He uses His Word, which is living and active, to build His case. In my scenario, Scripture clearly indicated God cares about teaching us to walk by faith and giving people water. And apparently, He wanted to use me to do it.

 I faced three realities. 1. A prompt by the Holy Spirit. 2. Peace when yielding to the prompt. (John 14:27) 3. Confirmation through God’s Word. Scripture built a case for the Holy Spirit prompting me to drill a water well in Africa. (John 14:26)

 That’s all I had to go on. And that may be all you will have to go on as well—the Holy Spirit’s prompt, peace, and God’s Word. To move from unfulfillment to fulfillment, we must learn to discern God’s voice and confirm His convictions with Scripture. We must be willing to walk by faith and not by sight. We must be ready to say yes before understanding how, why, or what to do next.

 Eventually, I shared what I sensed the Holy Spirit was asking me to do with my mom, husband, and best friend. Each had a similar response…an awkward silence followed by an unenthusiastic sure.

 I’ve since learned not everyone wants to go where God is leading you. We should free them from those expectations. And sometimes, I think that’s God’s plan. Some adventures are intended for just you and Him. We find the secret places of the Most-High when we are willing to say yes to what we don’t understand and go alone wherever He leads.

Lessons learned through a journey to a water well in Uganda.

1. …

2. …

3. If you want to live a life of passion, purpose, and satisfaction, you must choose to believe God when His prompt is hard, the promise seems impossible, and when the path to the promise doesn’t look good.

4. Loving God isn’t a passive emotion. It’s an intentional choice.

5. Learning to discern God’s voice and confirm convictions with scripture will equip us to say yes to God.

Want more? Start here.

1.     Read John 15:26-27.  How does the Holy Spirit work and why is studying Scripture so important?

2.     I’ve noticed the Holy Spirit often prompts me during the vacant moments of my life.  Moments my body is busy, but my mind and spirit are free.  For me, that looks like when I exercise, drive, or clean.  Most of the time, I’m also listening to godly music, podcasts, or sermons.  When does the Holy Spirit prompt you?  Have you noticed a trend?

3.     Have you ever noticed the automatic debate triggered in your mind when the Holy Spirit prompts?

4.     What emotions do you most often encounter when you are debating whether to say yes to God? Are your emotions encouraging you to say yes, Lord, or dissuading you from obedience?

5.     What can you do now to prepare yourself to take a step of faith when the Holy Spirit’s prompt is unexpected, somewhat vague or stirs up fear?