What Does God Sound Like?

After my last post - The First Time I Heard His Still Small Voice, somebody asked me this question: What does God sound like? 

It's a great question that I found difficult to answer. My initial response was, "You would know." But then I tried to put myself in the position of someone who is just starting to grow in their relationship with the Lord, and I realized that a vague answer like that won't help. And I genuinely want to help. 

DISCLAIMER: I did not Google anything here, except to clarify a few Bible Verses. My answer will be based on my personal experiences and journey on learning to hear God better. Am I an expert on this topic? I don't think anyone can be an expert on this topic. But I am 100% sure that God talks to us because I have experienced it countless times now. And so I just want to encourage you and assure you that He is talking to you too.

So in the hotel that I worked in, we all had individual landline phones. For the kids that don't know what landline telephones are, here's a picture. My phone had caller ID so I normally knew who would be calling me from the other line if they were just calling from another department or floor. 

One time, my teammate called my landline from a totally different department's phone because she happened to be there and needed to talk to me. Although the caller ID showed someone else's name, all she needed to say was "Miss, I have a question" and I knew it was her. I knew it was her because I recognized her voice. I recognized her voice because we talked every day. 

Have you ever experienced that? Somebody calling you on your mobile phone from an unknown number and you simply recognize that it's them calling you because you know their voice?

It's kind of like that with God, too. You will know His voice when you talk to Him every day. 

"But I don't know what He sounds like, remember? How can I talk to Him??"

I remember asking this question, myself. And then I remember my dad saying that to know what is in the heart of God, you need to read the Word of God. What is in the Bible is literally also called the "Word of God." And so...when I read His Word, it is also similar to Him speaking to me, right?

I recognized my teammate's voice on the phone even if the Caller ID said it was someone else because I talked to her every day. I was familiar with what she sounded like. 

When you read the Word every day, you will be familiar with what God sounds like - or at the very least, you will know His character, His traits, and what He would say with regard to certain things. 

One thing we need to remember when trying to decipher what we heard from God is that God will never contradict Himself. Here are a couple of scriptures that will strengthen this point:

• Numbers 23:19 ERV - God is not a man; He will not lie. God is not a human being; His decisions will not change. If He says He will do something, then He will do it. If He makes a promise, then He will do what He promised.
• 2 Timothy 2:13 ERV - If we are not faithful, He will still be faithful, because He cannot be false to Himself.
• 2 Timothy 3:16 ERV - All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. 
• John 1:1 NKJV - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Remember, there will always be three voices battling inside of our heads: God's Voice, Your Personal Voice, and the Devil's Voice. Always check with what the Word of God says to verify what any voice is saying to you. If that voice conflicts with what the Word says, then it is not from God. But if Scripture can confirm it, then it is from God. 

I have an entry here from my journal that I will use as an example. I was disagreeing in my heart with someone regarding something but I was not voicing it out. I couldn't shrug it off and I was asking God if I should bring it up or not. This is what I heard verbatim:

"First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians chapter six verse seven"

This is what it said when I checked my Bible: Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated?

To me, that was very clear. I just had to let it go. I may have been right, but I should just let it go. HOWEVER, my stubborn heart DID NOT listen! I insisted on bringing it up and what happened was I ended up hurting that person. Was it worth being right? No. I should have just let it go, just as God originally told me to do. He already gave me the answer through His Word! I should have just obeyed right away. 

So what does God sound like? To be honest, He sounds like many things - but you know what He sounds like all the time? He will always sound like His Word. 

So don't neglect your reading of Scripture and daily devotions because we will only recognize His voice if we are familiar with His Word. Don't know where to begin? Here's something I wrote earlier, 5 Ways to Keep Your Daily Devotions Exciting.

In the next few posts, we will try to answer the following questions:

1. How do I hear God?

2. How does God talk to us? (What do you mean when you say, "I heard God say this")

3. What do I do with what God told me? 

I hope you catch my next few blog posts. If you want to be notified, let me know on messenger that you wish to be alerted when a post is out.