It’s becoming more common for people to say “God told me” followed by something they believe God told them directly. I believe God speaks to us, and He speaks to us directly and clearly. But I also believe we have an enemy who speaks as well. An enemy who is trying to deceive whoever he can. His deceptions are not only nasty and abusive, they also attempt to mimic something pleasant, something God might say to us… This is more difficult to spot. We have to be extremely careful when we attribute words we hear to God. He takes this kind of thing seriously, and so should we. Take a look at what He said here:

” And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.” Jeremiah 14:14

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ”For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. “I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.” Jeremiah 23:16-21

Clearly God is not pleased when people say He said something that He did not in fact say. Yet so many flippantly throw around words they claim came from God. These passages also make it clear that there are people who believe they’ve heard from God, but are actually demonically deceived, as well as deceived by their own minds. Out of love and reverence for God we must be aware and certain before proclaiming His words. So how do you know when the voice you hear truly is God’s voice? How do you discern whether it is your own, or even worse, the voice of the devil and his demons? In this post I will discuss how to discern whether you are truly hearing from God, and how to tell the difference between His voice and another’s. This is SO critical right now where false prophets are everywhere, and believers are desperate for a Word from God, whether directly spoken, or given to them by another on behalf of God.

the Devil understands how powerful God is. He knows that God’s Word defeated him. We have to understand that our enemy will take every opportunity to deceive a believer into thinking he is God. How do we know this? It is the very thing that got Satan cast from heaven in the first place. The devil is called the father of lies, this means he lies to his victims both directly, and also through other people he is able to influence. Many people think they are hearing from God when what they are actually hearing is either their own wishful thinking, or demonic. We know this is true, because we cannot trust our own hearts Jeremiah 17:9), and the devil prowls around (1 Peter 5:8) throwing flaming darts, aka lies, at his victims. It is imperative that we know how to discern God’s voice from our own and also the voice of our enemy. Let’s dig into this topic by discussing how to sharpen our discernment and learn to recognize the true voice of God.

We have to be transformed by the Word of God. We have to know God’s word. And not just a few popular verses. We have to truly understand the truth of who God is and what He has spoken. Psalm 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Without God’s Word, we are walking around in the dark, highly susceptible to believing the deceptions of our own hearts and those of the Devil. We have to study, meditate on, and obey God’s Word, the Bible, allowing His truth to become our truth. God will never speak something to you that contradicts the truth of scripture. If you do not know scripture you can be easily deceived. When you think you hear God speak, take what you heard to scripture. Test it with the truth of God’s written Word. If it in ANY way doesn’t line up, it wasn’t God.

We have to spend regular time in God’s presence and in prayer. Listen, the more time you spend with God, the better you will be able to recognize His voice. If you aren’t doing this, it will be very difficult for you. There is a very distinct feeling that comes from sitting in God’s presence and hearing from Him. The devil can attempt to mimic this with emotion, but it is a lame attempt. You won’t know this until you understand God’s presence, and you can only understand it by spending quality time with Him in a state of surrender and prayer. Maybe this sounds foreign to you, but this needs to change. Psalm 145:18 says “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” If you go read that entire psalm, which I encourage you to do, you will find David praising and magnifying God prior to declaring what he did in verse 18. David understood what it felt like for God to draw near. I encourage you to plan a time to go sit alone with God. Start praising Him and let Him know you are there to meet with Him. As you wait on Him in a state of prayer, He will draw near to you and you will experience His presence. Then work on making this a regular part of your life.

We have to test every single thing we hear. Especially the things you plan to base your decisions on. God’s Word says in 1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” When you believe God said something it is highly likely you plan to obey what you heard. You can see why this would be a very bad thing if it was not in fact God who spoke. So how do you test what you hear? In addition to comparing it with the written Word, take it right back to God’s throne in prayer. This is based on the truth found in Hebrews 4:16 that says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” When I believe I have heard directly from God I go to Him in prayer and I ask Him if what I heard truly was Him. Then I wait on Him for confirmation either way. He is so faithful and does not allow His children to be deceived. When you come to Him seeking wisdom and truth He will respond. This brings us back to the absolute necessity of knowing the truth of scripture and having a close fellowship with God. If you don’t have this you probably won’t take what you hear back to Him.

About a year ago I was on the phone with someone. We were having a very intense conversation. This person believed she was being attacked demonically but wasn’t quite ready to turn to Jesus for help. I suddenly had a strong feeling I needed to say something specifically to her and let her know I needed to tell her something. I alluded to what I was going to share, so obviously the devil caught on. As I was about to say it I heard a voice in my head say “no, don’t tell her that.” It was so clear and direct I thought it was God. Maybe it wasn’t the right time to tell her this. I waited and quickly prayed in my mind and asked Him if I should say it. I immediately discerned the voice was definitely not God’s and continued to tell her what I needed to say. What followed was absolutely incredible. She came under such immense demonic attack and I was able to pray for her, something I had until that day not been able to do. She had a very powerful experience with Jesus that day and has experienced a lot of freedom.

I am close to God. I spend a lot of time with Him and place utmost priority on His Word, yet initially I wasn’t sure if the voice I heard was His. We are ALL capable of being deceived, and to think otherwise makes a person extremely vulnerable to deception. Anybody who believes they don’t need to test the spirits and confirm what they hear, is, in my opinion, very unwise and opening themselves up to demonic deception. I urge you to not let this be you. Add to this, the threat of you deceiving someone else with a Word you got from God that was not actually from God. Very dangerous. I regularly ask God to please not allow me to believe I’ve heard from Him when I haven’t because I do not want to be deceived. I pray this because I understand I am a weak human and can get mixed up if I don’t stay open to correction at all times.

Let me share another example to further my point. Also, a lot of what we hear cannot be directly confirmed with the written Word, which is why we absolutely have to take it back to God in prayer for confirmation. I am dealing with some health issues and had been praying about what to do. I strongly believed God told me to make an appointment with a specific holistic doctor so I did. The morning of my appointment I got a call she was out sick and they rescheduled me for six weeks later. I was initially upset, but quickly felt peace about the situation. I decided to call a different doctor and make a new appointment at a different office. After I made that call it hit me that I had never confirmed the other doctor with God, which is why I was totally fine making a new appointment with someone else. It was not God who told me to go to her. Fast forward to my appointment with the new doctor. I walk into the office and hear worship music playing and feel such a sense of peace. After a few months this doctor has already uncovered the source of my issues and I’m slowly starting to feel better. I later found out from someone else that the original doctor I was initially planning to see was utilizing new age practices. Wow! That would have caused some frustration for sure and would have slowed my healing journey. I apologized to God for not confirming what I heard with Him, and thanked Him for graciously redirecting me!

I have worked with a lot of people who felt extremely confused and incapable of hearing from God. Why?  Because at one point they thought they heard from God, and what they heard either never happened, or it went down very differently. When talking with these people it is confirmed that they didn’t take what they heard back to God for confirmation. As I wrap this up, I want to encourage you to do this very thing. Study God’s Word, spend more time in His presence, and take what you hear very seriously. Bring it back to the throne before making any decisions, and God will direct your steps. If God spoke to you He will confirm it. If the enemy spoke, take those thoughts captive and cast them from your mind with the power you’ve been given by God. If you’ve made life altering decisions based on something you believe God told you and you did not test it and confirm it with Him first, I encourage you to do so. Do not underestimate the truth that the devil and his demons speak to God’s people in order to deceive and destroy. Or the truth that our own hearts are deceitful and we can be confused by our own thoughts.

A final point, be extremely cautious before you speak a Word you believe is from God to another person. Pray and confirm before so that you don’t unintentionally lead someone astray or to a place of confusion. And when someone else gives you a message from God, take it directly to His throne for confirmation. He is faithful and will not allow you to be led astray if you seek Him! On a side note, it does happen that the Spirit comes over someone and in that moment they deliver a powerful Word from God. When this does happen it is very evident that it is from God, His presence can be felt very tangibly, and the person speaking won’t have time to go check before they speak. In this case, I still recommend the person listening confirm with God later if it seems the word was for them. Remember, when we acknowledge God in ALL our ways He WILL make our path straight.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6