Armorbearers International

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ─1 John 4: 1

Have you thought you heard God, lately? Only to discover it wasn’t God at all. The truth is many times we think we’re hearing God in our daily lives and we plain miss it. I remember starting to hear God as a newbie Christian and often missing it. I learned as I grew and developed my faith and learned the Word of God, I accurately heard God more and more.

In our fast-paced society, where almost everything is served in a few minutes, what I call the drive-through mentality can color our expectations of hearing God. We can begin to think an intimate relationship with our Father will develop quickly and cost us little. The truth is it does not come overnight. Through time, perseverance, and diligence in the Word and in prayer we can become friends with our God. As we are developing our relationship with God; we can test what we hear by:

• God’s word. Knowing God’s Word more and more will test what you hear.²
• Inner witness. Getting to know the Holy Spirit’s leading and prompting will test what we hear. Have you heard someone say, “I had a check in my spirit, when I heard that?³ If they are a Christian, this is usually what they are talking about: Father God leading them one way or another by their inner man (inner spirit).
• Peace. Checking for your peace will test what you hear. For example, years ago I was to borrow a friend’s truck to drive solo from Dallas to the Mississippi coast to pick up some extra things from where I moved. I prayed and felt God said, “Yes, now is the time.”

The truck was a standard shift. I could drive and shift gears easily UNLESS it was raining or I had lots of inclines or hills. I was excited about going and seeing old friends but I kept feeling uneasy about the trip. So much so, I began to pray about whether I should go or not.

After prayer, I felt led to ask my friends to borrow their car instead of the truck. As soon as I did the uneasy feeling left and my peace came back. Before the trip was over I knew exactly why I had no peace about driving the truck before leaving.

Although, the weather was predicted to be sunny, it rained and flooded out roads the entire trip. I had to take alternate routes every step of the way. I also had hills and inclines to deal with in the rain. I thanked my Lord for guiding me. Do you see it; He used my uneasiness (lack of peace) with driving the truck to speak to me and change my mind about a decision.⁴

• Circumstances. If God has spoken, your circumstances will line up with what He said. I’m not saying it won’t be tested or need to be proven or confirmed. But it will line up with God’s Word.
• Relevance. What God speaks to you will be relevant to:

Your Time, Your Season (Your Now) Our enemy, the devil, will always try to focus our attention on the past or tomorrow. Jesus is the one that said “Be not anxious; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”⁶ And also, the writer of the book of Hebrews declares, “Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for...”⁷

Circumstances: He (Father God) will not speak to a young mother with three small children and ask her to go downtown every morning and preach His Word with no one to baby-sit. Jesus will speak to us in the midst but relevant to our circumstances.

Resources. Satan will stress what we do not have. God will focus on us using what we have. In Exodus God said to Moses, “Stop crying to Me and use what’s in your hand.”⁸

Understanding. God is not the author of confusion. He will speak to us in a way or a level that we can understand. For example, God gave me my gentle nature and he knows I understand things better in simple terms. Often, He speaks to me in dreams that look like cartoons.

• Character. Knowing God’s character will test what you hear. One way His character is revealed is by His names. For example, we learn about Father God being our Provider through His name Jehovah Jireh or our Healer through Jehovah Rapha. (See inside Living the Prayer Fulfilled Life book chapter 14, Knowing Him More)

God wants us His children to hear Him accurately. After all Jesus did say of the true shepherd, “the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”¹ So get to know your Father in heaven by testing what you hear on a regular basis. He’s waiting for you to test what you hear and believe. Don't just take my word for it, read the book of John afresh.