Not new, but have not been here for a while

Hello everyone,

I'm not new here, although I had totally forgotten about even having an account here for a number of years. I have not been walking with God for quite some time, because of a lot of confusion over hearing His voice and what that really means in practical life.

I am realizing, however, that my life has spiraled out of control, and I'm going down a path I don't want to continue going down, so I'm reading the Bible once again and seeking God in order to draw close to Him again.

Interestingly enough, my confusion with hearing God's voice is not that I don't hear it enough, but that I constantly hear it (or what I believe is His voice). It seems like I'm always getting impressed with thoughts and ideas that do not come from myself. I've realized that these probably are a mixture of my own unconscious ideas, God's voice, and probably deceptions from the enemy as well.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to discern God's voice, I'd really like to hear them.

Thanks, and looking forward to fellowshiping with you all again.

Glad to have you back into the fold. Welcome to CC.

Hi Nate,
Welcome back. When you know someone well you learn to recognize their voice. As a mom I can be surrounded by other people's children but as soon as my son would call me I know that it was him. The more time you spend in the word and in quiet prayer you learn to discern his voice.
Years ago I was at a local fair and there was a prayer tent. I went in and asked for prayer. As the people were praying one woman started praying in a low voice, becoming louder and louder calling for repentance of unspoken sin. I stopped the process and looked at her and said that that was not my father's voice. She stopped cold, was silent and apologized. She said she'd gotten caught up in the emotion of the moment. It is not that I was refusing to repent of anything in particular but the haughtiness and disdain that I heard was not correct.
You are searching for his voice and that is beautiful. You are overwhelmed. Maybe ask God to buffer out the noise so you can sit under his sheltering wing. Maybe focus on one aspect of God or on gratitude for blessings and let him cloak you in these truths. Blessings brother.

You made a good decision to come back to this site, it's good to have Christian fellowship such as at CC. God bless you!

Thank you, tourist. I've definitely seen both sides of the gate, and this is definitely the side I want to stay on.

Hello everyone,

I'm not new here, although I had totally forgotten about even having an account here for a number of years. I have not been walking with God for quite some time, because of a lot of confusion over hearing His voice and what that really means in practical life.

I am realizing, however, that my life has spiraled out of control, and I'm going down a path I don't want to continue going down, so I'm reading the Bible once again and seeking God in order to draw close to Him again.

Interestingly enough, my confusion with hearing God's voice is not that I don't hear it enough, but that I constantly hear it (or what I believe is His voice). It seems like I'm always getting impressed with thoughts and ideas that do not come from myself. I've realized that these probably are a mixture of my own unconscious ideas, God's voice, and probably deceptions from the enemy as well.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to discern God's voice, I'd really like to hear them.

Thanks, and looking forward to fellowshiping with you all again.

Hello Nate, welcome to Christian Chat. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here.

"Welcome back. Perhaps for good reason, not yet realized.
A subject touched on by many, hearing God's voice.
I have learned over the years, my spiritual journey is from personal
experience, and I am thankful God found me, at a low time in my life.
The Holy Spirit, being a remembrance of how we should conduct our lives,
and to earnestly strive to do so. Sounds easy perhaps, but here lies the
greatest challenge, each day...to act upon God's word, and strive to conduct
our lives accordingly, this in itself, has helped me to change my attitude and
behavior, and I have learned of a more orderly and manageable life...believe it.
The Holy Spirit, my spiritual 'awareness' of 'hearing' and bringing to remembrance
of God's 'principles' of living my life, here in the now. All things of God, being
'illuminated' by and through the Holy Spirit, within ones own life."
'Praise God'

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Stay sober in the correct basic assumptions. Yes, God is good, but this life is not Heaven, and not easy as such. It is only a test to ensure we are good enough to go to Heaven. As mentioned in the Bible over and over again, following God does not mean everything will be rosy. Prophets have gone through very difficult trials, including Jesus Christ and his apostles after his resurrection, and have all affirmed the importance of striving for God out of love for God and his people. Anyone who doesn't hate sin and strive to do their best to avoid it everyday doesn't love God's people who get hurt by their sin. Disdain for evil is good. Remember the evil ones in the Bible always thought righteous people were haughty (e.g. Pharaoh hating Moses's courage to talk to him about God and thinking he was overstepping his bounds) when it was in fact the other way around since the evil ones were too proud to admit their pride and dumped it on their enemies instead as an excuse not to correct themselves.

Also, do not confuse God's grace that is given only to children with God's grace for adults. Some people want to remain in the idea of God's grace for children as adults, which earlier in their life was very gentle and loving, yet only appropriate for young children, and not sufficient for adulthood. God's grace for adults is much richer and fuller. Once one grows into adulthood, God starts revealing the full scope of his truth, including the difficulty of living in this world. One then starts to appreciate what David had to go through to prove himself to God against Goliath. What Moses had gone through to follow God's word against the Pharaoh of Egypt. What Jonah had suffered before being rescued by God's fish to earn God's grace through his people accepting God in the end. Do not be confused by the example of people who are unwilling to totally accept the Lord, and thus shelter themselves in their childhood's image of him. True, God asks his men to go into hiding sometimes to rejuvenate themselves like he did with Isaiah and Jesus Christ. That does not mean one stays in hiding forever. One must face the full splendor of the Lord and face up to the challenges of this world just like David did with Goliath and Samson with the Philistines.

Godspeed.