Basic ways to perceive and recognize the voice of God

Summary:

God can speak directly to believers with His voice specifically.

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Can God speak directly to believers?
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Yet in the Bible, people can be described as not necessarily perceiving the voice of God. That is, people may not necessarily be aware that God is speaking to them with His voice.

Even if people do come to perceive the voice of God, they may not necessarily recognize it as the voice of God. That is, they do not manage to identify that voice as the voice of God specifically. 

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Do people necessarily perceive or recognize the voice of God?
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There are basic ways to perceive and recognize the voice of God. 

You can find more details below:

Basic ways to PERCEIVE the voice of God:

To perceive the voice of God can be to be aware of His voice. To be aware of His voice, one would need to know what to expect if God would try to communicate to them by His voice, and be aware of that.

1) God can speak outside or inside individuals:

God can speak outside or inside believers.

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God can speak outside or inside individuals:
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Depending on if God speaks outside or inside a believer, the way to perceive the voice of God can be different.

2) If God speaks outside an individual:

If God chooses to speak outside a believer (from the sky or heaven for example), then the same way that an actual thunder in the sky could be heard by the ears of someone, the same way His voice can be heard, that is: the sound can be perceived to come from the outside of the person through the human ears.

This can be illustrated for example in John 10, as it is written in John 12 that "Jesus" (John 12:23), said: "FATHER, glorify Your name!” Then (A) VOICE CAME FROM HEAVEN: “I both glorified (it), and will again glorify (it)”. THEN THE CROWD, the (one) standing (there) and HAVING-HEARD, was-saying (that) THUNDER had-taken-place" (John 12:28-29).

Not aware of outside sounds?

This kind of outside sound may not be perceived for example by someone who is "deaf" (Mark 7:32), who may have an impairment of their hearing abilities through their human ears.

3) If God speaks inside an individual:

God can choose to speak inside of a believer, which may be the most common way that God could speak to believers directly. 

It is written: "says the LORD. “[...] I [...] will SPEAK TO HER HEART" (Hosea 2:13-14). God can speak to the heart of someone, which can be found inside a person. 

This can be similar in form to when a human speaks to their own heart, as it is written that you can "SAY IN YOUR HEART, “Who will-go-up into heaven?”" (Romans 10:6). 

When we say things in our heart, we may be able to perceive and be aware of our own inner voice saying things. In the same way, when God say things in our heart, we can become aware that a similar inner voice may be speaking in that same place. The same way we can be aware of our own inner voice when we say things inside of ourselves, the same way we can become aware of the voice of God when God could decide to speak to us. 

The voice of God and our own inner voice are not the same voice, but both can be perceived in the same place.

For more information on why the voice of God and our own inner voice are not the same voice:

Is it possible for someone in the new covenant to hear another voice than God?
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To SAY something WITHIN oneself (with one's own inner voice) is the same as THOUGHTS and THINKING, as both are used interchangeably in the following passage: "some (of) the scribes SAID WITHIN THEMSELVES, “This (One) is-blaspheming”. And Jesus, having-known THEIR THOUGHTS, said “Why ARE-YOU-THINKING evil (things) IN YOUR HEARTS?" (Matthew 9:3-4). 

In a similar way, when God is SPEAKING WITHIN the heart of someone, it may be PERCEIVED by that person as a THOUGHT. 

Not aware of inside sounds?

It is possible that some people are not aware of hearing their own inner voice when thinking within themselves. 

This condition can be called "Aphantasia", which is primarily defined as the inability to create mental images or visualize things in one's mind, but it can also be linked to a lack of inner speech or internal monologue. 

People without an awareness of an inner voice can still think or reason, they may process thoughts more nonverbally, such as through abstract concepts or feelings rather than words or images. 

God can also communicate in many ways.

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God can communicate to people in many ways:
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4) God can speak in a loud or a quiet voice:

When God speaks, His voice can be loud or can be quiet. 

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God can speak in a loud or a quiet voice:
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Therefore the voice of God can be perceived as loud in some instances, but it can also be perceived as being quiet in others. The voice of God can be more or less quiet. 

If God speaks inside of us:

Having our attention on what is happening inside of us can also increase our attention to perceive when a quiet voice may be quietly whispering in us. 

Basic ways to RECOGNIZE the voice of God:

It is possible to hear other voices than the voice of God. 

For more information:

Is it possible for someone in the new covenant to hear another voice than God?
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Once someone knows how to PERCEIVE the voice of God, it is possible to move on to learn to RECOGNIZE the voice of God, that is, to be able to IDENTIFY His voice (among even other voices for example). 

1) Someone else can help:

Someone who already know how to recognize the voice of God can help someone else to recognize it.

For example 1 Samuel 3 the LORD spoke to Samuel, but Samuel did not recognize it. Eli, another person who already came to recognize the voice of God in the past in his own life, helped Samuel to recognize the voice of God.

It is written in 1 Samuel 3 that "THE LORD CALLED SAMUEL [...]. AND HE AROSE AND WENT TO ELI, and said, “Behold, I (am here), for YOU HAVE CALLED ME.” Then ELI PERCEIVED THAT THE LORD HAS CALLED THE CHILD. And he said, “Return, child, be going to sleep; and it will be if He calls you, then you will say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and slept in his place. AND THE LORD CAME, and stood, AND CALLED HIM AS BEFORE. AND SAMUEL SAID, “SPEAK, FOR YOUR SERVANT HEARS.”" (1 Samuel 3:8-10).

2) We can be reminded of what Jesus taught:

The Holy Spirit of God can speak directly to believers.

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Can God speak directly to believers?
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Jesus said that the Holy Spirit of God will remind believers of things that Jesus taught, as Jesus said: "THE HOLY SPIRIT, Which the Father will-send in My name — that (One) will-teach you all (things), and WILL-REMIND YOU OF EVERYTHING WHICH I SAID (to) you" (John 14:26).

As a believer, one can be found in a situation where they really were about to do something evil, but suddenly a voice was perceived telling to do instead something that Jesus commanded. If this voice was unexpected (as the focus may have been on doing what was evil at the time), and this voice reminded something Jesus clearly commanded to not do this evil (which was in coherence with the situation), then this can be the voice of the Holy Spirit. 

A believer may think of times when they experienced that in the past, to get acquainted to recognize and identify the voice of God in that way, so that in the future if it happens again it will be easier to be able to identity the voice of God.

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