When people say, “I heard the voice of God,” or “ God told me,” we often imagine a
some grand experience, like a thunderous sound from heaven— like Elijah on Mount Horeb,
hiding in a cave until a still small voice called him—not for his sake alone, but for the sake of an
entire nation. Or Moses, face glowing from communion with the God, and then descending the
mountain with commandments etched by the very finger of God. Or like at Jesus’ baptism:
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17)
These are not everyday events. In fact, in all of Scripture, audible moments like these are few.
And when they come, they shake the cosmos. They are not random or common. When God
speaks audibly, it is for history, for covenant, for humanity. These moments are rare—pivotal
turning points in God’s redemptive story.
But here’s the truth: when we talk about hearing God’s voice today, we are not primarily
talking about sound. We’re talking about recognition, we are talking about relationship.
“In the beginning was the Word… and the Word became flesh.” (John 1)
That’s not just a poetic metaphor—it’s truth revealed to us. Jesus is not just God’s messenger. He
is God’s voice in human form. If you want to hear how God talks, how God thinks, how God
feels—look at Jesus. His tone with children. His patience with doubters. His fire with the proud.
His tenderness with the broken. That is the voice of God. You do not need to chase voices in the
sky when the voice has already walked the earth. Jesus was and is the voice of God.
Let’s say someone delivers a letter to my wife and they claim it is from her husband. And
in that letter were words I never use — phrases like “Cheerio, my love!” or “Do you fancy a
biscuit?” She would chuckle, shake her head and say “Nice try, but my husband didn’t say this
or write this.” How would she know if it was or was not me? She didn’t hear me say it, I didn’t
even directly hand her the letter. She can tell because she knows my voice. My patterns. My tone.
My way of thinking. My vocabulary. It wouldn’t matter that she didn’t hear my audible voice. She knows me.
And that’s the point. To know to know God is to know the voice of God. To walk with Him. To
sit at His table. To recognize what sounds like Him… and what doesn’t. You don’t need lightning
to recognize His leading. You just need to know Him. Because hearing His voice is not about
getting answers — it’s about being aligned. It’s not about God performing for us, it’s about God
forming us.
When we say someone is “finding their voice” or “making their voice heard,” we’re not
talking about vocal cords vibrating or sound waves being formed — we’re talking about
something far deeper. We mean their message, their presence, their worldview showing up in amoment. We mean they’ve stepped forward with clarity about who they are, what they believe
(perspective), and how they choose to engage the world. Their “voice” is the unique combination
of their convictions, their character, their perspective, and their purposes. It’s what makes their
words carry weight, even in silence. Their “voice” is not just the sound they make but the truth
they carry, the way they see the world, the way they show up in it.
This is exactly what God did in the person Jesus Christ. God made His message, His
presence know. He stepped forward with clarity about who He is, what His perspective of the
world is, and how He chooses to engage the world. He stepped onto the stage of the human story
with clarity. In Jesus, we see God’s heart, God’s mind, God’s way of thinking, way of loving, His
way of confronting and healing. Jesus is the voice of God made visible — the Word made flesh.
Every act of Jesus, every parable, every touch, every silence, was the tone and truth of God
embodied right in front of us. If you want to “ hear Gods voice” to know how God thinks, how
God sees, how God loves — look at Jesus.
To know God’s voice is to recognize how He thinks. How He thinks about justice, how
He moves with mercy, how He responds to the broken, how He confronts the proud. Know God
voice is to be so familiar with His character that when something contradicts it — even if it
sounds well said or with religious fervor — we can say, “That’s not Him.” Just as a wife or
husband can read a forged letter and say, “My spouse didn’t say that or write this,” we, too, can
learn to recognize what does and does not sound like the heart of God. Jesus is the voice of God
made visible and clear — His life, teachings, and death reveal not only what God says, but how
He says it. To know the person of Jesus is to know God’s voice. Through Him we can discern the
voice of eternity in a busy and noisy world.
In this same way, when we talk about “knowing God’s voice,” we are not primarily talking about
audible sound. We are talking about knowing His heart, His tone, His way of seeing the world
and people.