So have you ever wondered if a thought or idea came from you rather than God? How can you tell if it's His voice?
Here's an excerpt from "What God Can't Do" that gives three of the five tests I've developed to see if it's Him or just me.
Several things happen simultaneously if it is really
the Lord’s voice speaking instead of our own.
We’ve all heard someone say, “The Lord told me…” and wondered if they
were hearing strange little voices inside their head, based on some of the
things one sometimes hears.
Occasionally I wonder if it is my idea or something
God has spoken when, caught unaware, some thought zips between my ears. Though it isn’t totally foolproof, I have
developed a process to determine which it is, and it works well for me.
There are at least five things that happen when it is
the Lord at work, and if they aren’t all there, I assume that it is my thought
and put less stock in it. I don’t
totally forget about it; I just wait to see what will happen.
First of all, we have a kind of a low-level
background noise in our heads made up of unfinished thoughts, questions,
memories, and problems. Like a clock
ticking beside our desk, we become used to our brain-noise and blank it out
while we work at the problem at hand.
When God speaks, all that noise flat-lines. For just that brief moment, the mind is crystal clear like the
rarified air at the top of a mountain.
It is unmistakably different, and is nearly impossible not to
notice. When God talks, people listen.
Condition number two involves the Bible. God will never tell us to do something that
contradicts what He has said in Scripture.
And maybe other than acts of civil disobedience to unjust laws, neither
will He tell to do something illegal.
If the thought or idea is contrary to Scripture or law, it has come from
somewhere other than God.
Next, some things may look like they can done in
secret, but nothing is hidden in this world.
Condition three says that God always provides a witness. He never tells just one person an important
message. It is uncanny how over the
years He has put me in touch with others who unknowingly confirm what He has
spoken or revealed to me.
If a thought or answer occurs to me that seems like
it came from God, I keep my mouth shut about it and wait to see if someone will
say or do something that would confirm the thought’s Divine origin. Sometimes the person will even say something
like, “I don’t know why, but I have the feeling that…” and I will get a case of
Holy Ghost goose bumps as I hear the exact thing repeated from them that I
thought I heard God say.
If it really comes from
God, He will provide time to confirm it with some type of witness. The devil is
more likely to try and get us to act immediately.