Have you ever been in a crowded, noisy room and heard your name called out? For years, my husband and I have watched our daughter play in volleyball tournaments that fill entire convention centers. There are thousands of girls and thousands of moms in there, and yet, my ears can pick out my daughter’s voice amid the noise. I can tune out lots of other calls for “Mom!” but when my daughter calls for me, I turn and attend to her.
I don’t think this is a superpower—I just think it’s years of listening and recognizing her voice. That experience reminds me of what Jesus said about hearing his voice. He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). As we follow our Good Shepherd, we learn to recognize and hear his voice, and do what he says. There may be lots of other voices calling our name, but it’s Jesus’ voice that rings out above the noise.
Do you hear God’s voice in your life? I have never heard God’s audible voice, but I’ve experienced the Holy Spirit using Scripture to convict, comfort, guide, and remind me of what’s true. Learn to recognize the Good Shepherd’s voice as you read and meditate on his Word. Here are 20 Bible verses to start your study. Consider printing them off and committing them to memory.
20 Bible Verses About Hearing God’s Voice
1. Deuteronomy 30:20 (ESV)
“Loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
2. 1 Samuel 3:9–10 (ESV)
Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
3. Psalm 85:8 (ESV)
“Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.”
4. Psalm 95:7–8 (ESV)
“For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness.”
5. Isaiah 55:3 (ESV)
“Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”
6. Matthew 7:24 (ESV)
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
7. Matthew 17:5 (ESV)
“He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’”
8. Luke 11:28 (ESV)
But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
9. John 5:24 (ESV)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
10. John 6:63 (ESV)
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
11. John 8:47 (ESV)
“Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
12. John 10:3–5 (ESV)
“The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
13. John 10:27 (ESV)
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
14. Romans 10:17 (ESV)
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
15. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV)
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
16. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
17. Hebrews 1:1–2 (ESV)
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
18. Hebrews 2:1 (ESV)
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”
19. Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
20. James 1:22 (ESV)
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
How to Hear God’s Voice
How do you learn to hear God’s voice among the many other voices clamoring for your attention? Voices are everywhere: in what we see, listen to, read, think, and say to ourselves. It may seem obvious, but recognizing God’s voice means learning what it sounds like. And the surest way to learn his voice is to regularly read and meditate on His Word.
The Bible is his true and sufficient Word to us. If we want to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, we need to know what he has said. When we belong to Christ, He gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us and helps us understand, remember, and obey what God has spoken. Jesus told his disciples that the Spirit would “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). The Spirit will never lead us astray or direct us contrary to the Word of God.
So when you wonder whether a thought, impression, or direction is from God, bring it back to Scripture. Does it agree with what God has already said? Does it lead you toward truth, holiness, love, and obedience to Christ?
It’s a noisy world out there. Tune your ear to hear your Shepherd’s voice by knowing his Word, and then follow where he leads. You can trust his voice. He’s the Good Shepherd.
Cara
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- 20 Bible Verses About Jesus as Our Shepherd
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- 20 Bible Verses About Spiritual Vigilance
- 20 Bible Verses About God as Your Helper
P.S. Hearing from God starts with loving and enjoying his company in His Word. Download this free guide to start your journey.