There is so much noise in this world, from the voices on social media to the hustle and bustle of all that’s around us.

If we are not intentional in daily life, it is all too easy to miss out on hearing the voice of God.

God wants to speak to us all the time. Do we encounter Him in our daily life? Do we have conversations with Him, like we would a friend?

In this second article of a two-part series, we chat with a few friends who have heard God in their own personal ways. Be encouraged that God speaks today, and we can hear Him!

God gave both of us the same vision

JARYL: I typically hear God when words or images from Him come to my mind. Other times, I see visions or receive a word of knowledge or revelation.

Another way He speaks to me, which I find by far to be the clearest, is through His Word.

Sometimes a verse or passage of Scripture will pierce my heart as I reflect on God’s heart over me and my situation.

Ever since May 2022, I had a strange sensing that I would drop out of my course of study to walk with prayer groups on campus, and I didn’t know why.

I took the advice of my mentors, which was to actively pray about it but avoid consciously thinking about it.

I felt God say to me clearly: “Drop out. I’ll catch you.”

Then on 17 October 2022, I went forward at an altar call as I felt the Lord had something to say to me. When I reached the front and knelt down, I felt God say to me clearly: “Drop out. I’ll catch you”. I was caught very off guard and began doubting if I heard correctly.

My mentor (who didn’t know what God said to me there and then) prayed for me to step out in humility and obedience to wherever God had in mind for me next. I asked God: “Is this the clearest You’re making this?”

Just then, another pastor walked over and prayed over me: “God, I thank You that You have made clear to Jaryl what he needs to do next.” Many prayers made for me that night were related to the theme of stepping into where God had for me.

I took a few more weeks to consult my mentors and family regarding the revelation and they all were in approval and support of it.

Furthermore, when I shared this decision with my pre-believing friends in school, their hearts softened towards the gospel. At this point, I had no doubts that God was telling me to make this decision.

Even as I prayed about how God would provide for me, I kept coming back to the biblical story of how God sent ravens to Elijah.

This was a story that many people prayed over me with regards to how God would provide for me.

One day, walking along a stretch of shops, I saw a bird fly past me on four separate occasions. Each time a bird flew by, I saw a vision of a raven arriving at my feet and handing me $50.

I didn’t know what that meant at that time. But when I woke up the next day, my friend texted me and shared that the Lord had convicted him to give me a certain amount.

When I checked my bank account, I saw a transfer of $200. It then occurred to me that $200 is $50 x 4! I began thanking God for his provision.

Though it has only been a few months, God has been providing for me and it blows me away to think how one step of faith could lead to such miracles!

RAPHAEL: God speaks to me either through dreams, impressions or conversations with those around me.

Usually, I would dream about something. Then in moments during the day, I would get impressions that either highlight or elaborate on certain parts of that dream. When I get into spiritual conversations about that dream, confirmation happens.

What if I told you God has a dream for your school, army camps, media space or workplace? Would you pursue it? Would you pursue the dream of God’s heart?

I remember asking that question in December 2019, days after my youth-ministry camp, “God, what is Your dream for me?”

And there was an answer: “Unite the polytechnics for a worship gathering.” God showed me a vision of youths coming together from all walks of life, from every polytechnic, to worship God!

The next day, I approached Jaryl, a friend who partnered with me to organise a prayer gathering called See You At The Pole that same year. Unexpectedly, he also had the same vision as I did. We started to meet more often to plan the route we had to take.

It later became a network of Prayer Spaces in the polytechnics that I had the opportunity to have planted and pioneered with Jaryl and another polytechnic student.

JARYL: When God speaks, we shouldn’t dismiss it, no matter how obscure it can sound. Test everything by God’s word and have specific people you trust to approach, so that even if you did hear wrongly, it would not lead you to make a decision you would regret.

RAPHAEL: During the Revival 24:4 PolyRevival event, Pastor Debbie came over to pray over me. She said, “Your obedience has led to this, do not despise small beginnings. Look around. They are here because you were obedient to that dream.”

The obedience and perseverance to follow God’s heart will lead others to God’s heart for themselves. It is not just for you. That dream is for others as well.

God wants us to know the dreams of His heart, and to pursue them, no matter the cost. He desires us to be involved in His story of redemption and restoration of the world that we live in.

My youth pastor was God’s messenger

I am on exchange in North America now, and the last time I spoke to God was on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City the afternoon before sitting down to write this article!

The Lord often speaks directly to me, but He also communicates with me through wise counsel, church leaders and even visions.

I am able to distinguish God’s voice from other voices as He speaks to me gently, in a still and small voice. I began to recognise His voice more as I spent more time getting into His Word.

Through the past few years of learning to listen to the Lord’s voice, one major takeaway is that you just have to keep practising.

One particularly memorable experience would be when God used my youth pastor to speak to me. He came to wash my feet during a ministering service at our church youth camp in 2019 when I was in my second year of junior college (JC).

This youth pastor is actually my favourite pastor and I see him as a “spiritual dad”. At the start, he was only washing the feet of the youth leaders and not the youths. Somehow, he ended up approaching the front row youths (me and my friends) to ask if anyone had washed our feet.

My friend beside me immediately said yes because a leader had already washed his feet, but I said no because for some reason, no one approached me to ask!

So my favourite youth pastor ended up washing my feet. It was like the Lord orchestrated this very moment, just for me.

As my youth pastor washed my feet, he spoke Proverbs 31:29 over me: “The Lord says to you, ‘many daughters have done well, but you excel them all'” (that was one of my favourite Bible verses!).

He also told me, “You might feel like you lost the Lord because you ran away from Him. But you never lost Him. He has always been there for you and He has always been pursuing you and waiting for you.”

Right then, I felt very loved by the Lord. Despite how much I felt I didn’t measure up, He loved me because His Son took all my shortcomings on the cross.

At the point in my life, I was in a season where I was very lost. At the start of my second year in JC, I wasn’t close to the Lord at all. I was also looking for an object for my heart to love and be loved by.

I was actually obsessed with BTS, a K-pop boy band, during my second year of JC, and my heart was practically filled with “idols”.

So a huge part of me felt unworthy to actually become close to the Lord since I had strayed so far from Him.

But the words spoken over me made me realise that that’s not true at all. The Lord chose me and loved me while I was still a sinner. My running away didn’t affect how I was viewed and loved by Him.

Through the past few years of learning to listen to the Lord’s voice, one major takeaway is that you just have to keep practising.

Even when I make a mistake and hear God inaccurately, He loves me anyway! Because the Lord loves the fact that we’re even coming to Him.

God heard and answered me specifically

The last time I communicated with God was just before this interview, in my prayer time with Him.

God typically speaks to me through impressions, such as showing me something while I’m praying, because I am quite a visual learner.

Of course, He also speaks to me through the Word. His still small voice also prompts me to read different verses or chapters in the Bible in different seasons of my life.

God typically speaks to me through impressions, such as showing me something while I’m praying, because I am quite a visual learner.

In the process of distinguishing God’s voice from my own thoughts or other voices in the world, I often pray and ask God for discernment. I plead the blood of Christ over myself as protection and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide me.

Whatever is not aligned with the Word of God is wrong because the Word of God is sure and true — for it is of God, from God and is Christ Himself.

Reading the Bible and understanding it properly in its context is thus very important. Understanding how God normally speaks with His people and other believers also helps guide us to know how He speaks to us. 

One experience I have of God speaking to me, was during the period of time when I was praying and asking God for direction for 2022, especially in the aspect of dance.

I have been a dancer nearly all of my life since I was five years old. However, when I came to know Christ, I realised that all aspects of my life including dance were filled with sin.

In dance, I found it really difficult to not make it an idol. Even if I did not, practices were often tainted with the desire to dance for my own selfish gain, to look good, glorify myself and create a space for myself.

But God slowly convicted me of the necessity of purity and holiness in all aspects of my life, including dance.

Around that time, I heard about Awaken Generation (AG), a worship school in Singapore that had a dance stream.

I thought it sounded like a great idea to attend this stream, to learn to use this craft to glorify God. But I did not want to move until I was certain that this was of God.

In joining AG, I asked God for help with two things. If He wanted me to go, He had to first convict me in a way that I would know it was Him.

Secondly, my parents had to be open to funding my fees because the fees were too expensive for a broke student like me.

One day, after I prayed again for clarity, I saw two people flagging (worshipping God in dance with flags) outside my window.

They were worshipping God on the rooftop carpark, while I was attending my youth ministry’s online worship session at home.

I was so shocked because that was the first time — and since then, the last time — that I saw people flag in the area opposite my house. 

In my heart at that very moment, the Holy Spirit convicted me that this was the unmistakable sign I was waiting for.

That night, I plucked up my courage and asked my parents what they thought of me going to AG.

To my surprise, my parents were convicted to sponsor me 75% of the fees! So, I happily signed up for AG in 2022.

Keep asking God, keep reading His Word, keep praying and keep discerning.

Whenever you face “setbacks” in seeking God’s heart, don’t give up. Instead, keep pressing in and keep seeking Him. No man can know the heart and mind of God but we have the Holy Spirit and the Spirit knows.

Keep asking God, keep reading His Word, keep praying and keep discerning.

Then, you will learn more about who God is and who you are in Him. The more deeply rooted you are, the closer you become to Him.

Some of us might be unfamiliar with the experience of hearing God. The word “hearing” may make us think that the heavens should open up with a booming voice.

While God does speak audibly at times, there are also countless other means through which He speaks.

If we desire to hear Him, we need to understand the channels through which God communicates — and be ready to listen.

The Lord takes special care to be personal, and speaks to us in a way we can hear Him best. As we open our spiritual ears to listen out for Him, His voice will become more recognisable.

As you read these individuals’ experience conversing with God, I hope you are blessed and encouraged with the truth that you can hear from Him too!

This article is the second in a two-part series on hearing from God. You’ll find the first here.