It's God's will for the Christian to hear from Him and then put what He says to use so that it may accomplish its purpose. This topic deserves a lot more attention than I’m able to give it here. My goal in this Post is to give some high level pointers and insight.
First, I’m not going to try to prove that God speaks to His people today. Face it, He does. There is a lot about this in the Bible, but the only reference I’ll use today is John 10:16 in which Jesus said, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
It’s also clear from Scripture that some folks hear from God more than others. What does it take to hear from God? In the verse from John, He is referring to His sheep. So it’s safe to assume you have to be one of His sheep. That means that a believing heart, tender and surrendered to God through Jesus Christ, is the only place to start. That makes you one of His sheep, right? I've also learned that He typically won’t say much if He knows His words will be discarded, ignored, mocked or disobeyed.
Leaving that part of the discussion behind, then, I believe there are several things about hearing from God that must be considered:
1. Was that really Him speaking?
2. Did I clearly hear what He said?
3. What did He really mean?
4. How should I respond to what He said?
5. When and how is this to be shared, if at all?
