How to Discern Elohim’s Voice Today

Does Elohim Speak to Individuals?

Several years ago, I was listening to a conversation in which fellow believers in Messiah were complaining about people who go around saying, “God told me ___.” They did not believe that Elohim (God) speaks directly to people today and that people could know Elohim was speaking to them. I explained to them that it is not unusual for Elohim to use circumstances and impressions to speak to me. Since that time, I have learned how to hear the voice of Elohim in other ways.

 

Yeshua, the Good Shepherd

John 10:3-5, 14-16 – To him, the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers… ¹⁴ I (Yeshua) am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Yeshua (Jesus) expects us to discern His voice. We must take time to recognize His voice, which are the thoughts He projects into our minds. Satan and his demons can also project thoughts into our minds, and obviously, we have our own thoughts going on in our minds too. Therefore, we must exercise discernment to know the difference between these thoughts or voices we are experiencing. We can begin this process by reading and studying His Word. When we read the gospels, we can get a feel for Yeshua’s personality and the way He talks to His disciples. This can help us get to know His gentle tone too.

Ways Elohim Speaks to Us

A while back, we talked about Experiencing God, a book by Henry Blackaby, which teaches about some of the ways Elohim speaks to His people. Some things he mentions is hearing the Lord through the Bible, prayer, circumstances in our lives, other people, and the church. There are other Biblical ways that Elohim still uses to speak to us today. These include:

• Urim (“yes”) and Thumim (“no”). Originally, the Urim and Thumim were stones in the High Priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8). The High Priest did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within him as believers in Messiah have now. Today, the Urim and Thumim are the gut feelings of yes or no; they can be a deep sense of peace or a sense that something bad might happen. Elohim basically speaks to your spirit to influence the emotions you experience in your soul. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that this is Elohim communicating to them.
• Prophetic dreams about the past, present, or future. Not all our dreams are prophetic dreams. We can also have victory/healing dreams, emotional/cleansing dreams, and garbage dreams with continual scene changes. We need the garbage dreams to become less and less common in our lives, so we can have more prophetic dreams. This can occur as we experience inner healing and as we control what enters the gates of our physical senses, especially our eyes and ears. Most prophetic dreams are about our past, future, or present, and these are comparable to words of knowledge (related to past or present) or words of wisdom (related to the future). Some people, such as mature prophets, may have dreams about things beyond their personal lives, such as things in our nation and world. You may have already watched numerous videos of prophecies from these kinds of prophets on social media.
• Visions are useful for ministry or warfare, edification and exhortation of the body.
  • A prophetic vision is a visual impression that comes to your mind from your spirit, and many people are not aware they are having them. You may assume it is just your imagination. Take a moment. Close your eyes and ask the Lord to show you a vision/picture of something. If you saw something, such as an image or a short movie-clip, you’ve just had a prophetic vision. Perhaps you already know what it’s about and don’t need to ask Him for further insight. They can be related to the past, present, or future.
  • On the other hand, if you see a picture when your senses are suspended, this is a trance. People have these kinds of visions when Elohim needs their full attention. You may also suddenly feel, smell, or see things from the spiritual realm that you are not sensing in the physical realm. For example, you may smell holy incense or the stench of rotten meat.
  • If you see a picture that is superimposed over your natural senses, so that your eyes see what Elohim wants you to see, this is an open vision.
  • If you experience trances or open visions, be careful because sometimes these may not be from the Lord. The enemy likes to impose these kinds of visions on people too.
• Interpretation of unknown tongues. These interpreted words can be praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. They also can be words of prophecy, words of knowledge, or words of wisdom.
• Prophecies, which are spoken through others by the Holy Spirit. These can be given to individuals or to a group of people. Prophecies should confirm what the Lord has already revealed to you. If they don’t, be cautious of accepting these because sometimes people may add more than Elohim intended, or they may add to it from their own passions.
• Journaling. As we begin to discern the voices in our minds, it is important to journal the 2-way mental conversations we are having with the Lord. This will help us develop our relationship with Elohim. At first, this may feel strange, but it will become powerful as you learn and develop this skill. I have found this extremely beneficial.
• The audible voice. This voice is very rare; Elohim may use an audible voice when you are not accustomed to hearing from him. If the Lord speaks to you this way, it could be an urgent warning concerning your safety. Be aware and careful; the enemy can call your name and/or say things to you too. Therefore, it is important to test audible voices. You can ask, “Who is Yeshua to you?” AND/OR say, “Lord Yeshua, if that’s you, speak for your servant is listening.” The response you hear will reveal much.
• Praise and worship song, which may be accompanied by a strong mental impression or message from the Lord. This is a real attention getter with an important message. The song usually carries a message with the mental impression or message from the Lord.
• Still small voice. This is a gentle voice that seems like it is coming from your own spirit, but it is really from Elohim; if you can learn to hear this voice, it’s a sign of maturity. As you learn the difference between Elohim’s voice, the voice of your spirit, and the voice of the enemy, you will develop the ability to hear Elohim’s still small voice.

Logos and Rhema

As we’ve previously mentioned, the Lord speaks to us through His word. This can be through the logos or rhema, which are Greek terms we should be aware of:

Logos – the word of Elohim in the written Scripture; an uttered word or decree; Yeshua Himself; etc.

• Mark 2:2b – And he was preaching the word (logos) to them.
• Mark 4:33 – With many such parables he spoke the word (logos) to them, as they were able to hear it.
• Matthew 8:16 – That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word (logos) and healed all who were sick.
• John 1:14 – And the Word (logos) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Rhema – speech; word; utterance; or the concept that certain Scripture is speaking to you personally or to a particular situation in your life even though its original context may be different. This is what makes the word of Elohim alive.

• Matthew 4:4 – But he answered, “It is written, “’Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word (rhema) that comes from the mouth of God.’”
• Luke 3:2-3 – during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word (rhema) of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.³ And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
• Romans 10:17 – So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word (rhema) of God.
• Ephesians 5:26 – that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word (rhema).

Basically, Elohim uses both logos and rhema to speak, guide, and direct us.

 

As I’ve already mentioned, we must discern the difference between the origin of the voices or thoughts in our minds.

• The voice of our minds:
  • Is normally logical – A revelation from Elohim is something you did not previously know and might be something contrary what you previously thought something should be.
  • Is often driven by your emotions.
  • Revolves around your own personality and sinful reactions.
• The voice of Elohim:
  • Should draw you to Messiah.
  • Should produce faith, hope, and love.
  • Confirms and witnesses something in your spirit that you’ve been praying about.
  • May convict you to repent.
  • Confirms His Word; it does not contradict the Word. This is why we need to study the Scriptures.
• The voice of the Enemy (Satan or demons):
  • Is often loud and pushy; it causes you to feel like you must act quickly. Ask yourself if the tone is wrong or if it is pushing you beyond what the Lord may intend.
  • May justify your sin and/or give you a way to escape from your failures with excuses and reasoning.
  • Can be obtrusive to the point it will impose and override your senses and force you to listen to him.
  • Causes you to question Elohim’s word by asking, “Did Elohim say…?” It attempts to override the rhema words that the Lord gave you.
  • Causes fear, guilt, and pride. The Holy Spirit convicts, but He does not cause us to feel guilty and/or condemned.

The reason we need to bother figuring out what thoughts or voices are from the Lord or not is because spiritual warfare takes place in the mind. It is the first line of warfare that people ignore or constantly struggle with. We must make our thoughts obey Messiah, so that they don’t give rise to sin.

• 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 – For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments in every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, ⁶ being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

We are truly in a battle against the kingdom of darkness. If the Lord intends to use you to wage warfare, you must be able to discern His voice, especially His warnings and instructions for your daily life.

In addition, we need to learn to recognize Elohim’s voice and develop a wonderful love-relationship with the Lord. After all, we are the Bride of Messiah, and we need to get to know Him now as we move into eternity.