There are many examples of God speaking in a voice heard as a outer voice in the Bible and sometimes it is even described.
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:” (Gen. 2:16) What a great relationship Adam had with God before he disobeyed Him.
“And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I”. (Ex. 3:4) Notice that God waited until Moses turned toward Him and then He spoke.
“and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, which said “Thou are my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) I pray that some day we may hear those same words.
Habakkuk states a problem and inquires of God and waits for His reply. I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it: because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (Hab. 2:1-3) Habakkuk said He would stand and watch to see. Observe that he was watching, waiting and expecting God to speak to Him. Should we do any less?
When we ask a question we should expect an answer. It’s important to anticipate God’s answer as we listen and wait for our response. Anything less then expectancy of an answer to our question or prayer would not be faith and must be displeasing to God. Scripture says it is impossible to please God without faith and if we believe we will receive. Jesus said whatever you ask in My name I will do it. Not to believe He will do what He said is insulting to Jesus who loves us so much that He came to die that we might spend eternity with Him. Is it any wonder so many prayers are not answered!? May we always walk in faith knowing that God will answer our questions and that He will grant our request.“And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 22:7) As we read on we see that the people with Saul seen the light but did not hear the voice. In the next example everyone present heard the voice.
“Father glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered; others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, “This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes:” (John 12:28-30)
God is sovereign and we see that He chooses how He will speak to His children. He speaks to one or many at the same time. His voice has been described as thunder in the last example. In other instances His voice was described as being like many waters, a still small voice or simply as an audible voice.
One morning I heard my name called “Margie” and “Does it make sense?” I looked to see who was talking but no one was there. (Journal 11, pg.69) The voice was a mans voice. The remaining dialogue was in the still small voice and in visions. God was sharing things about my future.
Sometimes we just need encouragement. God knew I has having a hard time and feeling discouraged. I heard a voice say to me: Keep on going Margie. (Journal 18, pg. 125)
I have recorded other times when God has called my name and a few other times when He has spoken to me in a voice where I actually looked to see who was talking and found no person in the house or where I was and know without a doubt that God had spoken to me. It is interesting that in the bible I see more scripture on God speaking with this kind of audible voice than the inner voice and that He speaks to me most often with the inner voice.
I’ve heard it said many times that God gave us one mouth and two ears so we should listen twice as much as we speak but it seems we reverse this and most of us have the habit of interrupting each other or thinking about what we are going to say before the person finishes what they are saying. Unfortunately some of us talk more than we listen to God also. My first assignment after God called me to serve Him in Jerusalem was to tell two people there to listen. I did not know these women and I was to go tell them that God had told me to tell them to listen for Him to speak to them. What will they think!? This is hard. I kept putting it off and finally told the one and it was OK. She received the message. The other one I put off until almost the last minute here in the states at customs. God was tugging at me. This is my last chance. I had to do it then or be disobedient to God. I walked around the baggage to the other side of the carrousel where she was. I told her God had told me to tell her to listen for an answer after she prays. She hugged me and was so thankful. I have since learned that when God instructs me to do something that it is good and not to delay. How I had agonized over this and learned a very valuable lesson. God ALWAYS knows what He is doing. He will find a way that He chooses to speak to us. It may not be the way we would choose or even something we want to hear but just to hear from God is so wonderful. I am thankful that God chooses to speak to me and/or use me in any form that pleases Him. I am also thankful when He speaks to others to give me a message. It is so important not to limit God.
Quoted from the book: Hearing God Speak
Author: Margaret Jensen