God hasn’t quit speaking; He is opening our hearts and minds to hear His voice in new ways. He does this so that we will continue to grow progressively in our relationship with Him. He doesn’t want us to become locked in to the same patterns of hearing Him. God’s goal is a real, live relationship with us.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27

Here are a few scriptural examples, which portray the multitude of ways the Spirit has used to speak to people:

1. A dream or vision (see Job 33:14-18)
2. A voice in a trance (see Acts 10:9-16)
3. The voice of many angels (see Rev. 5:11)
4. The voice of the archangel (see 1 Thess. 4:16)
5. The “sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:15)
6. The sound of the Lord walking in the garden (see Gen. 3:8)
7. The sound of the army of God marching in the tops of the trees (see 2 Sam. 5:23-25)
8. The audible voice of God (see Ex. 3:4)
9. God “speaking peace” to His people (Ps. 85:8)
10. God’s written Word (our primary source of His voice and our chief reference point) (see Ps.119:105)
11. Wonders in the sky and on Earth (see Joel 2:30-31)
12. Visions and parables to the prophets (see Hos. 12:10)
13. Words and physical metaphors to the prophets (see Jer. 18:1-6)
14. The Holy Spirit speaking to a group (see Acts 13:2)
15. Men, moved by the Holy Spirit, declaring God’s voice (see 2 Pet. 1:21)
16. Heavenly experiences in which one is brought up before the Lord (see 2 Cor. 12:1-4)
17. The Holy Spirit bearing witness to our spirit (see Rom. 8:16)
18. A dumb donkey speaking with the voice of a man (see 2 Pet. 2:16)
19. One person speaking the revelatory counsel of the Lord to another (see James 5:19-20)
20. God’s own Son (see Heb. 1:2)

This list is not exhaustive, but it gives a bird’s-eye view of some of the ways God has chosen to speak to (and through) His people. I have been surprised over the years at both how God speaks and what or whom He chooses to use, invariably the most unlikely person.

God is not limited in His attention-getting techniques. He wants to be heard, and He has plenty of approaches He can utilise.

Sadly for me, one of the ways God gets my attention is with an earache in my right ear. To me, it’s like Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”. I invariably have taken myself away from God’s best for me, doing my own thing, and I know it. As soon as I get back on track, and step out to do what God has for me to do that day, the earache is gone. I have to step out, expecting God to turn up and equip me for the task. On several occasions, the earache has gone before I reach the set of lights about 500 metres/yards from my home.

God wants us to hear His voice in all of its manifestations so that we can bear much fruit—fruit that will remain.

We must not forget that ultimately this is not about us. It is about our being transformed into the image of His glorious Son, Jesus. By the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, you and I will be changed into the image of God’s Son. According to Psalm 29, we will shout praises together as we are changed from glory to glory: “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Psalm 29:2

Based on an article by James Goll: God has a Word for Us; No more Boxes! Charisma Magazine.