Communication with God
I recently talked to a co-worker of mine and we got into a discussion about God talking to us in other ways besides Scripture. She claims that she hears God talking to her in her thoughts. She says she hears his voice. I told her I have never had that experience and that I don't think God talks to us that way. We get our answers through Scripture. I know God works in mysterious ways, but it is hard for me to wrap my mind around God speaking to us personally about how are lives will turn out in our thoughts or dreams. My question is: Does God talk to us with a voice in our thoughts or our dreams?
God of course can do anything. He can communicate to us any way he wants. The Bible describes instances when God did speak directly to people, through others and in dreams. The fact that God communicated in these ways in the past does not guarantee that God will do so in the future. We have no promise of God communicating to us beyond Scripture.
What the Bible does say is that “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” (Hebrews 1:1-2). We have God’s full communication to us in the pages of the Old and New Testament. There is no need to look elsewhere for communication from God. In addition, God tells us that dreams can actually be a tool of people who want to mislead and deceive us (Jeremiah 23:25-28).
If there is a “voice” from God inside us, it is the natural knowledge of his law and a conscience that is guided properly by Holy Scripture. If there is a “voice” from God inside us, it is the new self—that part of us that is “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24)—that desires to live life according to God’s will.
We do well to focus on God’s communication to us through the Bible—and our communication to him in prayer.