We have all heard people say, ‘The Lord told me,’ and it turned out not to be so. As a result, we have become doubting and cynical. What a loss! God speaks through people, and your fear of someone ‘getting it wrong’ can rob you of vital input—in some cases, the very input you need.

One night, God appeared to Jacob in a dream, saying: ‘“I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and… bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Then Jacob awoke… and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven.”’ (Genesis 28:15–17 NKJV)

In order to hear from God, you must (1) desire it above all else, (2) eliminate mental clutter, slow down, and take time to understand what He is saying to you, and (3) believe that God will actually speak to you.

If you don’t believe, you will be left to the mercy of your own best thinking—or be influenced by others who think just like you. Seven times in chapters two and three of the book of Revelation, God said, ‘He who has an ear [a spiritually developed one], let him hear what the Spirit says.’ The question is this: how can you know what you’re hearing is actually from God? Because it will always agree with His Word, and your spirit will say, ‘Amen!’