Receiving Prophetic Words: How to Hear & Respond to the Holy Spirit

You have been designed to hear and respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible says that His sheep hear His voice. It is in your DNA to hear and respond to the voice of God.

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one” (John 10:25-29 NKJV).

The Holy Spirit speaks in many different ways, and we get to discover the voice of God through spending time with the Lord. It is often in times of prayer when no one else is around that we learn to hear His voice. However, His voice is not revealed to us on our timetable but His. He desires to speak and share things with us and give us assignments that release what is normal in Heaven here on earth.

Hearing the voice of God releases faith because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (see Romans 10:17). Faith is activated in the voice of God. The voice of God is the Spirit of God speaking to us. Many people brush off the voice of God because it is not coming the way they want it to or because they think it is just them. The stories I am going to be sharing with you in the remain- der of this book are the direct result of hearing and responding to the voice of God. My desire is to stir up your pure heart and mind to believe you were born to live in the presence of God and hear and respond to the Holy Spirit’s leadership.

God is not looking to speak just to prophets in powerful ways to reveal what is on His heart. The Holy Spirit also wants to speak to the everyday believer who is willing to listen and obey what He is saying. There is a story in the book of Acts that reveals how detailed the Holy Spirit can be in giving direction, which is important for us to capture so we can have faith that if God spoke that way in the past, He will do it again because He has not changed.

In Acts 9:10-19, the word came to a disciple, not a prophet. This is very important to point out. He was not a prophet. He was a follower of Jesus Christ, just like you and me. He loved the Lord and wanted to worship Him and follow His leading.

Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus (Acts 9:10-19 NKJV).

I want to highlight seven things from what you just read that are very important details because sometimes God gives us very specific details to follow, and we need to stay sensitive to the voice of God even if we don’t always understand.

#1 Saul was staying at the house of Judas. This reveals that God sees everything and knows where people are. He knows where to find individuals that need to be found. He knows where people are that need to be rescued. God sees and knows.

#2 The house was on the street called Straight. God knows the small details, and He can be very descriptive in visions, and when His word comes to us, it is our job to believe that He can speak to us and then pay attention.

#3 He was to ask for Saul of Tarsus. God knew his name. People say that this is “a nameless, faceless generation,” but the Bible reveals that God knows individuals’ names and where they are.

#4 Saul had been praying. In the word of the Lord were details Ananias received about Saul praying. God sees it when people are praying, and sometimes we are intercepted in their prayers. God sees them praying and sends His own to help extend His love and show how real He is.

#5 Saul was blind. Ananias is being told about Saul’s blindness but would later receive a word about spiritual blindness. He was receiving a partial understanding of the revelation, but when he obeyed, more came to him as he met Saul and understood what he was to tell him.

#6 He received details on how the healing was going to take place.

#7 God told Ananias that Saul had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This means God showed him the redemption of His love for Saul. Ananias could see Saul was chosen by God.

The truth is, every Christian has heard the voice of God. God has already spoken to them; otherwise, they could not have come to the Lord. As the Holy Spirit speaks to people, He brings conviction to their hearts of their need for Jesus. None of us can come to God in our strength. We come to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit drawing us through the gospel. Why should we think it strange for the One who saved us to want to speak to us? It is the power of the gospel that reveals our need for Jesus, and it is also the power of the gospel and the voice of God in the message of the gospel that confirms truth. When the voice of God is revealed like it was to the disciple Ananias, it gives us a picture of the love of God and how God is near to us. God is not far away. The voice of God is near.

Following the Holy Spirit’s Leadership

As I stood in worship at church one day, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me, “Chris, someone needs healing in their body in the apartment complex behind the church. Leave right now and go pray for them.” How I received the word was a random thought that came to my mind. I was not thinking about the apartment complexes behind me, nor was I thinking there was someone in need of healing in their body. I saw a picture in my mind as if I was leaving and going in obedience. I was not sure, though, what apartment to go to. I sometimes think God does this to us on purpose. He gives us the rest of the information at times when we are in pursuit of His word in obedience. I leaned over to Anne, who by then had become a good friend to my wife Stefanie and me, and said, “Anne, I have to leave and go pray for someone that needs healing in their body at the apartments behind the church.”

“Really? Right now? You’re supposed to speak next.”

“I know.”

I knew that Anne was one of the leaders there, so she under- stood. I asked Anne to join me as the others continued. Why does this happen to me? I began to think. I have seen a pattern that when I am going to train others to do something, the Lord will often test me to do what I am saying they can do. He looks for me to live the message that I talk about. I knew the Holy Spirit was testing me and His leadership in my life again. It is not always convenient to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, but it is always rewarding. As Anne joined me, we walked across the street to the apartment complex, and I did not know where to start. What door do I knock on? I saw a few people outside, so I walked up to them as they stood near their apartment and asked, “By chance, does any of you need healing in your body?”

“No, why?”

I then explained to them that I felt led by the Holy Spirit to come to this apartment because someone was in pain and needing healing. I let them know that Jesus loved them and had a plan for their life and went to another door, and I still did not see the breakthrough I thought I was going to see. Then I looked at all the apartments in wonder. “What are you doing, Lord?” As I did that, one apartment was highlighted to me out of all of them. It was like God was shining a light on it. I told Anne that this door was highlighted to me, and we walked over. I knocked on the door, and a woman answered the door. I introduced myself and told her that I was at the church just over there, and the Lord spoke to me while in worship that someone needed healing in their body and asked, “By any chance, do you?”

She looked at me in shock. She said, “I was just praying for the Lord to heal my body. I am in excruciating pain.” She shared how she had had surgery recently and was crying out to the Lord, “Please heal me.” I knew in that moment that God’s word had already gone forth and in His word is the power to perform the miracle she needed.

I said, “The Lord has sent me here to lay my hand on you and command all the pain to leave you right now.” As I laid my hand on her to pray for her, the power of Jesus came on her, and I asked her how she felt, and she blurted out, “All the pain is gone, and I am healed.” She was so impacted that God would send someone from church to have church at her doorstep. Jesus was in the midst of three believers, and His power was made known. As we got back to the church building, I arrived just in time to preach the Word of God. Faith moves us forward and helps others connect to God by faith through His grace. In the next chapter, we will see the connection point of believers working together in the harvest field for Jesus.