God teaches us all things (John 14:26) and guides us into all truth (John 16:13). God teaches us deep spiritual things that only He knows (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). He does these things by His Spirit. In fact, He gave us His Spirit in order to teach us these things (1 Corinthians 2:12) and that He might hide them from those who do not know Him (John 14:19; 22-23).
What do I make of this? The fact that God teaches us means that if you have ever learned any spiritual truth about God, then you already know how to discern His voice. God is the one who taught you, and you learned it directly from Him.
If you don’t recognize that God teaches us, then consider one or more recent circumstances in which you become aware of spiritual truth or in which you became aware of spiritual error. These may have happened during a conversation with another Christian, while you were listening to a sermon, or when you were reading your Bible. In all circumstances, regardless of the agent that contributed to the learning, the Holy Spirit is the person who revealed the truth or exposed the error to you.
The apostle John wrote:
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. (1 John 2:27)
When you think back on the instances when the eyes of your understanding were opened and you became aware of the truth, consider the internal voice of the one who told you those things, and think about how He opened your eyes. Reflecting on these things, knowing that God teaches us and guides us into all truth, may help you discern the sound of His voice.
To be continued…