Quite late to the party on this, but one comment piqued my interest:
Q: "What am I missing here?"
A: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27 ESV
I respect the OP's hesitancy to rely on thier own "internal voice", however, I've learned that such a fear can be rooted in a greater faith in Satan's (or our own soul's) ability to deceive us than in God's ability to lead us. Discerning His will is possible, and that applies to when someone senses He is giving them a personal impression too. Thus, there are ways to not only discern between the voice of God and the enemy, and even our own ego. When properly employed, such discernment allows us to hear Him clearly. Even then, we can make mistakes. What's important is having the right heart and an intent to check whether an impression is contrary to or in alignment with the Scriptures.
When we only allow God to speak to other people, aren't we then relying on their "inner voice"?
John 10:27 doesn't say, "only leaders hear my voice", or "only prophets hear my voice", it says, "my sheep hear my voice." Hearing God for yourself is not only possible, it's healthy. It is good to prayerfully consider such revelation, and to seek godly counsel in it, but ultimately, the Biblical truth that God is quite capable, and frankly, is in the habit of speaking to followers directly is cause alone not to let fear of getting it wrong disuade one from discerning His voice when He is speaking.
Posted in: What is a Reformed Charismatic?
Quite late to the party on this, but one comment piqued my interest:
Q: "What am I missing here?"
A: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27 ESV
I respect the OP's hesitancy to rely on thier own "internal voice", however, I've learned that such a fear can be rooted in a greater faith in Satan's (or our own soul's) ability to deceive us than in God's ability to lead us. Discerning His will is possible, and that applies to when someone senses He is giving them a personal impression too. Thus, there are ways to not only discern between the voice of God and the enemy, and even our own ego. When properly employed, such discernment allows us to hear Him clearly. Even then, we can make mistakes. What's important is having the right heart and an intent to check whether an impression is contrary to or in alignment with the Scriptures.
When we only allow God to speak to other people, aren't we then relying on their "inner voice"?
John 10:27 doesn't say, "only leaders hear my voice", or "only prophets hear my voice", it says, "my sheep hear my voice." Hearing God for yourself is not only possible, it's healthy. It is good to prayerfully consider such revelation, and to seek godly counsel in it, but ultimately, the Biblical truth that God is quite capable, and frankly, is in the habit of speaking to followers directly is cause alone not to let fear of getting it wrong disuade one from discerning His voice when He is speaking.