Is God's Spirit Really Speaking to You?

Yes, God's Spirit speaks. Not every impression that crosses your mind is from Him, and I want to be careful about that, but the Holy Spirit is not silent. If you have ever had a thought you could not shake and wondered whether that was the Lord or just you, you are asking exactly the right question.

Knowing whether God is speaking to you starts with knowing what Jesus actually promised His Spirit would do. He made that promise on the night before He went to the cross, and He made it as a comfort to men who were about to lose Him.

What Jesus Promised the Holy Spirit Would Do
The Spirit does not only strengthen us. He also teaches us. Jesus said it plainly in John 14:26: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

That promise is the reason you hold a New Testament. The apostles were able to pass on the teaching of Jesus because the Spirit brought to their remembrance what Jesus had said. Then the gospel writers wrote it down. What you read is not a group of men straining to recall a good teacher from memory. It is the Spirit of God doing the exact work Jesus said He would do.

Notice His names. He is called the Helper. He is also called the Spirit of truth. As the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit is related to Jesus, who is the truth, and to the Word of God, which is itself the truth. The Spirit inspired the Word, and He also illuminates the Word so that we can understand it.

That gives you your first and firmest test. Since He is the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit cannot lie and cannot be associated with lies. He will never lead you to do anything contrary to the Word of God, because God's Word is truth.

Why Jesus Said It Was Better for Him to Leave
Look at what comes next in John 16:13: "When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come."

Hear that with the disciples' ears. Jesus is telling them it is better for Him to go. Better? Having Jesus physically present with you is as good as it gets, and yet it is limited. One body, one place, one conversation at a time.

What He describes next is like flipping on the power grid so that everybody has access all the time. It is better that I leave, He says, because He will guide you into truth at all times. He will speak alongside you. He is coming to you, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.

What Does It Sound Like When the Holy Spirit Speaks?
Usually it is an impression that runs deep. A word comes. A thought settles on you and will not move.

Our community group had dinner together recently, and my wife and I sat with another couple. We were talking about college football and where everybody in the family had gone to school. Then the wife mentioned, almost in passing, that she had a degree in interior design. I said, but you are a speech language pathologist. She said yes, and here is what happened.

She had gone back to school at 30 for that second degree. I asked whether her dad was excited about that. She told me she had been wrestling with the whole decision, and during that season she visited a church that met in a strip center, the kind of church that does a lot of praying. A woman there prayed over her that night, and the prayer was this: "Lord, those hands are healing hands. Use those hands for healing."

As an occupational speech therapist, she told me, she puts her hands on people every single day. It blew her away what that woman knew to pray for her.

I was on a Zoom call with a vendor not long ago. Thirty minutes, and we were wrapping up with about two minutes left before she had to get to another call. I could tell she was carrying a weight. So, I asked, do you mind if I pray for you? She said please. I prayed for her, and I could not tell you now what I prayed. Then we got off the call.

Later that afternoon she sent an email. Pastor, thank you for praying for me. You do not know how much that ministered to me. My brother just died, so I am grieving that, and my husband is leaving for a three month assignment in the Middle East. Your prayer was such a blessing to me.

Have you ever had the Holy Spirit in your ear?
I was praying about something recently and got an impression about Lakewood, where we do medical missions together. A few weeks later I was sitting in a Chicken Salad Chick at four in the afternoon. I had done a funeral that day, so I was still in a suit, and I was on the phone. I did not want to hang up and walk to the counter, because I had a coupon on my app and I was hoping for a buy two get one free, so I stayed on the call. Pastor Joel Osteen walked in the door.

He went up to the counter and placed his order while I wrapped up my call, and then he walked right over to me. We talked for seven to ten minutes. The very thing I had been impressed about, God walked the man right up to me.

God the Holy Spirit speaks to us if we are listening. Think about how privileged it is to have God in your ear.

Is Every Impression From God?
No. Not every impression is God, and not every thought or idea you have is God. That distinction matters, and it protects you.

When He speaks, He speaks consistently with the Word, because He is the Spirit of truth. When He speaks, He honors Christ. And He directs us, corrects us, and forms us as we submit ourselves to Him.

There are also moments when you recognize His hand looking back. You get an impression or a thought and then it comes to fruition, and you say, that was the Lord. You do not know the way to go, and He brings His Word to you, a word of remembrance, and you say, that was the Lord. Something is happening that you cannot control, and you are comforted by the truth of His Word, and Scripture jumps off the page as you read it, and you say, that was the Lord.

It is a joy to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit of God.

What to Do When a Name Keeps Coming to Mind
There are people I find myself burdened for, and I honestly wonder where the burden came from. A name comes to me. Then it comes a second time. Then it comes a third time. At that point I stop and say, yes, Lord. I pray for that person. Then I send them a note that says I just want you to know I am praying for you today. I have no idea what you are facing, but God has brought you to mind.

That is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in our midst, and it is sweet.

Where to Go From Here
If you want to know whether God is speaking to you, start with the tests Jesus gave and not with the intensity of the feeling. Does it agree with the Word of God? Does it honor Christ? Is it directing you, correcting you, and forming you as you submit yourself to Him?

Then keep listening. The Spirit illuminates the truth, and He does not do that for us privately and leave it there. He pushes that truth outward through us to others.
 

This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson at our CityRise West U Baptist campus on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. Check out the full message below!