In my devotions this morning I was reading the speech that Stephen gave to the Sanhedrin in Acts 7, and I was struck by the enormous passage of time involved in the case of God proving Himself to man. The number 40 stood out as a good starting place for the number of ways to hear from God. Since it would make today’s devotion exceptionally long, I am only going to mention 10 proven ways to hear from God
If I needed to do so, I could speak of at least 40 proven ways that God has revealed Himself. God’s plan to help us hear him is not isolated to a few options. However for brevity, I will mention some passages that support the notion that God speaks in different ways, and I encourage the reader to spend some time meditating on each one. Let’s get started.
Time
1. Time, in years. In Acts 7, Stephen summarizes the life of Moses. He points out that Moses was raised by Egyptians for 40 years, then lived in the desert another 40 years (80 years total!) before God spoke to him. It took another 40 years in which God led Moses and the people of Israel in the wilderness before they finally made it to the promised land.
2. Righteous and blameless. It is a rare trait for a person to be righteous and blameless before God. In retrospect, we realize that such a person will have an easier path than most in their ability to hear from God. A good example of this is Noah, in Genesis 6:9b “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.”
Disease
3. God speaks through disease. Even when people do not know God, occasionally God has to give a message of correction. A good early example occurred when Abram had to live in Egypt with his wife Sarai. The Pharaoh learned the hard way that Sarah was a wife and not a sister, when God corrected him. Genesis 12: 17-18 17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
Oaths
4. God responds to Oaths. There is a difference between making an oath to bargain with God and making an Oath to honor God. When God honors an oath, it has an impact on that person’s life and on there relationship with God. In Genesis 14:22-24 there is an early example of a pledge that was meant to honor God. 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
The intent of honoring God in oaths such as this is simple. God deserves the credit for the outcome of the situation. God honors the oath by continued favor on the person making the oath.
Dreams
5. God speaks through dreams to His chosen. In scientific terms, most people know that dreams are caused by an unconscious processing of the days events, and nothing more. At other times, the dream is so different, we have to acknowledge that God was in it, and speaking to us. One example of this was the night when God cut a covenant with Abram. In Genesis 15:12,13a it says: “12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him…”
6. God speaks though dreams to non-followers. At times in the old testament, even non-followers of God hear his message. They are given warnings and insight on how to proceed with a task. An example of this is the story of Abimilek, king of Gerar in Genesis chapter 20.
7. God speaks through angels. There are innumerable places in the old and new Testament where the Lord speaks to followers and non-followers, and provides instruction. Genesis 16 to Hagar. Genesis 18 the 3 visitors. Acts 10 the visit with Cornelius- too name a few.
Promises
8. God speaks through promises. The Old Testament is replete with hundreds of promises which are also divine invocations of something that is about to happen: prophecies. According to sources, such as Herbert Lockyer (All the Promises of the Bible, (1962), there are more than 7,800 promises among the 31000+ verses in the Bible. The most wonderful news about this is that every promise has come true. All that we need is to invoke many of these promises is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
9. God speaks through other people. 
In Acts 10:23-48, Peter visited the house of a Gentile for the first time in his Jewish life. Cornelius had been spoken to by God to invite Peter in, and Peter was able to share his faith with the whole household of Cornelius. The fact that God spoke to Cornelius is important. It helped Peter believe, and it helped Cornelius believe too.
10. God speaks directly. A famous example in the new Testament of God speaking directly was the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 3-4 .
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Personally, I have heard God speak to me directly a few times in my life. The way God is heard varies, but it is unmistakable. It may be a still quiet voice, or it may be loud, like a thunderclap. It is unmistakable — we will know it when we hear it.
