How Can I Hear the Voice of the Lord?

My Come, Follow Me studies for this week took me to the books of Ruth and 1 Samuel 1-7 in a lesson titled “My Heart Rejoiceth in the Lord.” The lesson was introduced by the following information. 

Sometimes we imagine that our lives should follow a clear path from beginning to end. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, after all. And yet life is often full of delays and detours that take us in unexpected directions.

Ruth and Hannah surely understood this. Ruth was not an Israelite, but she married one, and when her husband died, she had a choice to make. Would she return to her family and her old, familiar life, or would she embrace the Israelite faith and a new home with her mother-in-law? (see Ruth 1:4-18). Hannah’s plan for her life was to bear children, but she could not, and that left her “in bitterness of soul” (see 1 Samuel 1:1-10). 

As you read about Ruth and Hannah, consider the faith they must have had to travel their unexpected paths. Then think about your own journey. It’s different from Ruth’s and Hannah’s—and anyone else’s. But throughout the trials and surprises between here and your eternal destination, you can learn to say with Hannah, “My heart rejoiceth in the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:1).

Like most scripture blocks, this one teaches several principles, including the following: (1) Jesus Christ can turn tragedy into triumph (Ruth); (2) I can trust that God will guide and help me regardless of my situation (Ruth; 1 Samuel 1); (3) To receive the Lord’s help, I need to trust Him and obey His commandments (1 Samuel 2; 4-7), and (4) I can hear and obey the voice of the Lord (1 Samuel 3).

This essay will discuss the last principle about hearing and obeying the voice of the Lord. We will first look at the scriptures that tell the story of Samuel hearing the voice of the Lord for the first time (1 Samuel 3:1-10).

1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

At times, you or I may feel like Samuel, who heard the voice of the Lord but did not recognize it. Like us, Samuel had to learn how to recognize the Lord’s voice. President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught, “Does God really want to speak to you? Yes!” ("Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 93-96). 

If God wants to speak to us – and President Nelson said that He does, what do we need to do to hear His voice. Part of the answer is found in Doctrine and Covenants 8:1-3, a revelation given to Oliver Cowdery through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

1 Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge….

2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.

This scripture tells us that God speaks to our minds and our hearts through the power of the Holy Ghost. This means that He speaks to our thoughts and our feelings.

In another revelation given later to Oliver Cowdery through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord taught another vital component to know about hearing God’s voice (Doctrine and Covenants 9:7-9).

7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; …

Another essential component needed to understand how revelation comes was taught by President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather it whispers. It caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied we may not feel it at all….

Occasionally it will press just firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening and say in our manner and expression, like Samuel of ancient times, ‘Speak [Lord], for thy servant heareth’ [1 Sam. 3:10]” (“Candle of the Lord,” 53). 

The last idea that I wish to share is that receiving personal revelation – or hearing the voice of the Lord – is a personal thing. How the Lord communicates with me may be entirely different than how He speaks to you. He will speak to each of us in a language and way we can understand. Also, He may not always use the same type of communication. Forty to fifty years ago, the Lord spoke to me mostly by dreams. Now, I seldom receive such dreams. Also, He usually gives a general idea but not many details. In addition, we can ask God to teach us how He communicates with us as individuals.