Hearing God’s Voice
Discovering Ruth Q & A
Q: How do I hear God’s voice? When thoughts, desires, and ideas arise within me to do something, how do I know if it’s God’s will and direction, or if it’s just my own?
A: Thank you for this question! Many people have this question. You can even spend your whole life dedicated to the Lord and still have this question. But Jesus gave us a beautiful promise in John 9:27:
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Read that again: “My sheep hear my voice.” That is such a promise! Many years ago, before I married my husband, I was in a situation where I didn’t know what to do. My job had ended in one city, and I didn’t know whether I should stay in that city or move to another one. I thought, “What am I supposed to do?” I didn’t have anyone directing me, so this is what I did instead: for one week, I repeated this verse over and over again. I said, “I am His sheep, and I know His voice.”
I don’t know exactly how many times I said John 10:27 during that week. You see, the Word of God brings light — it lets you see things you can’t normally see. In the middle of the night one night, I was seeking the Lord about some questions, and I was studying His Word. I meditated on the Word, but I didn’t feel like I was getting any answers while I was meditating. But the Word gives light.
After I quit reading the Word and started praying, God started to bring me answer after answer. He cares more about your questions and giving you the answers than you do! And according to John 10:27, Jesus said that you know the Lord’s voice, and a stranger’s voice you will not follow.
We don’t realize just how much the Holy Spirit leads us. We often think we’re just planning our lives as we go along, but in reality, the Holy Spirit is leading us — that’s how much He loves you!
Say, “Holy Spirit, if Jesus says I know your voice, then I know your voice. And as I read your Word, it will bring the answers to my questions.”
First Corinthians 6:17 says:
But he who is joined in the Lord is one spirit with Him.
You are one spirit with the Lord! We aren’t separated — we share a spirit with Him! And that means you can hear His voice.
It’s so important that when you’re asking these questions, you believe in God’s Word and what it says about you. If you believe what the Word says about you and say, “Lord, I believe your Word, and I can hear your voice. A stranger’s voice I will not follow.” When you do this, you’re aligning yourself with the Holy Spirit to hear the voice of God.
I want you to have the faith that God wants you to know the answer! God wants you to know the answer, therefore, you will know the answer! You’re not dependent on yourself — you’re dependent on Him. God is always faithful, and when you put your trust in Him, peace comes.
Discovering Ruth
Q: How do I protect myself from control and manipulation?
Denise’s Answer: I want to thank you for your question. I believe many people have similar concerns. If someone seems to be trying to control everyone around them, it’s important to distinguish between someone who is simply meticulous or passionate about doing things correctly and someone who has a controlling spirit. Being particular and caring about doing things well is a gift. However, a controlling spirit is different—it’s not about the person, but the spirit driving them.
What’s crucial to remember is that you have something more powerful than that controlling spirit. When someone exhibits a controlling attitude, it often stems from a place of fear. The foundation of their desire to control is fear.
You don’t combat fear with more fear; instead, you fight fear with love. As it says in First John 4:18:
There is not fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
It says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” When you were born again, Romans 5:5 says, “The Holy Spirit came inside and brought with Him the very love of God and put it inside your heart.” So you have the love of God in your heart. The very love of God! Not a lesser version! You have the very same love — this is amazing — the very love of God that God loves Jesus with is in your heart!
And that perfect love casts out fear. I looked this up in the Greek language, and to “cast out fear” means that you are in control. Fear is not in contro — love is in control! Hallelujah! That is powerful! You are in control, and what love does is it absolutely silences and disciplines the voice of fear.
Friend, you need to know who you are. We all need to know who we are! There is power inside of us — the love of God inside of us — that casts out fear! We need to recognize and agree with that love, and say, “I don’t have to be intimidated by that person because of the love of God inside of me. I even have the love of God inside me for that person!”
The Bible says love never fails (see 1 Corinthians 15:. Unless you’re thinking, “Oh, you just don’t know my situation—I just don’t know how to love.” That might be a problem. You have to agree with this love inside of you. Humble yourself and agree with God about what He put inside of you. It will cast out fear, and you won’t be intimidated.
I’ll show you one more verse in Proverbs 15:1. Listen to this wisdom!
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh words stirs up anger.
— Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath.This means that from that presence of the love of God inside you, you can have a softness, a peace, and absolutely rebuke the wrath of that other person. Isn’t that powerful? Friend, we have to recognize the power of God inside of us.
Our enemy is not the person showing you wrath! Our enemy is the spirit of fear — and love conquers that spirit of fear! If anyone had a reason to be fearful in their life, it was Jesus. He was manipulated, betrayed, and denied — but the love of God conquered. Love isn’t about how good of a peson you are — it’s about this great and beautiful salvation! When Christ came into our life, He brought everything — He brought His love — and that love will discipline and cast out all fear. You have power from the love of God living inside you, all you need to do is acknowledge this love and allow it to show through you!
Discovering Ruth
Q: How do you make yourself act lovingly or act with love toward others?
Denise’s Answer: That’s a very interesting question, and I believe the Bible has some guidance for us! It’s not about forcing ourselves to love people, but rather about recognizing and letting the love of God inside us flow out. Let’s spend a moment describing the love of God that resides within us.
Think about how much God loves you that He would leave Heaven, come down to Earth, and suffer immensely for our salvation. He was betrayed, denied, beaten, mocked, and blasphemed. Yet, on the Cross, He said, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they are doing.” (see Luke 23:34). Furthermore, He took on our punishment. What kind of love is this?
When you became born-again, the Lord put that exact same love inside your spirit. We can’t force ourselves to love, but we can allow this love within us, agree with this love, and give this love. You see, when Jesus said that if He forgives us, we must forgive others, He wasn’t being unfair because the very love of God has been set upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit (see Matthew 6:14-15). We have been given all we need to act with love.
We just have to humble ourselves before the Lord and say, “Lord, help me recognize this power within me and give this love.” For a Christian, it’s entirely normal to love one another because of the love of God. We may have to forgive repeatedly or overlook what someone else does, but we have the capacity to do it and can give that love.
Discovering Ruth
Q: According to Colossians 4:6, how can you practice letting your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone?
Denise’s Answer: The first scripture I want to direct you to is James 1:19, which says:
Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation.
You want your words to be seasoned with salt, so you need to think about what you say. Don’t just speak without thinking, especially if you’re in a conflict, talking to someone you don’t like, or talking to someone you’re intimidated by. Think about what you’re going to say before you say it.
The Bible says in Proverbs 15:1:
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
I’m just telling you how powerful your words can be. If you choose to give a soft answer when someone is speaking to you in wrath, it will absolutely silence their wrath.
Now you said, “practically.” You have to purpose in your heart what you’re going to say. And I’m going to give you a very good suggestion. The Bible says we are to bless one another. But what does that mean? It comes from the Greek word meaning eulogy. A eulogy is usually something that people say at funerals, where they speak good words about the deceased person. The person cannot hear these good words. While it’s nice to say these kind words, if you want to bless someone, say good words to them while they’re living.
For instance, let’s take Irena as an example. I could say to her, “Oh, Irena, I’m so tired. I don’t know how we’re going to do these programs.” Or, I can purpose my mouth to bless her and say, “Irena, you are so smart and I just appreciate all the studying you’ve already done. And you don’t know this, but she’s a lawyer — she’s really smart. Irena, you’re such a blessing to people. You help people and you have a big heart. Do you see what I’m talking about? I am blessing her with my words!
Let’s say you’re offended by someone and you say, “Oh, God bless them.” That’s not blessing them. Blessing them is talking about them to the Lord. For example, if I’m speaking about one of my daughters-in-law, I can say, “Lord, thank you that she’s so smart. She’s a great mother. She is a wonderful wife to my son and so committed to what she does. She has so much courage.” Those are good words coming out of my mouth — on purpose.
You asked how you can do this practically. I’m telling you that if you purpose in your heart to speak good words toward others, you will fulfill the Scripture passage that says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Discovering Ruth
Q: I’m a prayerful person, but I’m not receiving answers to my prayers. What should I do?
Denise’s Answer: Many times when you pray for or want something, it can take a lot of continuous prayer. Or if you’re praying for God to do something in someone else’s life, it seems to take a while. I know of a woman who prayed for over twenty-five years for her husband’s salvation, and when he got saved, he was a wonderful, devoted Christian and the most loving husband. So even thought it took a while for her prayer to be answered, what she received from God was more than she ever dreamed of! There’s no such thing as believing too much!
Many people have lived before us, and when they left the earth, they didn’t receive what they prayed for. But that didn’t mean they stopped praying! My mother, for example, prayed and prayed for my brother. My mother has been in Heaven now for ten years, but the changes she prayed for are happening right now in my brother. She didn’t see it in her lifetime on Earth, but the power of her prayers continued!
The Bible says in Psalm 141:2, “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” The Lord hears your prayers — they’re like incense to Him — so don’t let the enemy tell you that God doesn’t care! He cares so much for you that He saves every one of your tears (see Psalm 56:8).
I want to discuss the attitude of faith with you. God is a faithful God. When you’re struggling to receive your answer, faith says, “Okay Lord, I don’t see the answer with my eyes right now, but I see it in my heart, and I’m not letting go.”
Let’s look at Daniel 3. This passage describes when the Hebrew children refused to bow down before the false idols presented by King Nebuchadnezzar. If they didn’t bow, they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. I want you to pay attention to their attitudes. Verse 17 says, “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.” Look at the attitude of faith they show in verse 18. It says, “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
You see, an attitude of faith says, “Lord, I don’t see it with my eyes yet, but I’m not letting go of it from my heart. I will press forward, and I will believe You.” When you put on that attitude of faith, you’re able to receive from God. Say you’re believing for something, but the enemy is trying to push on you to let it go because you don’t see any results with your eyes. But if you refuse to give up and keep your heart open, it gives God the room to continue giving you revelation about believing and receiving from Him.
When God healed my face, it was such a miracle. I’ve told you this story before. I had a disease on my face for 13 years, and I saw no changes even after I started praying — but I didn’t stop praying. I didn’t stop believing for my healing. One day God gave me such an eye-opening revelation that when I realized what He was telling me, I said, “Lord, I don’t want this sickness! I want to be healed.” It was only about two weeks after that revelation that I received my miracle.
You see, God holds the keys to your prayers getting answered. He even knows about other people you’re praying for and what and why they’re holding onto something they shouldn’t. Our place as an intercessor is very powerful because maybe these people have given up. But what’s important is that you don’t give up. You have to believe in what God has told you He is going to do! Stick with the truths God has placed inside your heart, pray exactly how He tells you to pray, come against the power of the evil one, and do not give up!
Discovering Ruth
Q: How can I get rid of guilt?
Denise’s Answer: You need to realize the price of the Blood of Jesus. The sacrifice He made on the Cross with His blood was payment for our guilt. Why do I say that? Because Jesus hung on the Cross as the guilty one. He hung there as the one who was shamed. He hung there as the one who was sick. Why? Because God has to put our sin on the sinless Lamb of God.
There was no other sacrifice that was worthy of the Blood to put our sins on. In the Old Testament, they had to sacrifice animals — man’s blood was already contaminated. That’s why false gods can’t pay for our sins, sickness, or disease — they don’t have holy blood! Their blood couldn’t pay for our sins because their blood is just like our blood. But Jesus’ blood was holy blood. It was perfect for the sacrifice. When Jesus hung on the Cross, He absolutely took care of your guilt. There’s nothing you can do to rid yourself of guilt other than believing in what He did for you in the Cross.
Look at Second Corinthians 5:21, which says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” It was God’s idea to put our sins on Jesus, but Jesus didn’t just take our sin — He became sin on the Cross! The blameless, holy Lamb of God became sin so that we might be the righteousness of God in Him. Isn’t that amazing?
Now let’s look at Romans 8:1. It reads, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flash, but according to the Spirit.” In Christ Jesus, you have been made righteous. Whatever guilt you’re dealing with, because of the Blood of Jesus, it looses it’s grip over your life!
If this is hard for you to believe, you need to keep studying these verses. Keep putting the Word in your heart, your mind, and in front of your eyes. It’s not just about hearing the truth — it’s knowing the truth. Jesus said that if you know the truth, you will be free (see John 8:32). Again, if you’re struggling to truly believe that Jesus took away your guilt and shame, study these scriptures. Think about these scriptures. Tell God, “It’s so fantastic that Jesus took my guilt! But I don’t fully understand how I can not be guilty.” Just ask the Lord to show you, and He will.
Not one of us was deserving of Jesus’ great sacrifice, but it’s by the Lord’s grace and mercy that we can receive it!
Discovering Ruth
Q: How do you honor parents who have abandoned you?
Denise’s Answer: If your parents aren’t in your life, for one reason or another, what you can do to honor them is to pray for them. Many times, people who dont have their birth-parents in their life have guardians or a close friend’s parents they look up to. Even if you don’t have your parents in your life, God will bless the honor you do give to the authority figures in your life.
But what’s really important is that you forgive. Before we dive into the Word, I want to tell you a story about a woman who was in a situation very similar to the one in your question.
This friend of mine is now a very powerful evangelist, and she has traveled all over the world. When she was about 35 years old, she was standing alone in the kitchen in her parent’s house. She noticed some papers lying on the kitchen table, and had never seen these papers before. So she picked them up and started reading. As she read, she began to understand that her and her brother had been adopted as children! Can you imagine?
Instead of being discouraged or feeling betrayed by her adoptive parents, my friend began doing all she could think to do to find and reconnect with her birth mother. One day, she found her! When she found her mother, she thought, “Oh, my mother is going to be so excited to see me! We’ll fellowship together, I can tell her about everything going on in my life, and introduce her to her grandchildren and her son-in-law. She will have a family she never even knew she had!”
Finally came the day she decided to visit her birth mother for the first time. She approached the house and knocked on the door. Her heart was filled with so much expectation about this miraculous reunion with her birthmom. The door finally opened, and she said to the woman standing there, “I’d like to come in and talk with you. I just found out that I’m your daughter!” She was brimming with anticipation. But instead of welcoming her inside, her mother told her, “I didn’t want you in my life then, and I don’t want you in my life now.”
Can you imagine how much this must have hurt? Of course! She felt one of the strongest feelings of rejection a person can feel. But do you know what she did? She just started crying out to the Lord, “Lord, what do I do now? How do I get over this? You have gotten me through so much, but this is really hard. My own mother doesn’t want me.” And the Lord reminded her of a verse in Ephesians.
Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
— Ephesians 1:4
After reading this verse, she heard the Lord say, “Maybe your mother didn’t want you, but I wanted you so much that I chose you before I chose the foundation of the entire world! I wanted you, and you are accepted by Me.”
Ephesians 1:6 says, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Friend, you’re not the rejected, you’re the accepted! You are sought-after! As my friend began to meditate and think about what the Lord said to her, she became at peace and said, “Lord, my mother didn’t want me, but You chose me. You came after me before I was even in my mother’s womb! I forgive my mother, and I receive Your love.”
You may be reading this while dealing with feelings of rejection. Maybe it wasn’t by your mother or father, but perhaps you’ve been rejected by a husband, a brother, a boss, or a best-friend, and it felt like you were put away. I’m telling you right now that if you’re born-again, you’re not rejected, you’re accepted! YOU are the one He chose! You are just the one He wanted. And friend, it is from that place of receiving God’s love that you can forgive those who rejected you and embrace that great love from your amazing Heavenly Father.
Because we live in an imperfect world, there will always be people out there who will reject us. But we are never rejected by Jesus! We are accepted and beloved in Him!
Discovering Ruth
Q: How much influence do parents have on their children?
Denise’s Answer:Thank you for your question! First, the answer is yes. A mother has great influence over her children negatively or positively. You are an authority figure in their lives, and when authority figures speak into young children, their words carry a lot of power.
I’ll give you an example from my own childhood. My dad was my authority figure. And in the heart of a little child, their parents can do no wrong — the child believes what the parents says wholeheartedly without a single doubt in their mind.
One day, my dad looked over at me and said, “Denise, you walk like a cow.” At the time, I knew deep down he was only trying to help me, and he didn’t know his words would have an impact on me, but they did! In fact, this one comment had such a negative impact on me, I turned to Jesus to take those words out of my mind! It wasn’t the truth.
The devil uses people in your life to try to put your God-ordained calling to a grinding hault. And I’m sorry to say, but the devil was using my dad in that moment. There was no way my father could have known that I would one day walk across countless stages, but the devil was trying to put a stop to my future.
You want your mouth as a parent to lift up the heart of your child. Rick and I used to tell our children, “You’re a leader,” constantly. Philip had a hard time with this at a point in his life when the devil was trying to tell him he was stupid. But we pulled him aside, and continued to affirm and encourage him. We would say to him, “Philip, that’s not true! You’re not stupid; you’re smart. You are a leader.” We made it a point to tell our children that they could do absolutely anything God put in their hearts to do.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” It’s so important to recognize how powerful your words are as parents, and to ensure you’re planting words of positivity, encouragement, and success as opposed to words of negativity or failure. Friend, if you start believing those negative words, you’ll eventually become them. Our words hold either life or death in them, and it’s crucial that you train your mouth as a parent to say good things to your children.
Discovering Ruth
Q: Are there verses in the Bible that can be proclaimed in prayer for a job?
Denise’s Answer: Thank you so much for your question! Third John verse 2 says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. ” As you can see, God wants us to prosper! He wants us to work, and we were made to work!
The Lord wants to bless the work of our hands. Declare out of your mouth, “God wants to bless the work of my hands.” He doesn’t want you to be a lazy person! In fact, the Bible tells us that God can’t bless a lazy person. But He can bless the work of your hands. You should look down at your hands every day and say, “God, I’m believing for a job, and I’m believing You are going to bless the work of my hands.” You can proclaim that over yourself every day! Just look at your hands and make that your confession. Look at them every morning and every night. You might think, This is silly! But it’s not silly — and God doesn’t think it’s silly!
The Lord promised in His Word that He would bless the work of your hands
Deuteronomy 28:12 says, “The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” The Lord said in His Word that He would bless the work of your hands! You must claim that blessing over yourself — that your hands are blessed and your work is blessed too! And watch that blessing begin to manifest in your life.
Prayer: “Father, we pray for that person looking for a job right now — that You give them a good job. That they find that job, and serve with all their heart in that job. And that You would bless the work of their hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
Discovering Ruth
Q: Will God bless my marriage if there was a sin of fornication with a married man?
Denise’s Answer: First of all, I want to say the answer is “yes!” I want to direct you to Psalm 103, and we’re going to see what the Word of God says about this. Keep in mind that King David wrote this scripture. Of course, the Holy Spirit inspired him to write every word, but this Psalm was written by King David. King David sinned a great sin. Most everybody familiar with the Bible knows about this sin. But if you aren’t familiar, David caused one of his most powerful men to die on the battlefield because he slept with his wife, and David got her pregnant with his child. So David committed adultery, he lied, and deceived, and he committed murder. We as people say that those are great sins. And maybe you consider your question about adultery to be a great sin. But let’s look at what the Bible says in Psalm 103:1-3, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases.” Remember, this is King David who wrote these scriptures! And he sinned a great sin, but listen to the joy in him! Listen to the tone of victory in his writing! He doesn’t sound like a man who is hanging his head in condemnation. He said, “Bless the lord, O, my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” And in the next verse he wrote, “…who forgives all your iniquities.” How many iniquities does He forgive? The Lord forgives all of them! He forgives all sins. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us [check for verse].
Now, the North and South will eventually come together and touch, but the West and East will never touch. God is saying, “What I removed from you is permanently removed!” Read that again. Praise God! When God forgives, He doesn’t bring it up again! It’s as if it never happened. First John 1:9 says, “[verse]” Does that sound like He would say to you, “Well, you did commit a really bad sin, so I can’t bless you”? No! Do you see that reaction in King David’s life? No! Of course, King David sinned a tremendous sin. But then he repented. And God even blessed his marriage with Bathsheba, the woman he committed adultery with. The same woman who was the wife of the husband King David sent out to be killed. And just think! Through King David and Bathsheba, King Solomon — the wisest and richest man in the world — was born! Does it look like God was trying to hold back His blessings in King David’s life because of his sin?
Friend, after you repent, your sin is gone! That is how great God’s love and forgiveness is. He is nothing like people/mankind. People can say, “Oh, but do you remember what you did? I don’t know if I can trust you. I don’t know if God can bless you.” But that’s not the truth. When God forgives, God removes that sin forever. Praise His holy name! I don’t know anybody who can forgive like that! We’re supposed to — we have Christ in us. Christ has that kind of love, and therefore, we have that kind of love, and we should give it to one another. But God did it perfectly. So I want to reiterate, if you have repented of your sin, you can confidently ask God to bless you and your family. Yes — absolutely yes!