2 Peter 3:1c I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

It is easier to understand a voice if He uses His Words. If you have been reading the Word and renewing your mind, then the Word is in you and shall not go away. The very first inkling that you are hearing Jesus, His voice, is hearing His Word. There will be times when circumstances bring to mind scripture, a matter of remembrance.

Peter gives us the secret of assurance that it is the Lord speaking. We have identified the first essential, that you have been in the Word and been diligent to acquire a solid familiarity with the Word of God. The second is in the stirring. I thick mixture is difficult to stir, a stiff one nearly impossible. It is difficult to hear the Lord if you are being stubborn, willful, proud.

Third and very important to listening, your mind cannot be preoccupied with worldly issues in any form. It does not have to be a sin to prevent you from listening, all it takes is your focus to be so strong that you do not allow that still small voice to be heard. If rooting for your favorite sports team is your total focus, then the Lord will allow you to do what you want. Desire is a large part of listening. We began with that first question; do you want to hear the Lord.

Now comes the more difficult part of listening, what is your appropriate response? In the beginning hearing the Lord is training in knowing His voice. One must be careful to make sure you have the scripture memory accurate. The Lord is the Word and He will not misquote or use His Word inappropriately. Do not trust in your memory, which is your mind, flesh and fallible. The appropriation of the Word is only if it is from the Lord.

John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ is the Word. How you come to know Him and His ways, and His character. To know the Word is to know Christ. If you want to put it in terms of hearing, how do you know your mother’s voice? You know the voice long before you receive the understanding of her words. In this same manner, a new born Christian, a babe in Christ will come to hear His voice long before you even understand His words, because they are spirit and not of this world.

Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

This spirit speech, what does it sound like? Well for one thing it is not bound by language.

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

How is contained once again within the realm of faith. Faith is given for understanding, as I said before, so it is reasonable to believe that faith is the language of the spirit. How we get to learn that language is the same way in which we learned to understand our mother’s voice and speech, by spending time in His presence.

Luke 10:39, 42 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Spending time in the Word is not only needful and good, it cannot be taken from you.

But how do I know that I know His voice?