God Still Speaks — Here’s How I Know It’s Him

He rarely booms from the sky. He repeats Himself — a verse that keeps surfacing, a thought that won’t leave, a burning in the heart that says this is the way. Here’s how I’ve learned to tell His voice from my own.

It’s eight a.m. on the morning of January 6 when I sit down for that day’s read-through-the-Bible chapters. As usual, I open my Bible app. Today is no different.

The screen loads, and a notification flashes: Verse of the day — Isaiah 60:1.

My eyes widen. My heart leaps. I double-check what I’m seeing. Am I reading that right?

Isaiah 60:1 is the dearest verse in all of Scripture to me. It is the passage God spoke over me from the chariot in the waking dream I experienced sixteen years ago:

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”— Isaiah 60:1 (NIV)

As I shared in the post that tells that story, I’ve been waiting for God to reveal, in His timing, what those words truly mean for my life. That verse-of-the-day moment was the catalyst that finally got me to sit down and write about the encounter itself.

Now, fourteen days later, let me tell you what has been unfolding since that January morning.

That day, something in me lit up. I was drawn to study the verse again, and as I followed the cross-references for “light” and “the glory of the Lord,” they led me almost immediately to Ephesians 5 — Paul’s instruction to the church on how believers are to live.

As I read, my soul caught fire. The words carried weight and clarity I had never experienced in them before. They meant something new, something timely, something personal. Don’t you love when God does that?

I’m certain flashing exclamation points must have been visible in my eyes as I read verses 6 through 20. Every line was alive. And when I reached the opening portion, my breath caught. Paul warns against partnering with those who deceive you into sin, and against alignment with those who operate in darkness. And suddenly I saw it.

When God declared Isaiah 60:1 over me all those years ago, I was in the process of being pulled out of a marriage marked by deception. I had been partnered with a deceiver — not by choice, and certainly not knowingly — and I was deeply deceived myself. I had been fighting for the healing and restoration of my marriage, unaware of the depths of betrayal, deceit and exploitation within our union. The realization landed gently but firmly: God had not been asking me to repair what He had already declared finished. He was rescuing me from what was devouring me.

And the heart of the passage sits right at its center, where Paul quotes what was likely a saying the early church already knew:

“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” — Ephesians 5:14 (NIV)

God was waking me up. He was calling me out of darkness and into light when He declared that my light had come. I had been so emotionally battered I was nearly dead inside. But He was lifting me up out of that grave. Oh, how gracious He is!

As I kept reading, verse 13 unfolded with fresh meaning: “Everything exposed by the light becomes visible — and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” When Christ shines on us, we don’t merely see the light. We become it.

I knew then that I wasn’t meant to rush past this chapter. God was inviting me to stay — to sit with Ephesians 5 for however long He has appointed.

And here is where I want to pause and explain something important. I’ve learned to recognize God’s voice not by volume, but by pattern. When something comes to my attention repeatedly, in unexpected ways, I pay attention. Usually three confirmations are enough for me to say, “Okay, Lord. I see You.”

This time He didn’t stop at three. In the fourteen days after that January 6 morning, Ephesians 5 followed me everywhere.

January 7, my small ladies’ Bible study group met for lunch. When the moment felt right, I shared what I’d been learning about deception and partnership. These women know my story well, and the conversation opened into gratitude — gratitude that God had been kind enough to lead me out when I couldn’t yet see clearly.

That night, I watched the next teaching video in our study series. The speaker taught directly on deceivers versus liars — from Ephesians 5. Mind blown.

The following day, I listened to a completely unrelated podcast while driving. The guest began talking about learning how to walk as a believer. Again — Ephesians 5.

A few days later, I wandered into a Christian bookstore looking for something entirely different. A book by Watchman Nee caught my eye — a name I’d heard many times but never read. I turned it over. Of course. It was about learning how to walk as a Christian, using Ephesians as the guide. That book now sits on my nightstand.

Then Sunday came, and the pastor referenced Ephesians 5 in his message. And fourteen days in, at a leadership meeting, the theme introduced for our church’s next teaching series was announced: Walking in the light.

At that point I stopped counting. I’m not sure I’ve even remembered every moment it surfaced — but six is already double the way God usually confirms something for me. There was no booming voice, no thunder from the clouds. Just unmistakable alignment, over and over. Each time, my heart burned, my spirit stirred, and my attention sharpened. It was that powerful, that quiet, and undeniably God.

He can speak loudly. He usually doesn’t need to.

If you’ve wondered whether God still speaks — or how to recognize His voice — let this energize you. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear audible words. Watch for the nudges. Notice what keeps returning to your attention. Pay heed to the Scripture that seems to follow you, and look for confirmation through trusted teaching and godly counsel. If it matters, He will stay with you on it. And when He does, your heart will know.

He is not distant, and He is definitely not silent. He delights when His children lean in to listen.

As for me and Ephesians 5 — I’ll keep following and leaning in. I know there’s more for me here, and I am here for all of it.

But you, my dear friend: ask God to reveal Himself and what He wants to say to you. Then listen. You’ll be delighted when a pattern emerges or a word arrives that could only be His.

And so will He.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.