Signs and Confirmations

If you're trying to learn how to hear from and follow God, sooner or later, you're going to want confirmation that what you received was from Him because one of the most important parts of following God is hearing from Him correctly. After receiving a message from God, many times people want confirmation because they aren’t certain that it was actually from Him, especially when we have a dream.

There are many Bible examples that reveal that learning to hear from God takes practice. Samuel, one of the major Bible prophets, didn’t recognize God’s voice and needed his teacher to tell him that the voice that he had heard was God. Gideon is an example of someone who also heard from God but wasn’t certain that it was God.

Believers talk a lot about “confirmation” because it’s important to us to follow God and we want to know for sure that we are hearing from Him and not from our own desires or imaginations or, worse yet, from the enemy. As a result, many of us often find ourselves seeking confirmations.

God’s people are supposed to be moving in spiritual things. The Old Testament is full of examples of exactly how to hear from God. It’s a blueprint for knowing Him because God hasn’t changed. He still works in all the same ways that the Old Testament describes and those examples are the key to communicating with God. The examples within the Bible reveal that God spoke to people face to face, out loud, in dreams, through visions, through angels, through revelations, and through signs.

For God’s people, the only difference between now and the Old Testament times is that God’s spirit was not poured out on all flesh. Back in the day, those who received His spirit and heard from Him were few and far between. But Jeremiah 31 promises that we would each know God as part of the New Covenant so, in today’s world, each person can expect to hear from God exactly as the patriarchs and prophets did in the past.

In Joel, God said that after the lord came, God would ‘pour out His Spirit on all flesh‘ and we would dream dreams, see visions, and prophesy.’

Joel 2:28-30

“And afterward,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

29 Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

This means God’s people should be moving in spiritual things and communicating with Him the way that the Patriarchs did. But hearing from God isn’t always as clear as speaking with someone face to face.

Sometimes hearing from God is crystal clear, but other times God speaks in what people call ‘the still small voice.’ The still small voice is easily missed because it isn’t really a voice at all but more of a spiritual whisper which is very easy to doubt. This is one of the times that we pray for confirmation or a sign so that we can be sure that we clearly heard what God said.

Is it wrong to pray for a sign? No. If it happened in the Bible, and God allowed it, there’s nothing wrong with asking for confirmation (especially if we want confirmation so that we are able to follow God.)

Judges 6 – Gideon Gets a Sign

34 So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon…

36 Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said, 37 then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

38 And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew — a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”

40 And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew-covered the ground.

Gideon hesitated and sought confirmation from God because of the potential destruction that could have transpired if it was not truly God leading him into battle. Gideon asked for a sign because he wanted to make sure that he was following God. And God was more than willing to oblige him because asking God for confirmation to avoid making a major mistake is not a bad thing. On the contrary, being certain that we are following God is the wisest thing that we can do.

A Lady & A Sign

One night, Jeremiah decided he wanted to play a game of billiards, so off we went. As soon as we

arrived at the billiards place, I went straight to the ladies’ room.

On my way back to the registration desk, I saw a couple standing by a wall in what seemed like a deep conversation.

I suddenly had a strong word in my spirit, saying, “The answer is yes.” So, I made a sharp right turn and walked straight over to where they were standing, and said, “Hi, I hope this doesn’t seem too bizarre … but I’m supposed to tell you the answer is: yes.”

At that point, that was all that I knew.

(This is not a hard and fast rule, BUT: When God gives me a message for someone, He often only gives me the first piece or a single sentence. If I don’t deliver that part, I don’t need to know anymore. Once I deliver the first part, if there is more information to be given, He sends more.)

Both sets of the two pairs of eyes that were staring at me widened noticeably.

As God gave me more, I relayed it to the couple.

Next, I turned to the lady, and said, “You really love God.”

Immediately, she replied, and said, “Yes, I do!” with so much emphasis that I could feel down to my bones.

Then, God revealed that this woman went through something awful. It was so bad that it was preventing her from having a committed relationship with the man standing next to her.

So to him, I said, “She was in a terrible relationship. It was just bad, bad, bad, and she never, ever, ever, wants to do that again.”

Back to her, God said, “But this guy is not that guy.”

At which point the gentleman boiled over with enthusiasm, and said, “Man! Wow!! Just wow!!! It’s like I’m paying you to say all of this!!!!”

God knew her thoughts, which probably were, Did he pay her? So, God revealed that she asked Him for a sign.

I was stunned, and sounded it when I said to her, “You asked God for a sign.”

“Yes, I did!!” she replied, her eyes as wide as saucers.

Now, my eyes widened because it suddenly dawned on me that the only reason we are at this billiard hall, at this exact moment, is because this lady asked God for a sign and He sent us by inspiring us to play a game of billiards.

At this point, I’m smiling from ear to ear because it was just plain cool, and my smile grew even wider when I said to her, “I’m pretty sure that’s your sign.”

I’ll never forget this couple and the way God spectacularly reached out to help this lady to overcome a horrific past so that she could have a beautiful future.

If you need confirmation, ask. God promised to direct our steps and He will send the comfort and the guidance that we need if we humble ourselves and ask. So don’t feel bad about asking God for a sign because it’s Biblical and God answers. And sometimes the sign is pretty dang cool.

"direction signs" by emreterok is licensed under CC BY 2.0