You know who came up with the idea that whatever we thought we heard from God might not be right? You guessed it: the devil.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” – Genesis 3:1

After that it becomes difficult to find verses that say we need to improve our hearing ability. It looks like there’s one in Job:

For God does speak—now one way, now another—though no one perceives it. – Job 33:14

The NIV makes it sound like we can’t pick up on what he’s saying. But this is the only time they chose to translate the Hebrew word shur as perceive. Everywhere else, it’s about us choosing not to listen, like the word shur is used in this verse (also NIV):

Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it. – Job 35:13

What’s notable about the Job passage is that God is speaking to regular people way back in Abraham’s time. If they can hear God, before the Holy Spirit was given, and before the nation of Israel even existed, then surely we can hear God today.

For God does speak—now one way, now another—though no one [pays attention]. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword. – Job 33:14-18

Let’s face it. It’s convenient if we can’t hear what God’s saying. We use the same excuse the world does: “I don’t know what God wants, so I’ll get back to living my life the way I want to.”

Jesus said: the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. – John 14:26