The Bryce Crawford Podcast - How to Hear Gods Voice (EP 181)

Episode Date: February 23, 2026

In this episode, Bryce talks about how to hear Gods voice.

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Support the mission. Get early access to podcast videos, exclusive content, and more. What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Crawford podcast. I'm Bryce and today, by the title of the episode, we are talking about how to hear God's voice. You're going to hear me quoting scripture, bouncing around a bunch of scripture. But ultimately, when it comes to hearing God's voice, I believe that there are four ways that God speaks to us and that we hear his voice. And we're going to dive into them today.

I'm super excited. Thank you guys for watching and listening to the episode. If you are here, we need to understand one thing. God's voice, number one, primarily is heard through the Word of God. If you're taking notes, the first way God speaks to us is through His Word. The Psalmist David writes that His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. And in the epistles, we actually read that all scriptures, God breathe, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, rebuke, all of these things.

If we want to hear God's voice and hear what God has deemed best for our life, we need to pick this up. You know, a lot of times we say, well, God's not guiding me. He's a good shepherd, but he's not guiding me. But your Bible's on your nightstand collecting dust. The Bible is going to be the number one way we hear God's voice. A lot of people say, well, I want to hear God tell me what his will for my life is. There's a famous quote that says, if you read scripture out loud, you can audibly hear God's will for your life. That everything that we need, God has written us a love letter, leather bound to leave with us to show us. What is like to be a good father? What's like to be a good friend? How to love. How to love? love him better, how to handle anger, how to deal with lust, all of these things in this leather bound Bible, a father's love letter to his children. The number one way you're going to hear God's voice is through his word. Like, imagine if you're sitting in the hospital and your father's on his deathbed and your dad writes you a love letter before he leaves to teach you how to be a good friend, good father, good husband, good mother, good whatever it may be. That's what God's word is here for. We will find life in this thing, this daily bread. Ephesians 6 would say, hey,

This is a weapon against temptation, against sin, against lies from the devil. This thing also guards your heart and it changes the way you think. If you're trying to change the way you think and act, listen to God's voice in Scripture. Change it. This thing is God breathed. The number one way we hear God's voices through this word. There is life in this thing. Hebrews 4 says that this thing is sharper than any self-help book than any double-edged sword than any weapon.

And it will separate the way that seems right to you, the way that seems right to God. And if you want to walk in the will of God for your life, you need to read this thing. God's word. Second way, I believe God speaks to us is through people. God uses people time and time again. This is what everything has been from the Old Testament to the new. God would choose a particular prophet, the major and the minor prophets. The Old Testament, God would choose a private like a Moses, like Samuel, lay his spirit on them and speak to people, speak to the nation of Israel through these prophets. Now the Holy Spirit dwells in you and me. And you know what? Maybe God has used this podcast to reach you. to speak to you.

Maybe God has used a loved one or a family friend to speak to you. Maybe God has used you to speak to other people. You know, when I was 17 years old and I was going to take my life at Wafel's, God used a man who didn't even say anything about Jesus, who didn't preach to me, who didn't say a single Bible verse, he used that man to reach me that night. Crazy to think about it. God uses people.

God is in the business of using people. God has given us a ministry of reconciliation. And one way that God brings people to him is through people. God uses people. It says the goodness of God brings man to repentance. God will use people to bring the goodness of God to meet them back. You know, it's important that we read this word because you might be the only Bible that people reads. If God wants to use you to reach people and you're not taking care of your own heart and listening to God's voice through His word, then how are we going to be able to reach people? That's not the only reason that we read scripture, but you get what I'm saying.

it is important that we read the word of God and it is important that we are used by God because maybe God wants to use you to reach someone the same way that he's used other people to reach your heart. Think of that favorite pastor, that favorite preacher that you have, that for some reason, God continuously uses that person, the way that they phrase things, the language that God gives that God gives that pastor a preacher. It's powerful. I can name many off the top of my hand that. I mean, God, you use these people. Friends. The Bible says, it's an iron sharpens iron. Let one brother sharpen another. God continuously uses people not only to draw you to him, but to challenge you in your faith. So he says, don't be unequally yoked with non-believers when it comes to romantic

relationships. Rather, actually, let brothers sharpen you. Let the people around you, let God use them to sharpen you and change you and challenge your faith, draw you deeper into more intimacy with God. So the first two ways God speaks to us is through his word and through people. The third way I believe God speaks to us is through signs. I believe God gets us signs. Now, you know, a lot of people like to use the instance in scripture where we read about Gideon, right? You know, Gideon puts a fleece out and says, sorry, God, if this happens to the fleece, I'll do this thing. If God desist and he was asking God for sign. And I think that's a poor example because in that story, Gideon had already doubted what God had spoken to him. But we see time and time again, God uses signs. I mean, if you look in the Old

Testament, look at Moses. God sent Moses to do incredible miracles and signs to tell the people of Egypt, let my people free. Let them out. Set them free. And they didn't, but God uses signs. Here's another example. Look at Jesus pointing back to a symbol, a sign in the Old Testament. The crowd was chasing Jesus, and they said, do another miracle, do another sign. And Jesus says, woe to you. I've already given you the best sign you can ever see. And it's the sign of Jonah. And they're like, huh? What are you talking about sign of Jonah? and he's referencing the story. He goes, just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days.

So will the son of man go into the belly of the earth for three days and rise again? Jesus use signs. And I need to be very careful when it comes to asking God for signs, right? Because we don't want to give deity to symbols. We're not giving deity to symbols. We're letting God use things to draw to him. You know, another way God uses signs? A big sign for me was a particular thing.

colored sunrise and sunset in the morning and at nighttime when I first became a believer. The first year of my life had the worst and hardest year of my life, but it was the most peace I'd ever had and I would pray, God, would it just be in your role? Like, would you give me this super oddly specific sunrise or sunset this morning? And it would be so sweet when I'd be driving to school or late at night, going to this particular spot I would sit at, see it like God saw me. God cares about us. He'll use signs.

God uses his word, people, signs. and the last way, I believe God speaks to us so clearly, so sharply, is intrusively through your thoughts. The Psalmist David lets us know that God knows all of our thoughts, correct, but here's the reality. If Jesus lives inside of you, then that means he does consume your thoughts. Now, not every thought, not every desire is going to be from God. So the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. We have to be able to discern the thoughts. And what does he say in Philippians chapter four? Paul writes, finally, brothers, whatever is true,

whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. When we take our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ, we filter out the junk and keep the pure there and we keep our mindset on the purity of Christ. We keep our mindset on the pure and holy things, the right things, the worthy things, the just things. That's where we keep our mind on. God speaks to us through our thoughts intrusively. Do you think it was, was selfish of you to want to give that homeless man $5? You think it was selfish of you to want to go pray for this person? You think it's selfish of you to want to be generous? Absolutely not.

That is an unction from the Holy Spirit inside of you. There's no selfish bone in your body that wants to be selfless. Rather, it is an unction. And it's speaking of the Lord, maybe God trying to use you. God speaks to us intrusively. A lot of people ask, hey, you know, when we're out in the street, we're preaching and praying for people and it's this thing. Well, how do you know this thing about this person? How do you know this person struggling with this? Because I have, you know, God's speaking to me in my brain. And you know what? Sometimes I'm wrong and sometimes I'm right. But here's a good practical tool.

I believe it is to discern how to hear the voice of God. If you believe God is telling you to turn left and you turn left thinking God is leading you to turn left and it's wrong, there's grace. Grace is a gift you don't deserve. God's not going to beat you up because you turn left thinking he was leading you left. Why? Because you turn left thinking he was leading you left. There's grace.

If you turn right thinking God is leading you right and he was leading you right, you begin to build that spiritual muscle of what it's like to hear the voice of God. So in that same way, it might start out small. Maybe it's hearing that you're supposed to, you feel like you're supposed to pray for a specific person in your class. And you pray for them. And then you talk to them the next day at school. And then you realize that they were going through something crazy that night

when God told you to start praying for them. Or maybe just God speaks to you and says, hey, pray for someone so they got a headache right now. A headache may seem small, but it's big in God's eyes. and that's just like a flake of dust on someone's shirt to God. It starts small, but God speaks to us intrusively. That's how God leads us to do things. Maybe conviction.

Maybe you hear, whenever you oftentimes hear people say, I heard God tell me this. It's oftentimes intrusively. I personally have never heard the audible voice of God. But I believe the four ways God speaks to us is through his word. And I believe that strengthens the last one. Second is through people, which I believe that strengthens the second one.

I believe the third one, he speaks to us in science. I think reading his word strengthens that as well because we begin to build faith. Ask God do miraculous things. God speak to me in this way. But the fourth way, I believe God speaks to us. It's such a unique way. It's intrusively, especially with the help of the Holy Spirit.

And that's the promise in John chapter 14. Jesus said, it's better if I go. I will give you a help of the Holy Spirit to teach you things and bring conviction. The Holy Spirit is here to teach you things. walk you through life. He is the good shepherd. God has your best interest in his heart. And it is very important that we cling to this thing for the renewal of the mind. We change the way we think. We listen to the voice of God and have God lead us. And so Jesus, we thank you for today. God, we thank you that it's you

who leads us and it's not ourself. God, and we just want to hear your voice. So God, would you sharpen your voice? Sharpen our ears to hear your voice so clearly. God, when it gets loud and noisy in the world, will we be able to get silent with you? God, would you encourage us to get more alone with you in solitude. Jesus, we love you. We thank you so much for here. Thank you for speaking to us. Thank you for wanting to be personal with us. God, we love you. We thank you. We praise you. In Jesus, mighty name. Amen.