7 Ways God Speaks to You: From Nudges to Prophetic Visions
What does it mean for your entire being to be made alive in Christ?
There are several meanings, and I offer a few here:
1. Spiritual Perceptions (beginner level of prophetic):
These are “Holy Spirit nudges”: I sense or felt or I have an impression God wants me to do this. I have a gut feeling. These are Holy Spirit nudges, starting points. We see examples of spiritual perceptions at various times in Scripture: Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6:16-17, where the servant’s spiritual eyes were opened to see angelic armies. In Luke 5:22, where Jesus discerned the thoughts and intents of the people around Him, which was spiritual sight beyond natural observation.
2. Pictorial Visions (getting a picture):
These visions are often symbolic, vivid, and rich with imagery. Holy Spirit projects and shows you. He projects His imagery in your mind. You use your mind for imagination, but it is the only area in your body that He can project images on your inner canvas, and you see it. You should know the difference between your imagery and God’s. How do I know that? Practice, practice, practice. Prophetic visions are not just for prophetic people. You find several examples in Scripture depicting pictorial visions, such as Ezekiel’s vision of the four living creatures in Ezekiel 1:4-28, which represent God’s majesty, omnipresence, and heavenly order. In Isaiah 6:1-8, he has a vision of God on His throne, representing God’s holiness, purity, and the prophet’s call.
3. Closed Panoramic Visions:
These visions can be dreams. Did you know that some dreams can be considered a type of vision? According to Dr. James Goll, this is because “our mind is less resistant to visions when we sleep. The soul never truly slumbers, and neither does God.” He speaks where He dwells. If you open yourself to God when you sleep, He will speak to you. Not all dreams may be for the corporate body, but may be more personal. Your eyes are shut, and the picture begins to move. Before, your picture was stationary, but this is a moving vision. It comes from God, but God is not outside you; He’s inside you.
In Acts 9:10-16, we see panoramic visions take place. First, Ananias receives a vision that he is to go lay his hands on Saul (later named Paul) so that he may receive his sight. The second vision is that of Saul himself, who, although blind, had “seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight” (Acts 9:12 NASB).
4. Open Panoramic Visions:
This is when your eyes are open, and you see moving objects or people. They can seem to come out of thin air. This is different from pictorial visions. This can be almost like watching a movie scene in action.
5. Through the Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit speaks to believers, guiding, convicting, and reminding them of God’s truth. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26 NIV). “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14 NIV).
6. Through Prayer:
God communicates during prayer, peace, conviction, or even specific direction.
7. Through His Word:
God speaks through the written Word, the Bible, which is inspired and authoritative. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword…” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).
The spirit realm should not be a place of visitation—it is where we dwell! This doesn’t mean we should have our minds in the clouds all the time, but because Scripture says “We are seated with Him in the heavenly places,” then we should be aware of what He is doing in the spirit realm and with that God reveals through His nature and the points mentioned (although there are other ways too) how He speaks to get His message to us.
When you are doing prophetic ministry, you are pulling out the revelation for the person that is unique to that person. This is what is so powerful in prophetic ministry. It shows that God not only cares for them, but that He has their best interests in mind! He pulls out the will of God for their life even when they don’t see it (like the story I shared earlier in this chapter). The prophetic is provoking in nature. When we don’t utilize prophecy in our churches, whether personally to one another or in the leadership of our churches, we are taking a piece of God out of the equation. We can nurture a church and the people all we want, but if we don’t have the prophetic provoking element, we are robbing God of what He wants to do in full-ness. Also, we create needy people who can never help themselves. We sustain babies who are only in need of milk and never grow into maturity.
I want you to stop right now and pray this prayer, only if you mean it:
Father, I want to step into the blessing of the prophetic and revelatory nature of who You are! I no longer want to live in the shallow waters of Christianity—my desire is to know You and Your ways on a deeper level. Help me to step into the spirit realm of Your glory, and speak to me. As much as I love the basic gospel, I want to know Your heart in a deeper way because I know that You are a limitless God who wants to release treasures of Your heart to me. Today, I make a commitment to go into the deeper ways of who You are. Take me to that place where I not only gain more knowledge of who You are, but that You show me the secrets of Your heart so that I can transform others by the power of Your Spirit today. Fill me with Your Spirit!
If you prayed this prayer, spend time now and pray in the Spirit (with your heavenly language of speaking in tongues). If you don’t have this gift, ask Holy Spirit to fill you with His Spirit now and allow Him to overflow you as you read this. Take a few moments and spend time with Him. You may feel like you need to repent for not taking on the prophetic as part of His nature in the body of Christ, which is needed today.
What If I Struggle to Hear or See?
Many believers desire to see in the spirit, receiving visions, impressions, or images from Holy Spirit, but find it challenging or even frustrating when that doesn’t happen right away. This is more common than most people realize.
First, it’s important to understand that the prophetic operates through a variety of senses. While some people see vivid mental pictures or visions, others may hear God’s voice internally, feel strong impressions, or sim-ply “know” something without a visual experience. It’s essential not to compare your experience with someone else’s. God often speaks uniquely to each person based on how He has wired them.
If you’re struggling to see, begin by asking God with faith and simplicity: “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord” (see Ephesians 1:18). Then rest in His presence without trying to force anything. A helpful practice is to engage your spiritual imagination by reading a passage from the Gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and picturing yourself in the scene. What do you see, hear, or feel? This can help strengthen your inner vision and train your spirit to recognize when God is speaking through imagery.
Often, distraction or overstimulation can dull our spiritual perception. Consider setting aside intentional time to fast from noise, whether it’s media, constant activity, or mental clutter, and create space for stillness and focus. Ask Holy Spirit to increase your sensitivity and baptize you afresh with the spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17). Even if nothing visual comes at first, begin journaling whatever you sense, feel, or hear internally. Faithfully stewarding the small impressions will often lead to more over time.
It’s also important to affirm the other ways God might be speaking. If you often feel atmospheres shift, sense discernment about people or situations, or suddenly recall Scripture at just the right time, those may be expressions of the prophetic, just not through sight. Celebrate that. The goal is not to become visually gifted but to become deeply connected to the voice and heart of God in what-ever way He chooses to reveal Himself.
What Is the Value of Prophecy?
Paul makes a distinction between tongues and prophecy. Tongues are spoken to God, but prophecy is spoken to people. He insists that the reason prophecy is so valuable is that the message is understandable to those who hear it (1 Corinthians 14:1-11).
First Corinthians 14:9-11 (NIV) says:
So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me.
This principle means we must prophesy in such a way that the message makes sense. Prophecy is communicating a revelation from God, and revelation means making known what was hidden. If a prophecy is given in such a way that it cannot be understood, then it can-not edify, encourage, or comfort the person receiving. A practical application is that when giving a prophecy to someone who has little biblical knowledge, avoid using “Christianese” vocabulary and instead use plain language that the person can understand.
One more Scripture, in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 (NIV), Paul is emphasizing the evangelistic power of prophecy, especially in the form of reading hearts:
But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
Many unbelievers have come to Christ through Christians speaking prophetically to them. In these situations, prophecy usually overlaps with a word of knowledge. A word of knowledge can be something Holy Spirit gives to you that is only known to the person receiving. God can reveal something like an illness that the person is carrying, a pain in a certain area of the body, or even something not physical at all. It could be that they need restoration in a relationship.
For example, a few years ago, we were at a gathering with our church, and we were in a time of prayer and worship. During this time, I felt pain in my right ankle, even though I had no physical issues with my ankle. I thought it was strange as I hadn’t fallen or twisted it. I told my husband about it, and he said maybe it is a word of knowledge. Yeah, that’s what it is! Something resonated inside me when he said it. I then took the bold step of going to our leader at the time and asking if I could share a word of knowledge, and he gave me permission to release the word of knowledge. As I held the mic, I told the congregation what I was experiencing and said, “I believe someone here in this room is having issues with their right ankle, and God wants to heal you.”
As had happened many times, I was standing there anticipating someone would raise their hand and thinking, God, please don’t embarrass me! All of a sudden, a lady raised her hand and came forward. I asked if I could touch her ankle and pray for healing, and she, of course, gave me permission to do so (when you are ministering over someone, it is always good practice to ask for their per-mission, as some people don’t always want to get healed or they don’t want to be touched). I laid my hands on her ankle and began to pray for healing, and allowed Holy Spirit to do His work. Nothing happened in the moment, but a week later, she approached me excitedly and said, “Remember when you prayed for me last week? Well, this week I have been running, and I never could do that before you prayed! I believe God healed me!” Praise God!
God always orchestrates miracles in His timing.
