She nodded. “I’m afraid I’m not really a Christian.” Uh-oh, I thought. “Why?”

“Beverly in my small group is always talking about how God speaks to her, and I hear people at church saying they hear God’s voice. But I never hear God’s voice. Ever. I’m beginning to think He doesn’t talk to me because I’m not one of His.”

“But God doesn’t always speak audibly, Paige,” I said. “In fact, I’ve never heard an audible voice. I would guess that most Christians haven’t.”

“Then how does He speak to you?”

“Different ways. He speaks through His Word for one. That’s our chief source of knowing Him. And the Holy Spirit speaks in our hearts. Remember when you said you knew in your heart not to take that new job? You prayed about it, and He gave you your answer—in your heart.”

Paige brightened. “Yes! Does that count?”

“Absolutely! And He can speak through godly people. When I wondered whether to keep tutoring those at-risk kids, two friends confirmed it for me. God nudged them to do it.”

She paused. “I’m beginning to understand. I think I’m hearing His voice through you right now.”

In the Bible, God sometimes speaks audibly. He spoke out loud to young Samuel when he was little (1 Sam. 3) and to Saul on his way to persecute more Christians (Acts 9). But that’s not the only way He speaks to us. The key is to be listening for Him, and we do that by spending time with Him in prayer and in His Word, by being still before Him, knowing He wants to communicate with us.