Great thread! Yes I hear God's "voice." I hear His "voice" in the Bible as the passage I read seems like it's being shouted at me directly (my attention is held to it). I hear His "voice" in the pastor's sermons, in some radio messages, in "secular" situations really, for us, I believe nothing is secular anymore) where something applies to a situation I am in, or encouragement from people, most who know nothing about what I'm going through at the moment.
Okay, please bear with me on this. This may be a bit long.
There are also those situations where, unbidden, a scripture verse, or Bible principle, or Christian song, or hymn comes to me and is a thread running through my mind until I finally "get it," and respond (hopefully wisely). Then there are the times when it seems God is driving me to speak out or to someone directly. It is like an urging "pressure," maybe pressure is not the right word. . . more like an imperative, a need to speak. When I finally do, there is an easing, or if I let the moment pass, there is a deflated sense of hollowness that comes.
Those moments give me pause because I tend to be a bit introverted, also, if I am to be representing God, these are the most important words I speak, and what if it is just me speaking instead of God?
So it seems to me that God is always speaking, but I am not always listening well; and what is being said is a sure biblical principle, or it supports a scripture verse, or it is a biblical principle I have learned. There are those times of illumination the Holy Spirit brings to scripture verses.
But there are other voices too that can sound like God, and I am not so sure whose voice it really is; the frequent times I get the though that I shouldn't drive a particular route, I do, and there is an accident. Now, there have been times where I do go that way and everything is fine, but for that moment, I am asking myself: "is that You, Lord? Is it an angel? Is it just me? . . .eh. . .it's just me."
There are those "voices" that come in the night; those condemning thoughts that used to drive me to terrible desperation, but from learning more from the Bible, found them not to be from God.
The spiritual battle really is for our mind, isn't it. I understand, though that everybody is not wired the same way. My brother-in-law doesn't get the level of "hearing" I do, but he is a wise and godly man! Before I became a Christian, I used to be very sensitive to "spirits," and things supernatural. I put to a wrong use that which God gave me to better hear His voice (because I need to hear Him clearly to avoid my typical bonehead moves, and not because I am "special" in any way. . . God knows I'm a thick one).
That is why I find the blanket response: "my Bible has a back cover on it" troubling. Mine also has a back cover on it, but that doesn't mean I can dismiss from my consideration everything other than what I "directly and exclusively read in the Bible." New revelation? That is an unfortunate term. It get's used for everything from encouragement, conviction, enforcement of known Scritpure, wild immaginings, and yes, maybe an urging from God.
I think that is whay it is so important to really know the Word well as it is our weapon and God's scalpel. It is important to be in constant prayer with God - the all day running "conversation." I have truly experienced that only in very hard times in my life when God has upheld me. I want to make that a regular habit so that from regular practice, I can more instantly recognize His voice.
The more Penticostal "constant revelation" does bother me a bit as my mindset has been informed by a Baptist viewpoint; but my experience finds something "kindred" with a God Who constantly speaks.
Yes, there is the "extatic" and "inaccurate," but I believe there is also the "sober," and "studied," and reliable hearing.
Does this make sense?
Brett