How do I know if God is impressing me?

Thank you for your question: it invites us to reflect more deeply on who is truly leading us. This belongs to the field of Spiritual Leadership.

It reminds me of a text in the book of the prophet Isaiah: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21). With this in mind, I would reframe your question as: “How do I know whose voice it is?”

We all encounter moments when we feel a strong impression to act, take a stand, or even refrain from speaking or doing. These impressions may come as a soft whisper or as a powerful, compelling force. They’re often hard to explain, and while deeply personal and direct to us, others may dismiss them as subjective or imagined.

The truth is, God leads us in many ways, revealing His will in forms we can grasp. It may be a personal encounter, a silent (yet loud) voice stirring in your conscience, an external event, or a powerful perception. Sometimes, it’s a Bible verse that prompts you to act in a specific way. Yes, Satan can mimic these methods, and many of us have experienced temptations that felt convincing, only to realise later they were deceptive. So your questions are not only valid, they’re spiritually vital.

Let me offer three guidelines to help discern the source of such impressions:

First, an impression — whether a thought, a drive to act, or a feeling — should come from a voice you recognise. I emphasise this (though it may sound mysterious at first) because the identity of the voice reveals everything. When God speaks, He doesn’t leave you wondering whether it’s Him or someone else. You know. Period. Even if He calls you to do something that seems irrational — remember Abraham, called to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22). Why did the old patriarch go through with it? It sounded outrageous, but the voice was unmistakable: it was God’s. And Abraham could not ignore it. In contrast, when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4, Luke 4), he urged Him to act divine: turn stones to bread, jump from the temple based on quoting Scripture, worship differently to gain the world. But each temptation carried doubt: “If you are…” Jesus knew immediately who was speaking.

Second, don’t hesitate to ask for a confirmation. What does that mean? God knows our limitation, and He knows our fears as well. It may be a fine line between faith and presumption... So He often approaches us repeatedly, through different means, to help us discern rightly. If an impression comes and goes quickly, it’s likely not from God. That’s often a sign of another voice testing your response. God’s Holy Spirit, however, knocks persistently: impressions grow stronger, not weaker. If you ignore them, they may fade, and you risk becoming numb to divine guidance. A double (or triple) confirmation might look like this: a thought arises, then a Scripture echoes it, then a sermon reinforces it, and perhaps a friend unknowingly speaks the same truth. You begin to see a thread — not a fleeting dream, but a pattern of divine prompting. Just remember Nathanael (John 1): he listened to John the Baptist, then went to pray under the fig tree for Messiah, then his friend Phillip invites him to encounter Messiah from Nazareth, and then Jesus Himself confirmed the prayer of Nathanael.

Third, there will be times when the voice is unclear (for different reasons). You may feel distant from God, or unsure about the cost of obedience. The impression may seem ambiguous, especially if your biblical understanding on that topic is limited. In such cases, return to what you know for sure. Go back to your spiritual anchors, and by these I mean those moments when God’s voice was unmistakable. Test the impression against Scripture (see Isaiah 8:20). Is it in harmony with God’s Word? God calls us to faithfulness; Satan urges us to act independently, even if just for a moment. Act in faith, and you’ll know by the fruit (yes, sometimes only afterward, see Matthew 7:15-20) whether it was a good call. And if it wasn’t, learn from it. Each experience sharpens your ability to recognise the voice. And thus we go back to #1.

Walk in faith, and God will reveal His will to you. You will know His voice (see John 10).

"His sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will flee from him because they do not recognise his voice."

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