"Is that you, God?"

Imagine you are contemplating whether to do something scary and a voice inside you screams, "No! Don't do it!" Here's the big question: is there a way to tell if that inner voice is

1. your inner monologue
2. the Holy Spirit
3. your conscience
 

I used to worry about such things. It's frightening to think, for example, that when you pray with one part of your brain, the answers you hear are simply coming from another part of your brain. If you start thinking that way then your prayers can become paralyzed and self-obsessive. How do we separate God's voice from our own?

If we try to answer this question in strictly philosophical terms, we fall short.

Which is surprising because each of these three 'voices' has a different enough role, you would think a system could be devised to reliably sort one from another.

Your inner monologue's role is to provide running commentary on your experiences and is inextricably tied to your feelings and motivations, whether they be good motivations or not. Most Christians go through a period where they'll try to extract these personal motivations from their prayer life. Am I praying for the right reasons? If I have mixed emotions, am I unfaithful? Ahhh!! How frustrating.

The role of the Holy Spirit is to bring the presence of God into every follower of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is one of the three members of God and is a person/voice completely distinct from your own. You would think it would be easy to tell the different between you and not-you EXCEPT the Holy Spirit speaks inside your heart. What if you're unclear if the person of the Holy Spirit is speaking, or if it's your own spirit grumbling? Hmm.

The role of your conscience is to guide you on what's right and wrong. The moral law is written on our hearts. The ethical laws that we create in our society are built upon our sense of this internally written code. Still, it's up to us whether we'll tune in or tune out this inner guide. We all know people who have squashed their Jiminy Cricket. >-<

As you can see, this question is impossible if it remains strictly philosophical. The way to tell these inner voices apart is relationally.

Let me explain: I love my wife. Over time I have become familiar with her voice. If she calls me on the phone, even if the signal is distorted, I would be able to tell the difference between her and a total stranger.

When you are young in your faith, you may not be familiar enough with the Spirit. It takes time to build that relationship, it's okay. But similar to a healthy and growing marriage, you'll reach the point where you feel quite familiar. So pray with confidence. Keep listening for God and He will make Himself known to you.