August 13, 2025 • 11 mins
In this episode of the Confidence in God podcast, host Julie McGhghy shares personal experiences and biblical insights on how to build confidence in hearing God's voice. She recounts a recent conversation with friends about the common struggle of discerning whether God is truly speaking to us. Julie emphasizes the importance of turning to scripture for assurance, citing passages that affirm believers can know and follow God's voice.
She discusses the role of prayer—especially praying God’s Word—in strengthening trust and confidence in divine guidance. Julie encourages listeners to take small steps of faith, trust that God will correct their path if needed, and to acknowledge Him in all decisions. She shares practical examples from her own life and invites listeners to reflect on their own experiences of hearing God’s guidance. The episode concludes with a reminder to access additional resources and an encouragement to remain confident in God’s faithfulness.
https://confidenceingod.com/resources/
Timeline
- 0:00 — Introduction: Welcome and episode goal (Julie McGhghy)
- 0:11 — Personal context: Motorcycle ministry event and ladies’ breakfast
- 2:00 — Discussion: Fear and doubt about hearing God’s call; encouragement from friends
- 2:40 — Julie’s struggle: Lacking confidence in hearing God’s voice
- 3:20 — Invitation: Resource on confidence in prayer (https://confidenceingod.com/resources/)
- 3:32 — “Is that you, God?” and learning to discern God’s voice
- 3:50 — Turning to scripture for assurance
- 4:16 — Key scriptures: Psalm 95:7, John 10:14, John 10:27
- 4:40 — Reflection: Knowing and obeying God’s voice
- 5:04 — The real struggle: Trusting God's Word
- 5:18 — More scriptures for trust: Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 32:8, Psalm 63:8, Psalm 73:23
- 6:17 — Building trust by praying scripture
- 6:52 — No longer paralyzed: Moving forward with confidence
- 7:22 — Sample prayer for guidance
- 7:53 — Trusting God to correct your path
- 8:13 — Summary: Steps to build confidence in hearing God’s voice
- 9:05 — Starting small: Everyday examples of seeking God’s guidance
- 10:05 — Listener invitation: Share your experiences
- 10:19 — Resource reminder: How to Have Confidence in Your Prayer Life
- 10:40 — Closing: Subscribe, rate, and review
- 10:54 — Final encouragement: God will complete His work in you
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome to theConfidence in God podcast.
I am your host, Julie McGhghy,and our goal today is to help
you walk with confidence in God.
In today's episode, I'm justgoing to speak from the heart.
Recently I was attending anevent that was sponsored by the
motorcycle ministry that myhusband and I are members of.
(00:22):
Although neither one of us areriding right now, we are still
very active in that ministry andduring the ministry a dear
friend of mine hosted what wereferred to as a ladies'
breakfast.
It is not that we don't haveladies who ride.
We certainly do, and we haveladies who ride with their
(00:43):
husbands.
We also have ladies who prefernot to do either.
And so we had a gathering inwhich those of us who were not
riding, got together forbreakfast.
My friend had done a really goodjob with that event and I was
chatting with her and anotherfriend afterwards, and we were
(01:04):
just encouraging her as to howgood of a job she had done.
She began sharing with us howfearful she had been to step out
into that kind of a ministrybecause she sometimes wonders if
God is really calling her to dothis or that.
This, second person we werechatting with is a dear friend
(01:26):
who I consider to be one of mybiggest encouragers.
I wouldn't even be podcastingnow if it weren't for her
encouragement.
And so certainly she was thereencouraging, my other friend as
well.
As my friend began talking aboutbeing fearful and being doubtful
when she gets thoughts in herhead, whether that's God talking
(01:48):
to her or not, it brought backsuch strong memories of when I
really struggled with havingconfidence that I was hearing
God lead me to certain things.
So I started sharing with myfriends how I had found my way
to having more confidence inhearing God's voice.
Now, I've talked to enoughpeople to know that my friend
(02:10):
and I are not the only peoplewho have struggled with
confidence that we are hearingthe voice of God.
If you are one of them, staywith me for a short time to hear
how you can begin building yourconfidence in hearing God's
voice.
Now before we get into what Ishared with my friends, I invite
you to check out a resourcetitled How to Have Confidence in
(02:30):
Your Prayer Life.
You can get instant access to itby going to
confidenceingod.com/resources.
Prayer is certainly one of thethings that has a great deal to
do with how we build ourconfidence in hearing God's
voice.
I'll drop the link to theresource in the show notes for
your convenience.
(02:51):
Several years ago when I wasjust beginning to feel the call
of God into ministry, I foundmyself doubting that I was
really hearing His call.
I had attended a conferencewhere a very wise woman who had
been in ministry for many yearssaid something that really
changed my life.
And I paraphrase what she saidbecause it's been so many years
(03:14):
ago that I can't remember itword for word, but she said
something like this,"Why is itwhen we feel God calling us to
pray with somebody, we just stayin our seats or wherever it is
that we are when we feel thecalling, and then we start
questioning God.
God, is that you?
God, are you really telling meto go pray with that person?"
(03:37):
Now this woman continued byasking,"Who else would be
calling you to pray for someone?
Would Satan want you to praywith someone?
Would your flesh want you topray for someone?
No." Starting that very day, Ibegan praying about how to have
confidence that I am hearingGod's voice and God started
showing me some things.
(03:59):
As I normally do, the firstplace I go to to hear his voice
is his written word.
That's one reason he gave it tous is he speaks to us through
His Word.
So I found a number ofscriptures that assured me that
I hear God's voice.
Psalm 95:7 says, For He is ourGod and we are the people of his
(04:20):
pasture and the sheep of hishand.
Then in John 10:14, Jesus said,I am the good shepherd and I
know my sheep, and am known ofmine.
Going on to John 10:27, He says,my sheep hear my voice and I
know them, and they follow me.
Through these scriptures, Ilearned that if we are his sheep
(04:43):
or we are his people, we are tohear his voice and listen to his
voice.
This infers that we know hisvoice.
Listening as opposed to hearingis doing what he says, obeying
him.
We have the ability to knowGod's voice, to seek it and to
obey it.
(05:04):
It wasn't enough for me to knowwhat the Word said about hearing
God's voice.
I wasn't stuck because I didn'thear His voice.
I was stuck because I wasn'tconfident that it was His voice
that I was hearing.
Did I really trust God's word?
So I found some more scripturesthat helped me.
(05:25):
Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in theLord with all your heart and
lean that onto your ownunderstanding.
In all your ways, acknowledgehim and he shall direct your
path.
Psalm 32:8, I will instruct youand teach you in the way you
should go.
I will guide you with my eye.
Psalm 63:8, My soul followsbehind you.
(05:48):
Your right hand upholds me.
And Psalm 73:23, Nevertheless, Iam continually with you.
You hold me by my right hand.
As I asked myself if I reallytrusted God's word, I began
praying these scriptures.
I recently read somethingsomeone posted on a social media
(06:11):
feed that really downplayed, ifnot mocked, the idea of praying
God's word.
He basically said,"God doesn'tneed to be reminded of what He
said." I agree with thatstatement.
God doesn't need to be remindedof what He said in His Word.
I am the one who needs to bereminded.
(06:32):
As I pray God's Word, my trustin it builds.
And I began trusting it more andmore.
I began putting all thesescriptures together and praying
them after I had been seekingGod's will about a particular
matter and began feeling Godguiding me a specific way.
(06:52):
I no longer waited, paralyzeduntil I heard almost an audible
voice from God or until someoneof spiritual authority spoke
directly into my life about it.
I could trust that God wasdirecting me and I could start
moving forward.
So here's a sample prayer that Iwould pray based on these
(07:14):
scriptures God had shown mewhile I searched for how to have
more confidence that God wasspeaking to me.
Dear Lord, I put my faith in youand your Word.
I am your sheep.
I know your voice.
As I acknowledge you in thissituation, I trust you are
directing my path.
(07:35):
You'll not let me take amisstep.
Your right hand holds my righthand so that I am facing you and
you are guiding me with youreyes.
Thank you, Jesus, that I cantrust the steps I am taking are
ordered by you.
Once I've sought the Lord aboutanything I needed his guidance
(07:56):
on and I began sensing hisguidance, I could pray a prayer
like this and know that Godwould correct me if I was
heading in the wrong direction.
He would not just let me gooutside of his will.
My paralysis was over.
My questioning God to ensure itwas His voice was over.
(08:19):
I trust Him.
I trust His Word.
All I need to do is acknowledgeHim in everything I am doing.
Seek His guidance and He willlead me.
Now, we've covered a lot in ashort period of time.
Let me summarize this reallyquickly.
We are God's sheep and we knowHis voice.
(08:43):
We have the ability to knowGod's voice, seek it and obey.
To build our confidence in thattruth, in addition to
acknowledging Him in all we do,we can pray His Word and start
taking steps in the direction wefeel Him guiding.
He will correct us if we arewrong.
(09:05):
I didn't start with huge thingsto begin with.
I started with small things thatsome of you might even laugh at.
I used to eat out every weekdayevening because my husband
traveled every week and I reallydisliked eating alone at home.
I got into the habit of askingGod where he would have me eat
(09:27):
each evening.
Once I felt his guidance, Iwould go that direction, always
praying something similar tothat sample prayer I shared a
moment ago.
And almost every time I wouldencounter someone who needed
encouragement, whether it besomeone I knew or someone who
(09:48):
would strike up a conversationwith me.
The more that happened, thebolder I got in my prayers for
guidance.
After many years of trusting andpraying God's Word, I'm pretty
confident when I hear God'svoice.
And you can be, too.
I would love to hear from you.
Let me know how you have grownconfidence in hearing God's
(10:10):
voice.
Share with me an example of howGod has guided you in a way that
became obvious to you and builtyour faith.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, Iinvite you to check out a
resource titled How to HaveConfidence in Your Prayer Life.
It'll give you more samples ofpraying God's Word to help you
(10:30):
have confidence that you arepraying effectively.
Just click the link in the shownotes and go to the resources
tab.
Now that's it for today.
Please take a second tosubscribe to our show so you'll
be notified when future episodescome out.
Also, it would be great if youwould rate or review our show.
(10:51):
That way more people can findout about it.
Until next time, let's beconfident in this that he who
began a good work in you will befaithful to complete it.
Hello and welcome to theConfidence in God podcast.
I am your host, Julie McGhghy,and our goal today is to help
you walk with confidence in God.
In today's episode, I'm justgoing to speak from the heart.
Recently I was attending anevent that was sponsored by the
motorcycle ministry that myhusband and I are members of.
(00:22):
Although neither one of us areriding right now, we are still
very active in that ministry andduring the ministry a dear
friend of mine hosted what wereferred to as a ladies'
breakfast.
It is not that we don't haveladies who ride.
We certainly do, and we haveladies who ride with their
(00:43):
husbands.
We also have ladies who prefernot to do either.
And so we had a gathering inwhich those of us who were not
riding, got together forbreakfast.
My friend had done a really goodjob with that event and I was
chatting with her and anotherfriend afterwards, and we were
(01:04):
just encouraging her as to howgood of a job she had done.
She began sharing with us howfearful she had been to step out
into that kind of a ministrybecause she sometimes wonders if
God is really calling her to dothis or that.
This, second person we werechatting with is a dear friend
(01:26):
who I consider to be one of mybiggest encouragers.
I wouldn't even be podcastingnow if it weren't for her
encouragement.
And so certainly she was thereencouraging, my other friend as
well.
As my friend began talking aboutbeing fearful and being doubtful
when she gets thoughts in herhead, whether that's God talking
(01:48):
to her or not, it brought backsuch strong memories of when I
really struggled with havingconfidence that I was hearing
God lead me to certain things.
So I started sharing with myfriends how I had found my way
to having more confidence inhearing God's voice.
Now, I've talked to enoughpeople to know that my friend
(02:10):
and I are not the only peoplewho have struggled with
confidence that we are hearingthe voice of God.
If you are one of them, staywith me for a short time to hear
how you can begin building yourconfidence in hearing God's
voice.
Now before we get into what Ishared with my friends, I invite
you to check out a resourcetitled How to Have Confidence in
(02:30):
Your Prayer Life.
You can get instant access to itby going to
confidenceingod.com/resources.
Prayer is certainly one of thethings that has a great deal to
do with how we build ourconfidence in hearing God's
voice.
I'll drop the link to theresource in the show notes for
your convenience.
(02:51):
Several years ago when I wasjust beginning to feel the call
of God into ministry, I foundmyself doubting that I was
really hearing His call.
I had attended a conferencewhere a very wise woman who had
been in ministry for many yearssaid something that really
changed my life.
And I paraphrase what she saidbecause it's been so many years
(03:14):
ago that I can't remember itword for word, but she said
something like this,"Why is itwhen we feel God calling us to
pray with somebody, we just stayin our seats or wherever it is
that we are when we feel thecalling, and then we start
questioning God.
God, is that you?
God, are you really telling meto go pray with that person?"
(03:37):
Now this woman continued byasking,"Who else would be
calling you to pray for someone?
Would Satan want you to praywith someone?
Would your flesh want you topray for someone?
No." Starting that very day, Ibegan praying about how to have
confidence that I am hearingGod's voice and God started
showing me some things.
(03:59):
As I normally do, the firstplace I go to to hear his voice
is his written word.
That's one reason he gave it tous is he speaks to us through
His Word.
So I found a number ofscriptures that assured me that
I hear God's voice.
Psalm 95:7 says, For He is ourGod and we are the people of his
(04:20):
pasture and the sheep of hishand.
Then in John 10:14, Jesus said,I am the good shepherd and I
know my sheep, and am known ofmine.
Going on to John 10:27, He says,my sheep hear my voice and I
know them, and they follow me.
Through these scriptures, Ilearned that if we are his sheep
(04:43):
or we are his people, we are tohear his voice and listen to his
voice.
This infers that we know hisvoice.
Listening as opposed to hearingis doing what he says, obeying
him.
We have the ability to knowGod's voice, to seek it and to
obey it.
(05:04):
It wasn't enough for me to knowwhat the Word said about hearing
God's voice.
I wasn't stuck because I didn'thear His voice.
I was stuck because I wasn'tconfident that it was His voice
that I was hearing.
Did I really trust God's word?
So I found some more scripturesthat helped me.
(05:25):
Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in theLord with all your heart and
lean that onto your ownunderstanding.
In all your ways, acknowledgehim and he shall direct your
path.
Psalm 32:8, I will instruct youand teach you in the way you
should go.
I will guide you with my eye.
Psalm 63:8, My soul followsbehind you.
(05:48):
Your right hand upholds me.
And Psalm 73:23, Nevertheless, Iam continually with you.
You hold me by my right hand.
As I asked myself if I reallytrusted God's word, I began
praying these scriptures.
I recently read somethingsomeone posted on a social media
(06:11):
feed that really downplayed, ifnot mocked, the idea of praying
God's word.
He basically said,"God doesn'tneed to be reminded of what He
said." I agree with thatstatement.
God doesn't need to be remindedof what He said in His Word.
I am the one who needs to bereminded.
(06:32):
As I pray God's Word, my trustin it builds.
And I began trusting it more andmore.
I began putting all thesescriptures together and praying
them after I had been seekingGod's will about a particular
matter and began feeling Godguiding me a specific way.
(06:52):
I no longer waited, paralyzeduntil I heard almost an audible
voice from God or until someoneof spiritual authority spoke
directly into my life about it.
I could trust that God wasdirecting me and I could start
moving forward.
So here's a sample prayer that Iwould pray based on these
(07:14):
scriptures God had shown mewhile I searched for how to have
more confidence that God wasspeaking to me.
Dear Lord, I put my faith in youand your Word.
I am your sheep.
I know your voice.
As I acknowledge you in thissituation, I trust you are
directing my path.
(07:35):
You'll not let me take amisstep.
Your right hand holds my righthand so that I am facing you and
you are guiding me with youreyes.
Thank you, Jesus, that I cantrust the steps I am taking are
ordered by you.
Once I've sought the Lord aboutanything I needed his guidance
(07:56):
on and I began sensing hisguidance, I could pray a prayer
like this and know that Godwould correct me if I was
heading in the wrong direction.
He would not just let me gooutside of his will.
My paralysis was over.
My questioning God to ensure itwas His voice was over.
(08:19):
I trust Him.
I trust His Word.
All I need to do is acknowledgeHim in everything I am doing.
Seek His guidance and He willlead me.
Now, we've covered a lot in ashort period of time.
Let me summarize this reallyquickly.
We are God's sheep and we knowHis voice.
(08:43):
We have the ability to knowGod's voice, seek it and obey.
To build our confidence in thattruth, in addition to
acknowledging Him in all we do,we can pray His Word and start
taking steps in the direction wefeel Him guiding.
He will correct us if we arewrong.
(09:05):
I didn't start with huge thingsto begin with.
I started with small things thatsome of you might even laugh at.
I used to eat out every weekdayevening because my husband
traveled every week and I reallydisliked eating alone at home.
I got into the habit of askingGod where he would have me eat
(09:27):
each evening.
Once I felt his guidance, Iwould go that direction, always
praying something similar tothat sample prayer I shared a
moment ago.
And almost every time I wouldencounter someone who needed
encouragement, whether it besomeone I knew or someone who
(09:48):
would strike up a conversationwith me.
The more that happened, thebolder I got in my prayers for
guidance.
After many years of trusting andpraying God's Word, I'm pretty
confident when I hear God'svoice.
And you can be, too.
I would love to hear from you.
Let me know how you have grownconfidence in hearing God's
(10:10):
voice.
Share with me an example of howGod has guided you in a way that
became obvious to you and builtyour faith.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, Iinvite you to check out a
resource titled How to HaveConfidence in Your Prayer Life.
It'll give you more samples ofpraying God's Word to help you
(10:30):
have confidence that you arepraying effectively.
Just click the link in the shownotes and go to the resources
tab.
Now that's it for today.
Please take a second tosubscribe to our show so you'll
be notified when future episodescome out.
Also, it would be great if youwould rate or review our show.
(10:51):
That way more people can findout about it.
Until next time, let's beconfident in this that he who
began a good work in you will befaithful to complete it.
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