After listening to the sermon, I have been asking myself how do I hear from God? Is it by reading the Bible and applicating some verses to oneself or is by dreaming and God speaks to you in a dream or what? If a thought comes to my mind, how do I know if its from God or devil? Please help me.

1) Hearing through your Personal Spiritual Development:
God was trying to reach out to Samuel but not through an intermediary, but because of poor Spiritual development, Samuel was not able to identify the voice of God but misinterpreted it to be a voice of man (Eli) and instead of him to report to God, he reported himself to a man. In majority of cases that require our reporting to God today, we have been reporting to false Prophets and same has been mishandled and some misled and are on their way to hell. Meditate on 1 Sam 3 1-9. I have not said here that Eli was a false Prophet, although he carries the blame of not teaching his sons in the way of the Lord.

However God would prefer to speak directly to you to prevent Confusion, and loss of instruction. Ever since Adam has shifted his disobedience to Eve, that God has given him, in the Garden of Eden, God has been trying if possible to avoid an intermediary.

At these last days the Lord has promised His outpouring of the Holy- Spirit in Joel 2:26-28. Any young man, youth alike that must see vision must be alert and put on the strength of the Lord, not sleeping, because sleeping is meant for the old that must dreamed dreams. Rom 13:11-14 says the night is far spent, the day is at hand, let us therefore cast off the work of darkness and let us put on the amour of light......

2) Hearing God through His word.
God understands all languages, but the language that God speaks and communicate with is His word. God cannot deny His word, heaven and Earth shall pass away, but the word of God abides for ever.

God a times may be speaking to you, and you may lack understanding because of your poor meditation in the word of God. This is the reason why God encouraged Joshua as he takes over from Moses to Meditate in the word and not in the world. Josh 1:8. Children of God today can spend time in other's person affairs, backbiting, in things that do not concern them. They spend more time in the world than the word and cannot hear the voice of God. Meditate on Col 3:16

It says: Let the word of Christ dwell in you in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. However the letter killeth....... only the Children of the Kingdom with indwelling Holy- Spirit can understand the word of God. Some will just read the Bible like a novel ( Mills and Boons) without getting anything out of it. Whereas the Bible still speaks today.

3) Hearing God through the Holy- Spirit.
We have three ( 3) Dispensations,- Dispensation of God the father, God the Son, and now is the dispensation of God ( The Holy- Spirit) God had said I will not leave you comfortless but I shall send to you the Holy-Spirit which shall guide you into all truth. John 16:13-20. This is time for us to get closer to the Holy- Spirit for discernment, support, help and for Him to reveal Christ and the father more to us. Without me you can do nothing John 15: 4 -5 Without total reliance on the Holy Spirit of God, You will continue to fail, and fall.

As a Church of God, Jesus is only here with us in form of the Holy- Spirit, because he has gone to possess a kingdom for us and promise to come back to take us to where He is. We therefore require the help of Holy- Spirit for Spiritual sustenance, now that sins are available all over the place, even on the television. Sins are as close to you as your ears, but with the help of the Holy- Spirit you are more than conqueror. Holy -Spirit convicts of sins and approve Holy living, and righteousness.

4) Hearing God through Prophets and word of Knowledge.
You can hear God through the word of Knowledge through Minister of God, (The Prophets) But you must try all Spirits and know that which is of God or not. Those that do not believe Jesus came into the world and died for our sins are not of Him, and those that does not believe in His second coming and resurrection, beware of them. Those that preach only prosperity and not Holiness and righteousness and sin may not be considered His.

In the old testament the Prophets uses ( URIM & THUMIM) and wear linen Ephod. But today you need the Spirit of discernment to know the false prophets

5) Hearing God through Dreams
It is widely possible today to hear God through your dreams. It is a way of God trying to prevent and limit intermediaries. But some Children of God now a days do not take their dreams very serious. You may need to cancel any dream that are not good and also pray for good ones to come to pass. You don't need to be anxious because of a bad dream, all you need to do is to wake up and pray and cancel them through fervent prayers.

You may also require interpreting dreams of others and not being selfish like Joseph. Until he learns to interpret the dreams of others, he was struggling for survival from the pit to the prison. But after interpreting the dreams of Butler and Baker, the Power of God transported him immediately to the place of Destiny. Gen 40; 8-14 Don't ever give up, but dare to dream another dream until your vision becomes a mission!