Q: I’m an 18-year-old who has recently started going to Bible study after years of not going to church. I was raised Southern Baptist, but I never really understood the difference between the other denominations. Lately I’ve been wondering: How come people say they can hear God? Do they mean it literally? How am I supposed to hear him? Or is it a metaphor? I also hear about people having conversations with God and I don’t get it. How does that work? I can’t hear anyone in my head besides my conscience, which I’m assuming is God leading me to the path of righteousness. But I always thought of “listening to God” as a metaphor for spiritual discipline, not an actual phenomenon. Am I a bad Christian if I can’t literally hear him? — Toni

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC:

A: It’s good that you are going to Bible study after years of not going to church.

That is a sign that the Holy Spirit is trying to nudge you closer to himself.

As to your questions:

Could God communicate through a voice? He does it, after all, at the baptism of Jesus, for instance (Matthew 3:17), and at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:35).

But God’s normal way of “speaking” to us is through the words of others or through events or through the little inspirations he sends during the day.

So, while Ask a Priest can’t say whether some of your acquaintances have heard God speaking to them, it would be good to take that talk with a grain of salt.

People might be using the term hearing in a metaphorical way. Or they might really be talking to themselves and thinking it’s God’s voice (“Go ahead and cheat on your taxes — Jesus knows you need the money”).

In short, don’t think of yourself as a bad Christian if you don’t “hear” God’s voice.

God does communicate to us through our (correctly formed) conscience.

Our Lord might have “spoken” to you when you followed an inspiration to join that Bible study. He often works in gentle and subtle ways.

Here are two quick hints for discerning when it might be God speaking to us:

First, he tends to do it in moments of calm. If ever you feel anxious or pressured, that’s probably not the moment when the Spirit is trying to communicate with you.

Second, God won’t contradict what the Church teaches. Here, of course, I’m thinking of the Catholic Church.

If the Church teaches one thing, the Holy Spirit isn’t going to inspire someone to do something that contradicts that teaching. God simply doesn’t work like that.

You can help to provide fertile ground in your heart by dedicating time to prayer and Scripture and works of charity.

To help your prayer life, you might consider the four C’s of Christian mediation. Check out my colleague Father Bartunek’s video or essay on the topic.

And if you want to learn more about the Catholic faith, get a copy of the Youth Catechism.

Count on my prayers.