5 Extremely Easy Ways to Receive a Sign from God

Do you need a sign from God? Perhaps you are asking God what you should do about a certain person you really want to be in a relationship with. Or maybe you are wondering if you should move to another state for a career opportunity. Or perhaps you are having conflict with someone and you don’t know what you should do.

If you need an answer from God, here are 5 easy ways to receive a sign from him.

1. Ask for the Right Type of Sign

Whenever we talk about “signs” from a biblical perspective, we need to clarify our terms. According to Scripture, there are some forms of signs we should not ask for and there are other types of signs we should seek out. I believe there are basically three forms of signs highlighted in the Bible.

• The first type of sign is “signs and wonders.” These are biblical and God does send these types of signs, but we are also told not to ask for these types of signs (Matthew 16:1-4).
• The second type of sign is “evidence for what God wants you to do.” These are biblical and we should ask for these types of signs (Luke 10:8-11, James 1:5, Psalm 32:8, Philippians 1:28).
• The third type of sign are “horoscopes and superstitions.” These are unbiblical and God does not want us to look for these types of signs (Leviticus 19:31, 1 John 4:1, 1 Timothy 4:1-7).

Thus, if you are asking God for a miraculous sign but overlooking the clear evidence he is sending through helping you live a biblically wise life, or if you are looking for superstitious signs where you attach random meaning to random events, you will be very confused.

But if you simply ask for evidence for what God wants you to do and then you seek to obey, you will usually see a sign from God very quickly.

I’ve talk about this topic in much greater detail in my article called What Does the Bible Say About Signs from God?

2. Open Your Bible with an Expectant Heart

In one sense, the will of God for your life is the word of God applied to your life. Sure, there are personal and specific questions you are asking God that are not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. For example: Does God want you to marry George? Does God want you to ask Lucy on a date? Does God want you to move to Colorado?

However, even when you are asking God something personal and specific, he still wants to speak to you through his word. Therefore, if you want to know if you should marry George, you must compare George’s character to what you see in Scripture about a godly husband (Ephesians 5:25-33). If you want to know if you should ask Lucy on a date, you should look in the Bible to see if Lucy is bearing the fruits of Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If you are wondering if you should move to Colorado, you should look at what ministry opportunities this affords you to make sure your primary goals are Christ-centered.

The real key, however, to receiving personal guidance from the Spirit while studying the Scriptures is to have an expectant and eager heart. When you read the Scriptures with doubt, impatience, or an unwilling attitude, it is unlikely you will see what God wants you to see. But when you go to the Bible expecting God to speak to you, usually you will hear a fresh word, seeing the signs you need so you know what God wants you to do.

Habakkuk 2:3, “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”

3. Ask God Questions About What to Do in the Present

Yes, it’s good to pray about things that happened in the past so God can give you a good interpretation of events and so you can learn and heal in the way you need to. And of course you should pray about the future so God’s will is done, and so you know what you should do when certain things come your way. But more than that past or the future, we must spend most of our prayer energy on what to do in the present.

Many people get so confused because they either get stuck in the unchangeable past or they get paralyzed by the unknowns in the future. Oftentimes it feels like God is silent because we are asking him about things he isn’t talking about. God is always speaking, but so often we are trying to talk about a different topic than the one he wants us most focused on. And again, God will direct us to focus mostly on the present because that’s all we can directly influence.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

4. Look More at What You Do Know Rather than Always Asking for More Information

You will never know everything. But you will always know something. In other words, when you get so preoccupied with looking for signs about the things you don’t know, you often miss out on using the signs God has already sent you. You don’t need to know the whole picture before taking the next step forward.

So if you are asking if you will end up marrying someone, first ask God about dating. If you are asking about a career, first ask God about the gifts he’s already given you. If you are asking God about continuing a relationship, make sure you have really looked at the fruit this relationship has already produced, either for good or bad. James 1:22-25 states:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

5. Look for Signs Directing You on Who to Serve

God uses signs to lead us to do what he wants us to do. Therefore, the easiest way to receive a sign from God is to make sure you trying to do what he wants you to do. What does God want us to do?

1 Peter 3:17 states, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

Related Article: What Does the Bible Say About Signs?