5 Minutes with Jesus is a daily devotional series for people in the midst of real life, whether facing anxiety, grief, questions of purpose, or simply needing encouragement and connection. Hosted by Sheila Walsh, each five-minute episode offers Biblical truth, honest reflections on faith and emotions, and closes with a moment of prayer.
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| Sheila Walsh: Is God Speaking to You? | 5 Minutes with Jesus | April 20, 2026
- I was walking through the airport
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- The other day, coming home from a trip,
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- And i saw a young woman sitting by herself,
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- And i felt that unmistakable nudge from the holy spirit
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- That i should go up
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- And say hello and ask if i could pray for her.
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- You know, and sometimes that's hard
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- Because we don't want to intrude on people's privacy.
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- But when the holy spirit gives us that gentle nudge,
- 00:00:19.433 --> 00:00:22.903
- We get to see the beauty of what he wants to do in
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- Someone else's life.
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- And i saw that that day.
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- God wants to speak to us.
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- Let's pray for ears to hear.
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- Do you ever ask yourself,
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- How do i know that the voice i'm hearing is god's voice?
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- Think about it.
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- We live in an increasingly noisy world.
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- Words are spinning around us from the moment we wake up.
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- Until the moment we go to sleep.
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- So how do we recognize the voice of god?
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- How do we know that it is god we've heard from, rather
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- Than just that we had too much pizza the night before?
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- I remember talking to a young girl at a conference
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- Who told me that she had heard the physical voice of god.
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- So i asked her what god had said to her,
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- And she told me that god had told her
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- She was going to marry a very well-known pop star.
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- Now, i'm not saying that's impossible,
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- But it did seem a little unlikely as she was 15
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- And he's in his 40s and lives in another country.
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- So what are some of the ways that we can recognize
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- The voice of god in our lives?
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- So let me list a few. number one.
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- The first one is going to seem
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- Very obvious and yet it is so reliable.
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- God speaks to us through his word.
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- And second timothy chapter three, verse 16,
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- We read that all scripture is inspired by god,
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- And it's useful to teach us what is true.
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- God's word is like.
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- It's like a plumb line that we can use
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- To pull our thoughts in line with his heart.
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- In psalm one we read, o the joys of those
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- Who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
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- Or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
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- But they delight in the law of the lord,
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- Meditating on it day and night.
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- They're like trees planted along the riverbank.
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- Bearing fruit each season, their leaves never wither
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- And they prosper in all they do.
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- What a promise.
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- You know, i was interviewing
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- Tara cobble the other day for a praise program here at tbn,
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- And she unpacked a verse from psalm 119 that was so helpful.
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- The verse was, your word is a lamp
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- To guide my feet, and a light for my path.
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- She said that the original hebrew words for lamp
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- And light are different.
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- A lamp literally just shows the next step,
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- Whereas a light shows the big plan of god.
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- Number two, god speaks to us through his spirit.
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- In john chapter 16 verse 13, jesus says,
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- When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you
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- Into all truth.
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- Christ, little brother james writes this in chapter
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- One, verse five.
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- If you need wisdom, ask our generous god,
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- And he will give it to you.
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- He will not rebuke you for asking.
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- Isn't that incredible?
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- And did you know that the holy spirit prays for you
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- When you find yourself in a place
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- Where you simply can't find the words?
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- We're very familiar with romans chapter eight, verse 28.
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- But romans 826 and 27
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- Let us know that the holy spirit intercedes for us
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- With sighs and groans according to god's will.
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- What a thought to realize that god's holy spirit prays for us.
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- Number three god also speaks to us to godly counsel.
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- Whenever i have a big decision to make, and i'm not quite sure
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- Which direction to take a study god's word,
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- I ask the holy spirit for wisdom,
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- And then i seek the counsel
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- Of those i respect and the lord those i trust.
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- Number four what are the most powerful ways
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- To begin to hear and understand the word of god
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- Is to get as close to jesus as you can.
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- I love the picture where jesus describes
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- Himself as a good shepherd, and he says that his sheep
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- Know his voice and they will not follow another.
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- Number five another way to become sensitive
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- To the voice of god
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- Is to ask the holy spirit to give us ears to hear
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- What's going on in someone's life,
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- And to give us those little,
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- You know, those little godly nudges
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- When he wants us to step up and say something or pray.
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- I was walking through the airport
- 00:05:02.850 --> 00:05:04.017
- The other day, coming home from a trip,
- 00:05:04.017 --> 00:05:06.253
- And i saw a young woman sitting by herself,
- 00:05:06.253 --> 00:05:08.555
- And i felt that unmistakable nudge from the holy spirit
- 00:05:08.555 --> 00:05:12.760
- That i should go up
- 00:05:12.760 --> 00:05:13.761
- And say hello and ask if i could pray for her.
- 00:05:13.761 --> 00:05:16.797
- You know, and sometimes that's hard
- 00:05:16.797 --> 00:05:17.998
- Because we don't want to intrude on people's privacy.
- 00:05:17.998 --> 00:05:21.235
- But when the holy spirit gives us that gentle nudge,
- 00:05:21.235 --> 00:05:24.705
- We get to see the beauty of what he wants to do in
- 00:05:24.705 --> 00:05:28.041
- Someone else's life.
- 00:05:28.041 --> 00:05:29.743
- And i saw that that day.
- 00:05:29.743 --> 00:05:31.645
- God wants to speak to us.
- 00:05:31.645 --> 00:05:34.815
- Let's pray for ears to hear.
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- Let's pray.
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- Lord, i want to
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- Thank you that you do want to speak to us.
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- Thank you that you've given us your word.
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- Thank you.
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- You've given us your holy spirit.
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- Thank you for godly counselors around us.
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- And lord,
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- Teach us to pay attention to those little nudges
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- When you're showing us a situation where a simple
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- Word of kindness, a hug, a smile could make a difference.
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- But i think more than anything, lord, help us to become
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- Closer and closer to jesus because he changes everything.
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- We pray in his name. amen.
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