There are some content creators who claim that the only place we can ever hear from God is within the pages of the Bible. They assert that God never speaks outside the Bible. I disagree.

First let me say that the Bible is the Word of God and is breathed by God. It’s invaluable, and every Christian should be reading their Bible daily, 7 days a week. And don’t kid yourself, when I say read your Bible daily, I’m not talking about “the verse of the day.” I’m not talking about reading a daily devotion containing just one or two verses. In my opinion, the very least you should read is one chapter per day, which requires about 5 to 10 minutes of your time.

Having now said that, let me also point out the following: The name of the college or trade school God wants you to attend is not in the Bible. The degree program God wants you to major in is not written in the Bible. The employers God wants you to apply to and the job offer God wants you to accept are not written in the Bible. The name of the person God wants you to date and to marry is not written in the Bible. Whether you should send your children to a public school or a private Christian school is not in the Bible. The address of the house God wants you to buy is not written in the Bible. The name of the church God wants you to attend is not written in the Bible. And with regards to that church, whether you should volunteer to serve as a parking lot attendant or serve within the church’s IT department is found nowhere in the Bible.

So the question is this: Does God speak to His people today outside the pages of Scripture?

Prayer and the Guidance of God

Anyone who makes the claim that God never speaks outside the Bible must also deal with what the Bible says about prayer.

A person might pray for guidance, wisdom or direction, but if that person believes God never speaks outside the Bible, they must also believe their prayer will never be answered.

James tells us:

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8)

When the Bible says, “if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,” the Christian who claims God is unable or unwilling to speak outside the Bible has to admit that every single one of the questions just mentioned will go unanswered.

They must conclude that every Christian is merely set adrift like a boat without a rudder, drifting aimlessly, hoping they eventually make a few good decisions all on their own.

For every single question mentioned above, the man who says God does not speak outside the Bible prays for God’s guidance assuming God will never answer. That then means that such a man makes every important decision in life according to his own will rather than God’s will.

Scripture Tells Us to Seek God’s Will

If you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then you acknowledge that the following verses are true:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

How is it possible to not lean upon your own understanding if every single decision you are faced with in life you have to make for yourself, without any input or guidance from God?

Paul says:

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)

If I no longer live, why am I making every decision according to my own will while assuming God is unable to give me answers to any and every question not recorded in the Bible?

Then Jesus said:

If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23)

Well, wait just a minute!!!

How can I deny myself if every decision I make in life is according to my own will, desires and ambitions? Because again, these individuals are claiming God never speaks outside the Bible. So, I guess where I live, who I marry, where I go to church, where I work, etc… is all up to me.

Paul also writes:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Well, wait another minute!!!

How am I supposed to know God’s will regarding who I should marry, where I should work, which ministry I’m supposed to support? The person who says God never speaks outside the Bible assumes all of such questions will never be answered, and that each individual is responsible for trying to figure life out all on their own.

What Does This Look Like in Real Life?

If you own a business and you enter a slow season during which your income decreases and you find that you’re having trouble paying your bills, you get on your knees and pray, “Lord, help. What should I do?”

Do you expect to receive no answer? Do you think God intends to leave you stranded and helpless? Do you think seeking God’s counsel is of no value? This very example happened to me just last month.

All of a sudden, for reasons I could not understand, my service business suddenly dried up. Customers were no longer contacting me. After two weeks of having no business, I got on my knees and prayed to the Lord, “What is going on? Lord, please help me.” Twenty-five minutes later, a customer called me on the phone and said, “Hey, are you aware that your email isn’t working?”

I told him I was not. Then I went and tested the contact form on my website and discovered he was right. The website said the message was sent successfully, but the email never arrived in my inbox. I then spent 6 hours trying to understand why it wasn’t working and eventually got it fixed.

I had prayed to the Lord for answers, and God had one of my customers call me to tell me my email wasn’t working. That was God speaking to me outside the Bible! Remember, email is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It is impossible to turn to Romans chapter 17 and read about what’s wrong with Gary’s email.

Another Example

Several years ago, my wife and I were having financial difficulties, and our electricity bill had gone unpaid for so long that the power company sent a message saying they were going to disconnect my electricity if I didn’t pay the bill. I prayed to the Lord for help.

That very evening, a person knocked on my door. When I opened the door, he said that God had told him to come to my house and give me money. I praised the Lord and thanked the man. I then prayed for him. Later, when I counted the money, it was exactly the amount needed to pay our electricity bill.

My address and how much my electricity bill was are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. So if God does not speak outside the Bible, how is it that God told that person to come to my house and give me exactly X amount of money?

And What About Missionaries?

Consider another problem with the claim that God never speaks outside the Bible. Almost every nation on earth today is not mentioned by name in the Bible. For example, Mexico, Haiti and Guatemala are not mentioned in the Bible. So then how can any missionary be sent to those places if God never speaks outside the Bible? Do missionaries just head out on the Great Commission without any guidance at all from the Lord? Do they just pick at random any destination that seems right to them? If that were the case, every missionary would choose Honolulu, Key West or the Bahamas.

The Great Commission tells us to go, but the Bible does not give every individual missionary the name of the country, city or neighborhood where they are supposed to go. That requires guidance.

I’m not saying that the Bible is insufficient. Quite the opposite. The Bible is the Word of God. It is our foundation, our authority and the standard by which everything we believe must be tested. Every Christian should be reading it daily.

But saying that the Bible is the Word of God is not the same thing as saying that God is incapable of communicating with His people outside the written pages of Scripture.

Christians are told to seek God’s wisdom, to trust Him rather than their own understanding, to deny themselves, follow Christ and discover His good, pleasing and perfect will. Therefore, I believe the biblical position is not that “God only speaks through the Bible”, but that “everything God speaks must agree with the Bible”.

The Bible is the standard. God’s Word cannot contradict God’s Word.

God can speak through other people, orchestrated coincidences, your dreams, and many other methods to bring something to your attention. He answers every prayer with yes, no or not yet. He can also give wisdom, direction and guidance.

And when He does speak to us, we shouldn’t automatically dismiss it simply because the particular circumstance, person, location or answer cannot be found written in the pages of Scripture. God spoke to people throughout Scripture in many different ways. There is no biblical reason to conclude that God has changed.

The question is not whether God can speak outside the Bible. The question is whether we are willing to listen—and whether we are willing to test what we hear against the Word of God.