Divining messages: how to discern the voice of God from all the other noise we hear.

You say that God communicates with me? How? And how do I know I'm hearing God and not some figment of my imagination?

We believe that our God creates this world for a purpose, namely to draw all of us into community with God and with one another. That means that at every moment of our existence God is drawing us toward this goal and communicating with us.

God is not distant from our world but part and parcel of every experience we have. When we are moved by the beauty of nature, we are being enticed to recognize God's hand in creation. When we are touched with compassion for a suffering stranger, we are experiencing God's compassion and care for that person.

But God's "voice" is not the only voice we hear. All our experiences have many layers; colored not only by what we see and hear, but also by our past history, our psychological makeup, and our cultural biases. What we watch on television colors how we experience things, for example. How do we know what is from God, what is from other sources? That is the question of discernment of spirits in Christianity.

In his Spiritual Exercises Saint Ignatius of Loyola has some rules for the discernment of spirits. The key is to know one's orientation in life. If I am on the outs with God and with the Christian community, the Spirit of God tries to get me to reform by raising questions about my way of life--for example, a feeling of unease about my use of company funds. The "bad spirit" suggests rationalizations that justify what I'm doing, such as, "Others are doing the same thing." If I am trying to lead a good life, the Spirit of God encourages me, giving me greater trust, hope, and life, while the "bad spirit" introduces self-doubts, hesitations, and even scruples.

Ignatius himself was praying five or six hours a day and fasting soon after his conversion, but suddenly was beset by doubts about whether he had confessed all his past sins. These scruples got so bad that he contemplated suicide. Finally, he realized that these thoughts were not from God, and he decided never to confess any sins from his past life again. This decision gave him peace and joy.

Thus, if we are trying to lead a good life, we can know the voice of God by the peace, joy, hope, and love of life we experience. And we can know the other voices from the unease, self-doubt, and self-absorption we experience. Ignatius is echoing Saint Paul, who in Galatians 5:22 characterizes the fruits of the Spirit as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." We can know God's Spirit is leading us if we sense ourselves growing in this clutch of virtues.

Often enough good Christians are troubled by thoughts that they are not good enough, that they are not doing enough for others and for God. They can tell whether these thoughts are from God by asking themselves whether they lead to self-absorption. In other words, do such thoughts lead to prayer to God for light and to trying to listen to God's answer, or do they lead to endless self-questioning, self-doubts, and self-flagellation?

If you are trying to make a decision and want to know which option is more in line with God's dream for you, try the discernment of spirits. You ask God to give you light, to help you to make a decision in tune with God's hopes. Then you try to imagine yourself taking each of the options. The option that gives you more peace, joy, hope, and trust is probably the one that fits God's dream best. You might discuss your experience with someone you trust to make sure you're not kidding yourself. Then you try to follow it out to see how it works. You have done the best you can to discern God's leading; now you let events take their course, trusting that God will bring something good out of your choice even if the actual result is not what you imagined.

An example: John has been dating Mary for some time and wonders whether marriage God's dream for him, and, in particular, marriage to Mary. He asks God's help and comes to great peace and joy with the thought of being married to Mary. So he brings up the question with her but finds out that Mary is not ready or is un willing to marry him. Has John made a poor discernment? Not necessarily. Of course, he will be disappointed, but he has, at least, cleared the air between himself and Mary and can now clarify the nature of their relationship. John may also have come to the clear conclusion that marriage is God's dream for him and can move on in his life with this conviction.

God is communicating with each of us all the time, but we are most often unaware of the fact. We can become more aware by paying attention to our experiences and by asking ourselves whether they are God-inspired. Those experiences that leave us more joyful, hopeful, and alive are most likely from God. Those that make us fretful, worried, anxious, and self-concerned are most likely not from God, especially if they lead us to put our focus on ourselves rather than on God and others.

FATHER WILLIAM A. BARRY, S.J., who works for the New England province of the Jesuits. He also gives spiritual direction and retreats and is a writer based in Weston, Massachusetts.