After reading about God talking to the boy Samuel in the tabernacle (1 Samuel 3), the grandson of a friend asked her whether God still speaks to people today.

I happened to be reading Psalm 19 in my daily quiet time not long after my friend relayed her grandson’s question to me, and I thought it offered the start of an answer. This text talks about two ways God speaks to us.

The first is through nature. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (verses 1–2).

Theologians call this kind of divine speech general revelation because it is available all the time to everyone everywhere.

Pointing to the sun, the Psalmist highlights God’s provision for creation: “It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth” (verse 6).

Nature proclaims God’s glory and providence, but it also teaches God’s character and judgment. “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse,” the apostle Paul writes (Romans 1:20).

As a teenager, one of my favorite comics was Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County. I remember a particular strip where the juvenile agnostic hacker Oliver Wendell Jones sits on his roof contemplating the universe when the stars rearrange themselves to proclaim, “Repent Oliver.

Whether we look up to the stars, down to the ground, or within our consciences, God is speaking.

The second way God speaks to us, according to Psalm 19, is Scripture. “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (verse 7).

Theologians refer to this kind of divine speech as special revelation because it comes to specific people at specific times and places.

The Psalmist praises the Law of Moses for its wisdom and practicality. Its commandments are perfect, refreshing, trustworthy, wise, right, joyful, radiant, illuminating, pure, enduring, firm, and righteous (verses 7–9).

Christians don’t often think of the Law in these ways, or the Old Testament more generally, but the Psalmist valued it highly. It was “more precious than gold” and “sweeter than honey” (verse 10).

“Why are Old Testament commands so valuable?” you might ask. The Psalmist answers, “By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward” (verse 11).

Of course, God goes on to reveal himself in the New Testament too, especially through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2).

And when God speaks by His Son, He doesn’t mumble. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3, emphasis added).

God’s speaking isn’t done, however, for with the Son, God sends the Spirit to talk to us. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).

Some believers think God stopped speaking when He finished inspiring the Bible. They argue that contemporary prophesies and tongues imperil the supreme authority of Scripture.

As a Pentecostal, I find this argument perplexing. The Bible is “the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct,” as the Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths puts it.

So, when Scripture commands, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” (1 Corinthians 14:1), how do we imperil biblical authority by obeying it?

It seems disobedience is the real threat to the supreme authority of Scripture.

But back to that young boy’s question: Does God still speak to people today? By now, the answer should be an obvious and enthusiastic “yes.” God speaks to us in nature, through His Word the Son, in Scripture, and through people’s spiritual gifts and experiences.

This doesn’t mean today’s spiritual gifts are equal to Scripture or contemporary prophecies should be added to it. The biblical canon is closed and functions as the rule by which we test present-day manifestations.

The real question is not whether God speaks, but whether we can hear His signal through all the noise of our lives.

How can we hear God if we never venture out into His great outdoors, looking to the stars to proclaim His glory?

How can we listen to Him if we never read His Word, savoring the good news about His Son that is more precious than gold and sweeter than honey?

How can we receive messages from Him if we do not open His spiritual gifts?

So, turn off your noisy TV, put down your smartphone, silence all the notifications on your devices, and pay attention.

One way or another, God is always speaking — right here, right now — to you.

This article appears in the Fall 2026 issue of Influence magazine and is reposted here by permission.