Answer:

Excellent question and one that I’m constantly trying to grow in and master.

The simplest answer is one word: Resonance

There are a ton of coincidental things that can show up if we are looking for them. For example you may never see a type of car until you are shopping for a car and suddenly you see them everywhere. Or you may not feel something is creepy until someone tells you a scary story and now you are freaked out by everything. Those are all the ways that human minds normally work.

So, how do we know when God’s talking?

The easy and basic answers are: Does it line up with Scripture? Does it violate Scripture? Does it fall in line with what you know about the nature of God? Things like that. But I’m assuming that you are talking about personal messages from God like maybe you are praying about something and suddenly the next song on the radio talks about that very subject. Is that God or not? You can’t verify that with Scriptural analysis per se, and if so it only goes so far.

So, I’m talking about that kind of stuff.

Truth is, usually it’s not very clear. Usually it’s something deep down that resounds with ‘that wasn’t normal, and it wasn’t just me, there’s something deeper here.’ Usually we can determine it easily if it’s not something we normally think, or say, or hear. But sometimes it’s in reflection about a situation. If something ‘resonates’ deep within your heart/spirit, it may be the Lord. It just feels right. It sounds like something He would say. Since those are hard to determine at first, we usually need someone to walk through it with us and help us sort it out. The more mature we are with Him and grounded in His Word and know His nature, the easier it will be to discern.

God is talking, we are just learning to listen.