Hear No Evil
God uses our conscience to direct and guide our lives (Rom 2:14-15; 2 Cor 1:12). When we do something wrong, our conscience screams for us to stop or refrain from doing it. 
Our conscience is what directs our choices for the good. But if we ignore our conscience, then it can become so numb that we don’t feel conscience or guilt. When an act is repeated repeatedly, the mind and body will grow accustomed to the habitual behavior. We were made to be tolerant of many bacteria and viruses. Our bodies have the DNA coding written in each cell to perform various tasks. In this case, our bodies can withstand many difficult pressures and punishments. With repeated occurrences, the body will grow accustomed to the new stimulus, rendering it tolerable.
In the same way, our conscience will become seared and numb to the point of no feelings. In that state, a person can and is willing to do anything. 
A seared conscience is a dangerous thing. When you see court cases where a criminal is waiting to hear his/her judgment, depending on the severity of the crime, the guilty party will sit there stone-faced with no expression. That is a person with a seared conscience, especially if they do not react to the life sentence punishment. Our minds are influential and have the potential to create and design, just as we were made in the image of God, who is the Creator. With our given talent, we are to let our conscience guide us through this life. But if our conscience is seared, where does a person find guidance? Listening to the voices in their heads, that’s where. Because they are numb to guilt, their guide is their flesh, and their appetite is their need to satisfy. God uses the conscience to guide the lives of all people (Rom 2:14-15). For the unbeliever, what guild do they have if there is no Word of God guiding them, along with a seared conscience? They are doomed to listen to either their sinful hearts or the voice of Satan. Their only guild is within the parameters of general revelation. If suppressed, then there is no guild.
The Devil Sounds Like Me?
The devil sounds like you. What that means is the devil is a master of deception and confusion (John 8:44; 1Cor 14:33). He has been watching and observing you since birth, and his purpose is to destroy (1Pet 5:8; John 0:10). He will speak to you as if you were talking to yourself without you knowing. He will throw in suggestions and ideas that would have never crossed your mind, but now have been planted in your head to grow (Luke 22:3; Acts 5:3; 2Cor 11:3; 10:3-5). He will even rationalize like you in the same way you do (2 Cor 11:14; Gen 3:1). 
Do not think for one second that the devil is friendly or courteous (John 8:44). He is called the deceiver for a reason. He lives to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). He has already deceived those who may think the devil has a good side for a long time. There is NO GOOD in the devil. The devil’s tactic is to make himself sound like you so that whatever he suggests, you will most likely do it. If an evil spirit appeared and told you to do something, would you do it? Well, depending on the state of your spirit and how seriously you take all this, you will most likely say no to the scary evil spirit. How am I so sure? Because whatever the evil spirit suggests will be something beyond your limits or morality. Depending on your spiritual condition, you will refuse to follow through with that evil thought from the beginning. But then, over time, and multiple suggestions, all sounding just like your own thoughts, chances are you will cave in to the sin. It is just as easy as leading a mouse to a trap. You let the mouse trap itself. The devil knows you, and he knows you well. He knows how you think, act, and behave. He can predict what you will do, masking it as supernatural powers. He is a master of disguise and can imitate your voice. He will remind you of all sorts of things, all to keep you in a state of sin. He wants to torture you with your sins. He wants to wear you down to the point of giving up. He will do all he can to crush you so that you will be left in a state of confusion and loss. You will find yourself in the only place where eternal life hangs in the balance, and that place is a place void of faith. This is a place where King Saul is familiar, as well as Judas Iscarriot (1 Sam 15:23; Matt 27:3-5). But thanks be to God that those in Christ have their hope and assurance in Christ alone (Rom 8:38-39; John 10:27-29; Eph 2:8-9).
What Was That?
The voices in your head could be your own, but then again, it could be from God or the devil. What are we to do? How do we distinguish the voices? Am I going mad? Some of you reading this may think I am a bit crazy, talking about hearing voices. You may not hear any voices…or maybe you do? I remember as a child talking to myself, especially when I was puzzled by something. I would “think out loud” as I voiced words to myself as if I were talking to someone. I knew I was talking to myself, and vocalizing my thoughts helped me clarify and figure out a solution. 
Over the years, maturity and growth naturally occurred, and so did the end of my imaginary voices and friends. I always knew I was not talking to anyone but myself, and no, I did not actually hear voices, just to be clear. The voices I am referring to are the voices in your mind that only you can hear. That voice that tells you to “remember to pick up the laundry,” or “I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if I get caught?” That little voice inside your mind that has you second-guessing everything. That voice that nags at you all day long for messing things up. That voice that reminds you how you are not good enough and that you will fail. That voice is what I am referring to. It is not a literal voice, but a mental voice. It is part of your conscience yet more than that. It is the sound of the voice you hear in your head as you read a paragraph. As you are reading this sentence, there is a voice inside your head saying all these words. Can you hear it? If you are quiet, you can. What does it sound like? You’re probably imagining what I sound like and projecting that onto the voice inside. Whatever your imagination conjures up, it will most likely not be me, nor anyone else, but you alone. That voice is your voice. You can hear it when you read.
Conscious of Conscience
Your conscience comes from you, and it sounds like you, but it can also be maneuvered in different directions by others, as I’ve mentioned how God can use our conscience. However, our conscience should not be our only guide in life. It is a general blessing and gift God gives to all people. Animals don’t have a conscience.
The proper definition of conscience would be the following:
Conscience is the inner awareness of right and wrong, shaped by moral reasoning, self-reflection, and social understanding—abilities closely tied to human rationality, language, and moral law.
Only humanity created in God’s image can think, rationalize, and make moral judgments. Animals live by instinct, conditioned behavior, empathy, and social awareness, but don’t display any signs of a moral compass in use. Our conscience guides our choices in life. Our conscience is developed through our experiences and habits with God’s general creation at work. According to developmental psychology (e.g., Piaget and Kohlberg), moral reasoning develops in stages through experience, social interaction, and reinforcement (Piaget et al. 1965; Kohlberg and Kohlberg 1985).
How You Read Matters
When you read a book, unless you are reading subvocally, there is a tone and voice inside your head as you read the text. Generally, different books you read will use the same voice to vocalize the text. 
That voice you hear is you, not the devil, nor God. Just you. I bring this up, not to insult your intelligence, but to remind you that you have a standard for recognizing your voice. If you don’t know how you sound, the inflections you use, and the tones you vocalize, then you will not recognize any voices, for they will all sound the same to you, or nothing at all. If, however, you do have a baseline of what your voice sounds like, then you will have a good foundation for discerning the voices and spirits. Some may have creative minds that allow them to change the sounds of different characters in their heads. For instance, a female character would not have a male voice. We imagine what the character may sound like, drawing as much as possible from the author’s original intent. The characters are different, and the sounds can be changed, but the one reading, the voice in your head, that is all you. Let me try to clarify.
Reading Vs. Writing
Your voice is that of when you read, not write. Let me say that again. Your voice is not when you write, but when you read. That may sound strange to you, but writing is not your voice because, in writing, there are many edits and rewrites that correct mistakes and make changes. Writing is also influenced by many other writers who adopt a particular style they like and apply it to their writing.
I am not saying anything is wrong with that. All I am pointing out is the difference between your natural voice and the voice you use when you write. Writing includes many voices. Voices and styles from many different sources, from research to editors to copywriters. Many hands work through the publishing of a book. It is a collective voice all for one purpose. But when you read, that voice is no one else but you. When you read, you are reading the words of another person’s work. Their writing style and rhythm, when combined in an article or book, is the work of the author, team, or publishing group. Those are their words written down. However, when you read their work, the voice you are reading is your own. The words are theirs, but the sound is yours. It is no different than you reading out text aloud. The vocals belong to you, but the words belong to the author. Why am I emphasizing this point so much? Because differentiating the words from the voice is how you will distinguish where the voice originated from.
Do What Now?
The voices you may or may not hear can be distinguished by the words being spoken. Regardless of whose voice is saying, the words are what separate the authorship. For instance, no spirit of God would lead you to sin, nor would an evil spirit lead you to Christ. If the words are telling you to glorify God, the Father, and Jesus Christ, His Son, then that authorship comes from above. However, if you are led to evil or sin, then you can conclude it is either from the devil or yourself. Why would I include ourselves as a possibility of the evil thought or words? 
Because of original sin (Gen 3). We are prone to wander and sin, and our every inclination is to idolatry and sin (Calvin 2008). Although we may be saved by grace, we are still sinners living in a sinful world, with sinful tendencies. We will always desire to choose wrong before choosing right. You may say it isn’t that a negative view of oneself? But I ask you, what positive would there be in mankind without the saving grace of Jesus Christ? We are saved, but still being saved. We are redeemed, and still being redeemed. We are reformed, and still reforming. So long as we have breath given to us, we will live in this fallen world, struggling with sin and all its powers. We live in the present moment, not in the past or the future. We are here and now, alive and breathing. We live for Christ, yet struggle with our wants and desires. We are human and sinful. We are saved and struggling. We have faith, yet are faithless. Our daily battle is to overcome sin today, not sins of the past, nor the future to come. Today is the day of repentance. If you are reading this, then today is your day of repentance. God is calling you to repent today of whatever you are struggling with. Not later on, not after I’m finished, but today. Repentance is not a one-time act. Just because you repented today, does not mean you will magically overcome sin.
Repent
Struggle and be ready for battle every day, putting on the whole armor of God (Eph 6:10-18). Repentance is not a one-time act. So too, the voices in your head will not lead you one time. They will repetitively speak to you in suggestive ways, glorifying Christ in the end. Or they will harass you until you give in to their words and influences, and end up in sin and depression.
This is why so many fail to repent of their sins. They believe that once they repent, they don’t have to do anything but sit back and watch Jesus do all the work. What is that popular song, “Jesus Take the Wheel”? I understand the meaning of that statement, yet it oozes irresponsibility and laziness. SO many of us fail in living righteously because we follow the status quo of society in believing “Let go, let God.” Again, in a specific context of trusting in Christ alone for salvation, then yes, let it all go. However, many use this saying as a reason not to work and not to fight for righteousness. They continue in sin, not realizing they are adding to their punishment. So the voices leading us to sin would either be from ourselves, due to our fallen state, or that of the evil spirit, but never God (Jam 1:13; 1 Cor 10:13). God never causes anyone to sin, for if He did, He would cease to exist. His very nature and being are holiness and righteousness. There is no sin or wickedness in God (1 John 1:5; Jam 1:13).
Listen With Your Head, Not Your Ears
So, to discern the many voices in your head, listen to what is being said, rather than taking that as your conscience or thoughts. Listen to what instructions are being given. Are they leading you to do something that glorifies Christ? 
Do the voices tell you to bet all your savings on the color black in Las Vegas so you can pay off all your debts? If you believe that is God’s voice telling you that, please don’t. I can guarantee you 100% that is not GOd’s voice telling you to blow all your savings on gambling. That would be your gambling addiction that is influencing you to engage in habitual sin. Or it could be the devil trying to destroy your life and bring it down to misery. Listen to what is being said. It is not just your conscience, but also leading and influences. If you’ve ever seen the movie Inception, the premise of the movie is to enter the mind and conscience of someone to incept and place inside a thought that will ripple and lead to the outcome of the other party.
Inception
In the same way, the devil will try to incept a thought in your head that will sprout into a tree that produces poisonous fruit. Either your seeds are from God planted in your heart, or from the devil, which leads to sin and death. Listen to the words. Are they edifying and helpful for others, or does it satisfy only you? Is there sacrifice involved, or is it easy peasy lemon squeezy? Does the result benefit others rather than you, or is the voice telling you, You deserve a share too? Is the voice complaining all the time? Is that you complaining out of discomfort, or could it be the devil masking his voice as yours to bring up issues that didn’t bother you a second ago? Could it be the devil leading you to sin and do something you will regret forever? Or is the voice pushing you to do what is right and not give in to your desires? Is the voice asking you to forgive when you know you are in the right? Is the voice suggesting you sacrifice something for the sake of someone else? Does the voice build relationships rather than harm what you have? Discern what is being said. Listen to the words and where they are leading you. The words will reveal the authorship—the voice…not so much.
Calvin, Jean. 2008. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Hendrickson Publishers.
Kohlberg, Lawrence, and Lawrence Kohlberg. 1985. Essays on Moral Development. 1: The Philosophy of Moral Development. 1. ed., 7. [print.]-1985. Harper & Row. Piaget, Jean, Marjorie Gabain, and Jean Piaget. 1965. The Moral Judgment of the Child. Free Press.
