David Paul Doyle has been hearing and sharing God’s Voice since 1994. Having received life-changing communication and guidance from this Voice over a 10-year period, David Paul quit his job at America Online in 2003 and moved to Ashland, Oregon, to write a book that would teach people how to hear this Voice within them.
In the summer of 2004, David Paul and his wife Candace completed writing their first book, The Voice for Love: Accessing Your Inner Wisdom To Fulfill Your Life’s Purpose. The night they finished writing it, they rocked back and forth on their front porch swing sharing their feelings of joy and gratitude for accomplishing their dream. For a few minutes, they felt a sense of completion and wholeness. It was during this moment of silence that they both suddenly turned to one another having realized that their work with God was only just beginning.
Since that time, The Voice for Love has touch the lives of over 60,000 people worldwide. Over 10,000 people have learned the life-changing five-step process given to David Paul and Candace by the Holy Spirit for hearing God’s Voice within.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: Will you describe for our listeners what you mean by “hearing the voice of God?”
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: I believe that God is love, and so there are infinite ways to experience that love that we’re joined with, that we are, that God is. Yet, one really practical way is to actually be able to dialogue with that part of ourselves. We recognize that hearing God’s voice is much more than hearing words. At its essence, it’s just experiencing that truth of who we are.
In that moment, regardless of what the form takes, we are “hearing God’s voice.” We’re receiving the awareness, the insight, the understanding of the truth, of the love that we are, and it can come in so many different ways. At the same time it can come and be experienced as a really wise loving, compassionate voice that can guide and support us in our lives.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: Is hearing the voice of God the same as talking with God, or is it different?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: It depends on how you define ‘talking’. Some people would define ‘talking’ as talking to God. Prayer is oftentimes thought of as that, but that doesn’t always mean that someone is going to listen for God’s reply. ‘Hearing God’s voice’ we usually think of as both talking to God and hearing back from God in a really recognizable way.
You could define talking to God as just a one-way thing, from me to the source or from me to God. Many people do that but don’t actually believe or allow themselves to receive those answers in reply.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: Will you share with us what sort of things God says to you?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: Here’s the thing about hearing God’s voice, it’s always evolving. What I mean by that is that God speaks to us where we are; God doesn’t have agendas for us to be asking certain questions or to be receiving certain levels of truth. Wherever we are on a personal path or evolution of understanding, we receive messages right where we are in that moment, messages that we can understand, can digest.
We can assimilate. Everybody is hearing different messages from God because what they need to hear is unique to them. What I’ve noticed over the past 15 years is it’s always the same core messages of love and truth and peace, and oneness; they’re always there. How they’re presented, or what I’m learning or working on, is really tailored to where I am in that moment in my life.
Across the board, all of God’s messages are leading me deeper into the full-time awareness of my oneness with God and all that is, and the love and the connection that we all have together. Yet, it can be wrapped in very practical guidance. Frequently, probably most of the time before I start my day, I will meditate and ask God, “What shall we do together today?
“What would be the best to focus on today? How should I spend my time?” A lot of times I create to-do lists with God to figure out what my priorities are and what I want to work on; or, I’m going through a tough time and I need to make some difficult decisions. I ask for insight and understanding about the pros and cons of doing certain things so I can make wise choices. Does that answer your question?
CHRIS ATTWOOD: It does, and it sounds like you have developed a partnership relationship with God. It sounds as if God is deeply involved in what you’re doing, and that you treat God the way you might treat a partner. Is that true?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: Absolutely. That’s interesting that you bring up the partnership. You can’t really go wrong in having a relationship with God because God is always loving and supportive, no matter what. God can’t see that we make any mistakes at any time. God only sees the perfection of everything. At the same time, when we bring God into our awareness and have a partnership, it really helps us to feel confident, certain, not guilty when we make decisions, or not fearful about the decisions that we make.
It just helps us to live a really peaceful, graceful experience of being in alignment with our heart’s desire and the greater good.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: When you hear the voice of God, are you actually hearing a voice as you hear my voice, or is it more hearing thoughts or impressions? Talk to us a little bit about what the experience is of hearing the voice of God.
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: It’s really all of the above. I think one of the things that throws people off the most is that they do expect to hear this big, loud voice. Even that expectation alone keeps most of us from it. That’s because implicit in that idea is that God is separate and outside of us, and so we’re listening for something that’s separate and outside of us. Because of that, we keep missing it.
One of the techniques that we teach is how to join with that part of ourselves and express it through our own bodies, because the Holy Spirit will use the body as a communication device. Frequently, I’ll speak the voice out loud in order to hear it myself. It’s kind of like joining with that part of ourselves and then manifesting it in the world is what gives me the opportunity to hear it.
Some people, many people, do hear it as an actual voice, like you said I would hear your voice. My wife certainly started hearing it that way in the beginning. What I find is that the longer people hear God’s voice, the more their awareness becomes integrated with God and that oneness, and that voice really becomes their own true voice, as opposed to a separate voice.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: That’s so beautiful. What’s the relationship between hearing the voice of God and prayer? Are they the same thing, or are they different?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: There are probably many ways to see it that would all be valid, but we tend to use the word ‘prayer’ to mean talking to God, and any form of talking to God we would consider prayer. Again, you can pray, but not necessarily choose to hear God’s replies. We make the slight distinction that prayer opens the door to that dialog, but then we all need to take a moment to allow ourselves to receive God’s reply.
You could call that meditation. You could call it hearing God’s voice. You can call it whatever you want, but it’s more of that two-way prayer to God, and meditation might be receiving from God.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: Are there different ways to hear God’s voice, or does it always come [indiscernible]?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: No, there are probably six billion different ways to hear God’s voice, as many ways as there are people. I think some of the common ways-because the Holy Spirit will use everything about us as an opportunity to communicate-would be all the body senses. It could be visual. Some people are very visual, and they literally watch a movie in their mind or see images in their mind that are symbols and that hold all that communication, that knowledge, inside of them.
You could literally ask for signs in the world while you’re walking around. It’s possible to feel all the answers. That was how I started out in the beginning. I loved to feel, so I would just feel God’s answers. It could be visual, it could be feeling, it could be kinesthetic, it could be auditory, it could be a thought in your mind, or you might even receive it as inspiration. There are really countless ways we can hear it.
One of the things the Holy Spirit had me doing in the early years was to listen for this voice through everyone else. I was stuck hearing it through myself, but if I could perceive in my right mind, I could really start hearing that voice through people at work, through my bosses, while watching the news and the TV. This is because everything can be a communication from God if we have ears to hear.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: In your experience, what is required for someone to be able to hear that voice? What is required for them to be able to be open to that?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: I think the biggest thing is just the desire. We can’t give ourselves anything if we aren’t willing and wanting to receive it. It’s the same with God. God can’t give us communication unless we want to receive it. Just a strong desire is probably the biggest thing. That’s really the only thing, and yet you could refine it a little bit more just to say getting into a quiet place really helped.
Also, getting out of fear, judgment, and all of the ego’s thinking really helps to allow ourselves to receive it. I think our desires would make that happen, and yet I know I certainly had the desire for years, but I still had some subtle thoughts, concepts and beliefs in my mind that made it difficult for me to receive. Again, my desire pushed through all of those limitations at some point and made it happen.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: In The Voice for Love you talk about how Jesus came to hear this voice of God within. Can you explain what you mean by that? How?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: Yes, without going into details, the Holy Spirit had talked to us that Jesus really went through the same process that we did. He had to, and it’s really related to desire. His desire to hear the Holy Spirit was so strong that over his lifetime it became the only thing he wanted and more important than everything else.
It was really that returning to that desire over and over again, and making that so important that enabled him to hear that voice and only that voice. That didn’t come at an early age. It came over time with a lot of practice, discipline, and commitment to that desire of his. Once that was the only desire in his mind, it became the only voice he ever heard in that moment.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: What I understand you to be saying is that possibility exists not just for Jesus, but for every person. Is that true?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: Absolutely. I think that’s really his message. In part, he said, “Greater works than these you will also do.” That’s essentially what he is saying, “I am your equal. I’m not over you. I’m literally a part of you, and I’m just showing you what’s possible for everybody and what’s inevitable.” We can’t really stop ourselves from deepening our experience of the truth and our oneness.
This is because that’s where creation is going, whether we resist and kick along the way or we go joyfully. There’s only one way to go, and we’re all going there. It’s just a matter of time.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: That’s kind of a relief, actually, isn’t it?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: It’s a little nicer when we go willingly, but we all kick and scream. We can’t help it. That’s what the ego loves to do, and we all do it.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: You have a new book coming out that’s called When God Spoke to Me: The Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People Who Have Achieved Divine Guidance and Wisdom. Would you tell us a little bit about your new book, and what are some of the things we can expect when reading it?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: I’m so excited about this book because my passion, as you know, is to help as many people as possible to hear this voice. Four or five years ago, I was thinking, “What is an engaging mechanism or an engaging way to touch people, to inspire people, and to really get people interested in hearing God’s voice?” I had been meeting so many people while traveling around the country.
People were coming up and telling me their stories, and there was just so much passion in it. I loved listening to them. I said, “What we really need is a story that just rocks people’s worlds, one that is a pleasure and a rollercoaster ride in and of itself, and yet simultaneously teaches people how to hear this voice and really gives them so much information along with a good read.
I started collecting all these stories. It took me about three years to collect the stories, to edit them, and to work with the people. What was fascinating was that a lot of these people had never even told these stories before-or at least only a couple of people-and they needed some coaching. So often people would say, “I just heard this voice,” and I would say, “Tell me about it. How did it feel? What did it sound like? What did you perceive?
“What were you going through in that moment? What was in you that had that shift happen?” It was really probing and pulling this profound wisdom out of their experience, so I’m just thrilled about this book. We’ve worked really hard to make these stories wonderful to read, and yet packed with as much juice as possible. I think it’s going to be so inspiring.
There are people from all walks of life in this book: Atheists, Catholics, Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, people in prison, people with heroin addiction, those who’ve been divorced, those with cancer. It’s all over the board, and I think what it really shows is that God is everywhere and a part of everyone. It doesn’t matter what you believe, what you think, or what you do.
It’s all there within us. I love that message and can’t wait have that message get out there and try to get rid of some of these lines that we all love to draw between each other. I don’t know if I answered your question or not.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: You absolutely answered the question. Would you share a couple of the stories of people who have heard God’s voice and what impact it’s had on their lives.
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: What I thought might be kind of fun is to read one of the stories. They are pretty short. They’re only about a page-and-a-half. What do you think about that? I thought it would be fun. I read this story to my daughter. I have an eight-year-old daughter, and I read this story to her. She clapped afterwards. It’s one of my favorite stories, too.
Now, I’m not a professional story-reader so I’ll do the best I can, but this story is one of 70 stories in the book. In my opinion, all the stories are as good but this happens to be the first story in the book. Should I go for it?
CHRIS ATTWOOD: Please.
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: I’ll do my best here. It’s called “She is Mine.” “I was terrified, crying out to Him with all my heart. I couldn’t believe God was speaking to me, nor could I believe He would say this, ask this; not now. I grew up in a non-religious or spiritual home. We neither read the Bible nor attended church except for Easter Sunday. I began talking to God at 13 when I discovered my parents were not my biological parents.
“It didn’t matter that I never heard a response from Him. He was my imaginary friend. At 26, I married and we had our only child 18 months later. Our daughter was hospitalized twice in her first 90 days with different forms of RSV and pneumonia. We struggled financially. While I worked two jobs my husband ran his own resume business so he could stay with our child during the day to prevent another bout of RSV.
“The new business produced income but took all that it made to continue. We had no health insurance and no way to obtain any for a child who was hospitalized so early in life. Eight months after her birth, I was involved in a car accident and unable to work for months. I remember thinking, ‘My God, what’s next? Why are you punishing me?’ The stress was unbearable.
“Times were excruciatingly difficult, and we were approaching financial disaster. For the first time I truly felt helpless, and real depression set in. One Sunday afternoon our child became suddenly very ill. Within 15 minutes she had changed from an active two-year-old playing with her toys to a lifeless form lying on our living room floor unable to keep anything down.
“Her temperature was 102 degrees and climbing. My mom, who lived right behind me, told me to bring her over. We bathed her in cool water and swabbed her down with alcohol to reduce her fever, but still it soared. We gave her Tylenol, but the medicine wouldn’t stay down. Repeated messages left with her pediatrician’s answering service brought no replies.
“As she lay on my mom’s floor I suddenly remembered a lady at work who was an Evangelical holy-roller. At their church they laid hands on each other and people were healed. The lady never explained how they did it, but it was worth trying. Crying and praying, I kneeled over my child, laid my hands upon her tiny back, and begged God to heal her. I promised God all kinds of things.
“I begged for forgiveness. I even begged for her illness to be put upon me. My mother watched in amazement. The doctor finally called me back at 6:45 PM saying he had to call in a prescription to the local pharmacy. It closed at 7:00 PM, and was at least 15 minutes away. Driving down the road past the church where outdoor sermons were preached from a grounded boat each Sunday, I began to cry hysterically.
“It hit me that my child could suffer brain damage or die from a high fever. I hated to leave her, but I had to get the medicine. Again, I begged God to heal her tiny innocent body. This time I was screaming it out loud in the car through the tears and mucus streaming down my face. It was then that I heard a firm but loving male voice. The loudness of it seemed to fill the van, but it also seemed to be just in my head.
“I stopped breathing. ‘Will you give her to me?’ the voice asked. ‘What?’ I screamed. I gulped my first breath in seconds while wiping my eyes and nose on the sleeve of my shirt. I glanced around my van to see if someone had slowly somehow slipped inside. Again, the voice spoke loudly. Softer somehow, it asked again, ‘Will you give her to me?’ My mind spun in circles. Had I somehow slipped off the edge of reality?
“This was a real possibility considering the stress I’d been under for the last few months. I began a series of small system checks: Am I driving? Yes. Is it evening? Yes. Is it Sunday? Yes. I even pinched myself on the arm to be sure I wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating, and that hurt. The voice waited patiently for me to process what was happening. ‘Will you give her to me?’ he asked. ‘How can you ask me that question?’ I screamed.
“Are you trying to tell me it’s already too late? Have you already taken her and are preparing me so when I get home to my mom’s house and find she’s dead, I can cope with it? Why would you ask this of me?’ I felt so angry and scared that I actually pulled over in the grocery store parking lot and wondered if I should just go back home. I couldn’t stop shaking.
“If God was taking my child and I headed back home right now, maybe I could spend the last few moments with her in my arms as she left this world and returned to him. As this last terrible thought crossed my mind, I realized that in truth she was already His. She was on loan to us from God. I cried so hard I nearly choked. As this reality sunk in, I whispered the answer through my tears.
” ‘Yes, I will give her back to you if I must.’ It was the single most profound moment of my life. My heart was breaking. At the same time it was relieved because the fear had gone. I couldn’t lose what I didn’t possess. This was the first time since her birth that I fully realized that my little girl belonged not to me, but to her creator. As if he were right there listening to my thoughts, he said, ‘I created her. I breathed life into her. She is mine.’
” ‘I understand,’ I responded sobbing. ‘I don’t want to lose her, Father, but I will give her back to you.’ ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant,’ he said quietly in the most loving voice I had ever heard. This startled me almost more than actually hearing the voice. ‘How can I be a good and faithful servant when I don’t even attend church regularly?’ The pharmacy was closed, and I arrived back at my mom’s house within 20 minutes.
“Climbing the stairs, an indescribable surreal peace filled me. I knew I would open that door to find my mother hunched over my daughter’s lifeless body. I didn’t know how I would handle it. ‘Mama,’ my daughter said as she greeted me at the door. ‘I feel all better now.’ She had a big cup of juice in one hand and a cherry Popsicle in the other as she hugged my leg. She turned around and ran off to play.
“It was as if she had never been sick at all. The fever was gone. Her appetite had returned as if nothing had happened. I glanced at my mom who was sitting in the armchair munching a Popsicle. ‘What happened to her, Mom?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Mom replied. ‘Her temperature shot up to 104 degrees right after you left. I couldn’t get her to wake up. I called for the ambulance.
” ‘When I came back, she was sitting up and asking for something to drink. It happened about 20 minutes ago.’ What I learned that day changed me forever. God is real. I never needed to know that more in that moment he spoke to me. What I thought was mine never was. She is His. I was enough for God just the way I was. The End.”
CHRIS ATTWOOD: Wow! That’s very powerful. What an amazing story. Thank you for sharing that with us.
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: Yes, hopefully my reading was sufficient. That’s the type of story in this book. There are all kinds of different stories about hearing God’s voice in, literally, dozens of different ways. I counted up how many different ways are in the book; there are 44 different ways.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: That’s amazing. How did you locate the people who had these stories?
DAVID PAUL DOYLE: We locate people through our website. We get about 150 new people a day on our mailing list. We had a little link on our website that said, “Please submit your stories.” Over the course of about a year, we received over 350 stories.
CHRIS ATTWOOD: That’s quite amazing. Is there any kind of common theme to those stories, or is every one unique, different?
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For more information about David Paul Doyle and his work, please go to www.TheVoiceForLove.com
