When I was a younger believer, I remember hearing older Christians say things like, “God told me to do this,” or “God said that to me.” I didn’t question their sincerity, but it left me deeply confused. I started wondering, Why isn’t God speaking to me like that? Is something wrong with me?

It made me think there was a level of spiritual life I hadn’t reached yet, that mature Christians could somehow hear God’s voice in ways that I couldn’t. Worse, it caused me to doubt if I was really a Christian at all. Why else would God give me the silent treatment? Over time, I’ve seen that same confusion and anxiety surface in many of the students I teach.

It’s good to think carefully about the phrases we often use because sometimes they communicate ideas or affect people in ways we don’t realize. I think that’s the case when we say, “God told me…” and have no verses to point to.

The phrase paints a picture that there is knowledge Christians need from God outside of the Scriptures. It easily causes anxiety and fear (“What if I miss God’s will for my life?”), creates two-tier Christianity (those who “hear” God’s voice and the carnal noobs that don’t), and implies that the Scriptures are not enough to make us “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17).

Without realizing it, saying “God told me” can actually cause others to devalue or misunderstand what God actually says in His Word. Scripture teaches that God has already given us all we need to know Him, trust Him, and obey Him (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Spirit speaks through the Word He inspired (Deut. 29:29; 2 Pet. 1:3–4). There is nothing in Scripture that tells us we need or should expect Him to speak to us through new, private messages on top of it. When we claim “God told me” apart from Scripture, we risk implying that God’s Word isn’t enough to guide and equip His people. The result is often confusion, anxiety, and wildly misplaced confidence.

Think about an airplane pilot ignoring the instrument panel because he feels a hunch about where the runway is. The instruments are reliable and complete. They’re meant to keep him safe and on course. His job is to trust they’re enough to fly and land his plane safely. It is the same with the Christian and the words of Scripture. Trusting or emphasizing gut feelings over what’s the Spirit has given us in His Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17) is not faith; it’s folly Scripture is our sufficient and trustworthy guide able to “thoroughly equip us for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). We don’t need new coordinates when God has already provided the map and we should be hesitant train young believers, by word or deed, to think God communicates through the feels.

I recognize there are brothers and sisters in Christ who may differ. My point here is not to give a full-throated defense of my theological view of Scripture and revelation, but to recognize out loud that this language of personalized revelation from God, in my experience twenty-plus years of working with young and new believers, regularly decreases confidence in Scripture’s sufficiency, creates anxiety and fear, and often makes people confuse their feelings, circumstances, or desires for the will of God.

It is a theological and practical mess that does real harm.

At the very least, if you must, say, “I feel God is leading me…” Even better, say, “God said in His Word (quote chapter and verse)…” But if you don’t have verses, please consider not forging God’s signature under your own words.