Did God Actually Say That to You?

Did God Actually Say That to You?

Gain insights from experts and survivors on how to hear God without losing your mind or your critical thinking. This conversation pairs host Nancy Sabato with filmmaker Matthew Thayer, who talks candidly about prophecy, discernment and why faith should never be a shortcut for personal responsibility.

The episode centres on a simple but challenging idea: "a word from a prophet is not an excuse for inaction or apathy." Matthew explains how many people treat prophetic words like a spiritual sofa—somewhere to sit back and wait for God to do everything—rather than a call to partner with God.

He walks through Paul’s instruction to "test all things and hold on to what is good," stressing that if there’s good, then there’s also bad, and Christians have to learn to tell the difference. You’ll hear Matthew describe prophets as "tuning forks" that help people recognise God’s voice for themselves, not experts who do all the hearing so everyone else can switch off their brains.

He links this to everyday life, calling out how people hand over their thinking to doctors, politicians, media and even spiritual leaders, instead of weighing what they hear against scripture. There’s also a moving section about his interview with Charlie Kirk shortly before his death, and how Charlie’s thoughts on prophecy shaped Matthew’s own work on a documentary about hearing God.

Throughout, the tone stays grounded, warm and occasionally wry, especially when Matthew jokes about people letting AI think for them. For anyone in recovery from addiction, abuse or spiritual manipulation, this conversation offers language for those uneasy feelings about "God told me" statements and shows how to stay both open-hearted and clear-headed. It asks a tough but important question: if God is speaking, are you willing to test what you hear, even when it matches what you already want?