Do I really hear His voice?

2 The shepherd walks right up to the gate. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. 5 They won't follow a stranger's voice but will scatter because they aren't used to the sound of it."

John 10:2-5 (MSG)

People in the Christian circles have been asking this question for decades, "How do I hear His voice?". Preachers have spoken about it, books have been written conferences have themed around it and yet the question still remains. Even I have wondered if at certain intersections of my life if it was His voice I was hearing or a stranger's voice. I know I'm not alone in this quest to know His voice. But I wonder if the real issue in hearing His voice is more in our upbringing rather than our hearing?

Let me explain. Our whole lives we are raised to think for ourselves, be self sufficient, and eventually become independent. Could this be in direct opposition of what God wants from us spiritually? Please know that I am all for people becoming adults and learning to be positive attributes in society by contributing to the ultimate good. But it has me asking the question, "Are we raising the banner of independence at any cost too high, even higher than the dependence God wants from us"?

God uses the illustration of the sheep for a reason, and yes, we all know they are simple animals (putting it nicely)but is that it or is there more? Their whole lives they are raised not to eventually leave their herd but instead by one shepherd to live in one family following one voice. There are no independent tendencies, no self sufficient upbringing. None of that is taught, just one family, one voice.

Maybe this all seems a little trivial but for me it's monumental. Realizing that my attempts at becoming independent are not in God's plans for us. Yes he wants us to contribute to life but not at the cost of dependence. It is when I become completely reliant on Him that I can hear His voice and know it to be Him. When I remove every self pretense, every prideful ambition, it all comes back to one thing...following. How can I follow if I don't know His voice and how can I know His voice if I'm living my life independently?