Learning to Hear the Voice of God

                                                                            Photo by Jerone Van Oostram

I just received an email from a friend who said, “…I noticed how clear you could hear the voice of the Lord.” He was wondering if I had any suggestions that might help him to hear God more clearly. I thought that if he had this question others might have the same question. Here were my suggestions.

Practice Make it a habit to be constantly in communication with the Lord.  As you are thinking through things or wondering what to do, keep the Lord in the conversation.  Be aware that the Lord is always present and may speak at any time.  Many times a day stop what you are doing and just listen. This only takes a few moments and puts you in a place of readiness to hear the Lord if He wants to say something to you. Maybe the Lord will speak to you, maybe He won’t. The issue is that you are training yourself to focus on the Lord. Don’t have expectations that the Lord has to speak to you every time you pause to listen. Be available. Be intentional in seeking Him. As you work this discipline into your life it will become a habit and very natural thing for you to do. Obedience Another key point is that when the Lord speaks to us we must act on it. Too often we are waiting to hear the Lord speak something new to us when we have not done what He has already asked us to do. Stepping out and being obedient helps us to further verify that we are hearing the Lord. It builds our confidence that we can hear and that God is at work in us. Obedience also shows the Lord that we are faithful. When we are faithful in the little things that Lord will speak more freely with us and give us even greater things. Sometimes we know deep down what the Lord wants us to do, but we do not want to do it. So we keep praying in hopes that the Lord will change His mind and we will get a different answer. It is best to realize that God’s way is the best way and to say “Yes!” to Him sooner rather than later. Time in prayer Some answers take time. When the Lord seems silent, that is the time to wait on Him. Find a quiet place and spend some time just waiting in His presence. Calm you soul and focus on the Lord. Be silent in His presence and He will begin to touch your heart and speak to you. When we are confused or struggling with emotions it is hard to hear from God. That is why dedicating time to seek the Lord is so important. In cases like this seeking the Lord is not us talking or praying and asking continually. It is waiting, listening, quieting ourselves before Him so that we can hear what He has to say. To often prayer is seen as a one-way communication to God with us doing all the talking. In actuality is a conversation where God also speaks to us and gives us direction and guidance. Sometimes it is better to listen than to speak. We can learn a lot that way. Praying in the Spirit Something I do on a regular basis is to pray in the Spirit. It is a precious gift the Lord has given us to speak directly to Him and edifies us in the process. When I am extremely distraught or have absolutely no idea what to do in a situation, I get before the Lord and begin to pray in tongues. There have been times when I have done this for up to half an hour straight. As I continue to pray in the Spirit (not understanding what I am saying because it is in a spiritual language) God begins to shape my understanding so that I can effectively pray and hear from Him in English. Hopefully this has been helpful. There are no quick answers on things like this. It is just learning to draw closer to God and walking with Him every day of our lives.

Do you have any other suggestions on how you have learned to hear the Lord?

Terry

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