Hearing God

Below is a guest post by blogger JimWolstenholm. You can check out his blog at http://jimthefollower.com/. His mission is to help people follow Jesus so they can live the abundant life and change their world. Hmm…sounds familiar!

If we could only hear what God wants us to do all the time, life would be easier! When we follow Jesus, we want to hear God. Do you get frustrated when you don’t hear God?

How can we hear God?

First, we must believe that God still wants to be heard! Jesus told us he would always be with us until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). It is unimaginable that Jesus would be with us in silence all the time. So, he must be speaking.

Second, we must believe that what he has to say is relevant to our lives today. Wherever we find ourselves, we must believe that Jesus is guiding us and has insights into what we should do in whatever situation we are in.

How does God speak?

We cannot hear God unless we recognize how he speaks. Here are some ways we can expect to hear the voice of God:

Through reading the Bible. We often call the Bible the Word of God. We could say that the Bible records the words of God. It is his voice speaking through his Word!

Through prayer. When we pray, we are in conversation with God. Normally, we don’t stop to listen – but if we did, we could hear his voice. Sometimes God has even interrupted my prayer to make his will known!

Through strong impressions. God will impress us to do something or say something or go somewhere. It feels like the right thing to do, and it is inescapable.

Through an audible or nearly audible voice. Rarely does this happen, but sometimes we hear what God wants us to do in a voice that is real. It’s far more than an impression and it is clearly the voice of God. This voice will tell you to do something that you could never have dreamed up on your own.

Through the voice of another follower of Jesus. Sometimes God will speak to us through another to guide us into his will for our lives. We must pay attention to these voices very carefully.

That brings us to the big question: How do I hear God?

Identifying the ways God speaks helps us immensely to understand his voice when we hear it. Here is how you can hear God.

Spend time in the Bible. Be sensitive to scriptures that leap out at you. Many years ago, when I was in the Navy, I was leading our ship’s Sunday services. I wasn’t a chaplain but felt this was my ministry. On Sunday morning, we would meet in the classroom. One Sunday, no one showed up! I was discouraged. I went back to my bunk, opened my Bible and started to read. I was startled when I came upon this passage after just a few minutes: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do no give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

A few weeks later, it was Easter Sunday. For that day, the ship provided the entire flight deck (for helicopter landing) for our Sunday service. That day, 20% of the ship showed up for services. CNN recorded the service and beamed the footage back to Atlanta for the morning news. The Sundays that followed had double our normal attendance each week!

God will speak through his word!

Pause in your prayer. Take time to listen. When you pray, ask God questions and then wait for an answer. The most profound answers have come to me in my prayer time when I paused to listen.

Be patient. As we hear God’s voice, we will get better at discerning his voice. Like learning to walk or talk, it takes time and practice and persistence.

If this has helped you, please pass it along to someone else.

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