Growing up with a very personal faith, I had always found the whole area of “hearing God speak” a bit daunting. Did I believe it could happen? Sure. Was it happening to me? Well, I hadn’t heard the audible voice of God, or seen writing on the wall, so I wasn’t really sure.
I had a really life changing time when I realised that not only was it possible to hear God’s voice, but I really believe I had been hearing it all along!
The reality is, God is a communicator. He SPOKE the world into being, He inspired the Scriptures, He sent Jesus, who transformed people’s lives through his words all the time. There are stories throughout the Bible and throughout history of His constant communication. God is speaking all the time. The question is, do we believe He wants to speak to us? And are we willing to tune in to listen?
Maybe you do and you are… but you’re not sure how, so here are Five Ways to Learn to Recognise God’s Voice –
Read the Bible.
I know its the obvious one, but its so true! If you want to know what God has to say or what He sounds like, read Scriptures. The Proverbs are a great one to start with. Simple and practical for every day living. Or Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John – where the life and communication of Jesus’ time on earth is documented. The more you get to know someone, the better you understand them, and often times God will use the Scriptures to answer your questions or give you input. He has already used that way to communicate and it would be a little bit presumptuous of us to overlook the obvious, wouldn’t it?
Ask Him to speak.
And I’m not just talking about “Who will I marry?” or “Will You give me a million dollars?” When we talk to the people we care about, its with a genuine heart to build relationship, to share how we’re feeling, and to ask for input – to do life together. Start with asking God to speak to you. Let Him decide what to speak about. After all, He created you, the people around you, the world you’re in. My guess is He has a LOT He wants to share with you and a good place to start is just asking him – Will you speak to me and will you help me to know its You?
Listen.
Have you ever been to a big, loud party and tried to speak to a friend? It can be a super fun environment, but not great for conversation when you have to yell in their ear just to help them hear. Sometimes you just want to go find a quiet couch or a beautiful patio to have a heart to heart. I think God gets a bit like that with us. We have so much noise in our lives through our schedules, media, activities and even other relationships. Don’t get me wrong – all really good and important things. But while God is fully able to yell over the volume, its not always the best environment for the heart to hearts He wants to have with us. Take time to get away from the noise, practice the art of being quiet and just listen.
Read “Is That Really You God?”
There is tremendous power in stories, right? I know I get seriously motivated when I see someone else do something successfully. “Is That Really You God” is an inspiring story of a young man’s journey to learn to recognise God’s voice. What I love about it is that its not 10 Guaranteed Steps to Make God Speak, as though we could place God into a formula, but through stories, and learning to have a dynamic relationship with God where we hear from Him. Like with any relationship, being human, we are going to make mistakes in our communication with God, and this book is honest about some really challenging mistakes, while also sharing the amazing results of living a life that is dependent on leaning into God’s wisdom. Plus its short, punchy, lots of good stories and a fairly simple read.
Do a YWAM DTS
For me, a YWAM DTS was an amazing time of learning to discern God’s voice. Having a place to get quality input, practice my faith, put it into action, take some bold steps, and have leaders mentoring me along the way was a catalyst to solidify some of the things I’d grown up knowing in faith, but hadn’t quite matured in yet. Plus, I made amazing friendships and got to help care for people in the community, travel and make a real difference.
So there are a few tips for hearing God’s voice in your life. Have a go and let me know how it went, or if you have any more tips you’d add to the list!
Learn how to hear God’ voice on our Discipleship Training School
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