Steps To Hearing God's Voice

One of the seven pillars of discovering and living your Kingdom calling is hearing God's direction.  This is imperative.  Without hearing God's direction, you could end up floundering or fluttering and end up at the destination God never intended for you.  So, hearing God's direction is one of the very keys to discovering and living your Kingdom calling. 

One of the questions I'm asked and come across the most is, "how can I hear God's voice" or even "does God still speak to us today?".

God definitely speaks to us today.  In fact, Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice (John 10:27-28).  So, it's obvious God wants to speak to us. There are many who have expressed frustration, because they haven't heard God's voice like others have. 

Often, people think that to hear God's voice, one would hear an audible voice. After all, a voice was heard at Jesus' baptism and didn't Moses  hear an audible voice?

Yes, but that's not God's normal  way of speaking to us.  I've heard God speak to me I've given words of wisdom and knowledge to people. But, I've never heard an audible voice. 

There are any number of ways God may choose to speak to you.  The most obvious is He'll speak to you and me through nature (Romans 1:19-20.  God may choose to speak through another person, a book, a movie, a television show or as spontaneous thoughts in your mind.  There are any number if ways through which God will speak to you. 

Five Keys to Hearing God's Voice

So how can you learn to hear God's  voice?  There are five keys to hearing God's voice.

Find A Quiet Place - When you read the gospels regarding the life of Jesus, you see that often Jesus would often go alone to a quiet place and pray.  We are so busy these days.  We a life full of noise; both internal and external noise.  We often can't seem to think because of the noise.  But, you Jesus as your example.  Find a quiet place to spend time with God.  He most often speaks through the still, small voice, coming as spontaneous thoughts to your mind.  If your mind is paying attenntion to all the noise, there's no way you'll hear God's voice, missing His direction for you and you always wondering which way should you go in your calling. 

Go Into God's  Presence - As you're in your quiet place, spend some time worshipping and praising Him. God wants to you to be able to hear His voice.  But, more importantly to Him, is to spend time with you.  He wants a relationship with you, as you should  with Him.  Don't be in a hurry here.  Just spend some time praising Him for who He is, not just for what He's done for you.  He loves the fact that you love Him and not just the things He's done for you.  He especially loves the fact that you want to praise Him for who He is and not just ask for what you want from Him.  

Put on some quiet praise and worship music or soaking music and enjoy being in His presence.  In doing this, you'll sense His presence with you.

Ask God Your Question - This may seem like an obvious step, but actually it isn't.  Often people will just sit, think or pray about many things.  Then when a specific answer doesn't come, they think either prayer doesn't really work or God doesn't really speak to us.  Ask God a specific question.  Often you'll have a specific issue you need guidance on.

Patiently Wait for Your Answer - The key here is to be patient. How would you feel if someone just wanted to get an answer from you they wanted and then they left. They weren't intersted in a relationship with you.  If it was someone you wanted a relationship with, you'd be hurt. So would God.  He wants that relationship with you.  You can't rush God.  He'll give you your answer in the perfect timing.  It'll be worth the wait.

Don't Second Guess What You Hear - God most often speaks to us through spontaneous thoughts.  Have some paper or a journal and a pen to record what you received.  Then it would be a good idea to run it by a spiritual mentor or advisor you trust.  Write down exactly what you receive.  Don't be concerned if it makes sense or not. As you practice, you'll become more familiar as to when you're hearing God to speak to you.

Remember, God loves you and wants to have that deep, intimate relationship with you.