If I could give any piece of advice about walking with God to anyone. It would be.
Slow down and listen.
The biggest mistake I believe we can all make is that we expect God to “keep pace” with our busy lives and we are going to just “fit HIM into” OUR schedules.
WRONG!
The secret to waiting, listening, and hearing God’s voice is slowness.
There really is no way around it.
God’s timeline is not our timeline and we so often go off on OUR timeline and start dictating to God how things will go when we ought to pause more often than not and just hear what He wants for our lives.
Life naturally get noisy. We get distracted. Our thoughts get clouded and we can’t expect to keep the noise and hear the small still voice of God.
Maybe we are afraid to slow down and hear God’s voice because we think we know what He’s going to say. But is what you have in your mind really true?
My friend, don’t forget the period of time in which you live is the most gracious period of time God has granted in history.
We have so much opportunity to just believe and trust. God is not sitting there waiting to strike you down the moment you come to Him to listen to Him.
He is giving you this time to slow down and come to Him.
While there will be the moment in History that we see Jesus coming on the clouds and time will be up. It is not yet.
So, what are we to do.
This is often the most difficult thing in this life. I myself have struggled greatly to be with God and to just sit.
So here are a few ideas and I hope you consider ways in which you can slow down and pause and listen… and wait.
Practical Steps to Hear God’s Voice
- Have you built into your schedule a time of devotion? If you’ve never heard of the idea. What would it look like for you to start each day with 10-20 minutes in silent prayer and scripture reading and then to reflect? Take even the moments you need to journal.
- Memorize scripture. I kid you not. The power of memorized scripture is real. I have gone through seasons where I tuck the scriptures away and then the moment will come that God uses the scriptures to remind me of his Character or to share with someone else his goodness. Don’t underestimate the power of memorizing the scriptures.
- LOOK! This is a slightly nuanced approach to prayer, but it is simply the approach of looking for how the spirit might be prompting you or presenting to you His will throughout the day. Ask God to make plain in your heart his guidance and test what you encounter by holding those promptings up to the scriptures. If you are new to the faith I encourage you to seek wisdom from others as well as you discern the voice of the spirit.
- Turn off your devices. I’m not just talking about your phones, iPads and computers. I even mean the fridge if you must. Hear me out. I had this mini fridge that hummed at a particularly annoying pitch and on one hand I knew it was causing a distraction, but on the other hand, I wasn’t willing to unplug it. It was empty. So, maybe there are things that are literally a distraction for your mind and you don’t even know it. Remove them. Silence really can do wonders to draw your focus.
- Godly Counsel! Seeking Godly counsel about your circumstances or your struggles can help hone your sense of the truth and the voice of God. Seek wisdom from Godly, biblical believers, mentors, and pastors.
- Humble Yourself. I can’t not say this, but in some sense, you may be keeping yourself from hearing from God because you are in the way. Man, I think of the tax collector and the pharisee before God. The tax collector in his humility when home justified before God. [Luke 18:9-14] Take stock of your heart and prepare it for hearing from God. You may not be ready to hear what He has to say until you humble yourself.
Final Thoughts
Hearing God’s voice isn’t necessarily about doing more or checking off more boxes. It’s about aligning yourself with His heart by becoming more sensitive to His desires. We don’t just stumble into hearing God’s voice. We intentionally go to Him in humility and spend time with Him. He is a relational God. Gracious in his ways with us. I hope you are encouraged to slow down and hear his voice to quiet the noise and be still with Him.