How To Hear From God

There are many people today who struggle with the question, “How can I hear from God?” Does God really speak to us today in a way we can understand and use in our daily lives?

Some go through their entire lives without really knowing His voice. There may be road blocks of past hurts, disappointments, or misunderstandings that have caused them to not be able to hear. They may have heard from others that God is not talking in this day and age. This becomes an excuse for closed ears, closed minds, and closed hearts. It takes away any hope of hearing and  produces a lack of faith, lack of persistence, and lack of action. They end up looking for the audible voice of God, when God is speaking from the spirit within us.

We are not to continue to be spiritually immature. It is time to grow up through obedience and discipline, so we can hear the voice of our Heavenly Father. It is imperative that we hear His voice today and in the days that are ahead of us if we are going to prosper. Here are some steps, or keys, we can use to hear better:

1.  The Truth Is, God Does Speak Today

Our Heavenly Father wants to communicate with His children just like any healthy earthly father would want to talk with his son or daughter. Communication is the key to relationships, and without that ability to communicate, the relationship will die. He loves us, and it’s all about relationship and being a part of His family. He is consistent with His revealed will, the Bible, but a relationship must go beyond a letter written long ago to a people we do not know. We must have a personal, intimate relationship with Him today. We need to hear Him speak our names and about our lives, not just someone else’s.

2.  Stop Talking

Did you ever get with people who wanted to talk about themselves all the time? That does get old! Communication is more about listening to the other person speak and understanding what they are truly saying than it is about telling them what you know. We must stop talking and begin to listen — not only talking in our prayer time, but talking to ourselves and others about the negative things in our lives, the things that steal our joy and hope. Many people talk themselves out of their ability to hear God’s voice, and this leads to unbelief and doubt. God’s Word says for us to be still and rest in Him.

3.  Write It Down

Revelation is to “run” with. It is the fuel for your future, the very thing you will need to overcome obstacles in your life. Revelation comes through communication. It becomes a weapon of our warfare that is mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds over our lives. We are able to go to war with the words God has spoken to us along with His written Word. This becomes a two-edged sword, able to cut even between the spirit and the soul of a person. Revelation also provides boundaries for us, as we go along in our daily lives. It is able to keep us focused on the task ahead.

4.  Expect To Hear God’s Voice

It takes faith to hear God, and faith is expressed through expectancy. If we have faith to hear, we will want to develop our listening skills. One place to start is to listen to those whom God has placed in our lives to speak into us. The people God puts into our lives should be people that love us. They want God’s best for us and would not use us wrongly to meet their needs first. Faith works by love, and revelation comes by faith in knowing that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to communicate with us daily.

5.  Do Not Doubt What You Hear

If what you hear lines up with God’s known will and you have a knowing in your spirit that it is God’s voice speaking, do not doubt. “Has God really said” has been used since the Garden of Eden to keep God’s people out of relationship with Him. Understand the context of the word God has spoken to you in the light of your gifting and calling, and do not allow anyone to steal your future or your ability to hear God’s voice. Act on what you hear. Stay in close relationship with Him, and more revelation will come. Remember, He loves you, and you are significant.

James 1:5-8 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”