January 12, 2021
12 Easy Steps to Hear God’s Voice:
By: Judy Brooks©
When God wants to get your attention, He doesn’t just say something once. He repeats the same thought, idea, or scripture repeatedly until you stop and listen. ‘Ask yourself is God trying to tell me something?’ He is waiting to talk to you and give you direction – if you will slow down, take time and listen.
1. Hear God in the Quiet.
Be still and know that I am God. (Psalms 46:10)
Create a place in your home that is comfortable and quiet, so you can be alone with God. Perhaps a comfortable chair in the corner of your bedroom or closet, on your deck, by the pool, on a walk-in nature anywhere will work as long as you become consistent spending time with God. Anywhere that’s just you and God is a ‘Secret Place.’
Currently, I have a large walk-in closet with my altar in it, and Praise and Worship Music plays very softly in the background – I call this My Secret Place where I can be alone with God. When my daughter was twelve an elderly gentleman in our church had a hobby making Family Altars, and he made one for our prayer time. Time alone with God will change your life.
2. Hear God in Scriptures as you read the Bible no matter where you are.
What does it look like to seek Him? King David models for us what it looks like to seek God:
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely. (Psalm 63:1-8 NLT)
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalms 119:105 KJV)
It’s vital to spend time reading the Bible. The scripture is like God’s loudspeaker for His children. That’s why Hebrews 4:12-13 describes the Word of God as “living” and “active.” If you want to hear God’s voice in every aspect of your life, then you need to spend time in the Word, because scripture gives you confirmation, direction, and balance. Read a good devotion and the Bible, meditating on the Word.
3. Hear God When You Talk to Him.
Prayer is simply talking to God like you would if you were sitting down having a conversation with another person. He is attentively sitting on His throne in Heaven awaiting one of His children to just call out His name. The moment you whisper His name He will appear. Jeremiah 33:3 is my telephone number to Jesus. Ask with expectancy like a child.
Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand. (Jeremiah 33:3 Amplified)
If your child cries out, you’ll run to see what they need and accommodate them, (your Daddy) God does exactly the same. He is as close as the mention of His Name.
4. Hear God through Forgiveness and Repentance.
If you carry unforgiveness, resentment, and un-confessed sin, it will make it difficult to hear God’s voice clearly. Repent for missing the mark and forgive others who have hurt you or offended you. Offense is a trap to keep you from growing. How long does it take Jesus to forgive you when you repent? Now do likewise!
But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. (Mark 11:25 NLT)
5. Hear God Through Answered Prayer.
James and Mark give us clear instructions on how to hear the voice of God. James says, ‘we have not because we ask not’ – so Ask God for what you have need of and He will give it to you. Mark says: ‘All that is required is that you 1. Ask 2. Have a tiny mustard seed faith as a child. 3. Believe and Then 4. You will Receive.’ Ask God to speak to you. At the same time do not forget to thank God for who He is and all that He has done.
You should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
(James 1:5-8 NLT)
“Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.
(Mark 11:22-24 NLT)
6. Hear God Through People. Have you ever noticed how every now and then you will hear something two or three times in a short time span? Pay attention, God is trying to say something to you. When God is trying to get your attention, He doesn’t just say something once, No! He confirms it over and over again. You may hear or read the same scripture, thought, idea (that just won’t go away) or see something along the same lines repeatedly. The voice of God is available if you will take the time to be still and listen. You will hear His voice.
This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
For God [does reveal His will; He] speaks not only once, but more than once, even though men do not regard it [including you, Job] (Job 33:14 Amplified)
7. Jesus Christ speaks to us. Are you listening in quietness? He only whispers, He does not yell! God speaks to us deep in our innermost human spirit.
Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son, he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. (Hebrews 1:1-3 NLT)
In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:12-13).
8. God speaks to us when we are outside riding, horses, animals, etc. When you’re out in nature and your mind is off everything – God will whisper.
“But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted. (Numbers 22:30).
9. Hear God in Nature.
Go for a walk, pay attention to everything, and listen for God to speak to you. He speaks through nature, birds singing, animals, water, or ducks playing in the water, He may even speak through a song. It is not a strange thing that God desires to speak to His creation; it is God’s creation that needs to learn to discern God’s voice. Learning to hear the voice of God comes very naturally to some, and for others, it takes cultivating. Become conscious of what is going on around your so you do not miss it the next time God speaks to you.
So, it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:13).
10. Hearing God Through Visions and Dreams when you sleep.
God has promised in the last day He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, men, and women alike and they would dream, have visions and prophesy. Pay attention to your dreams and visions, God may be speaking to you. There are Christian Books available to interpret dreams. Seek God and ask Him to show you what He is saying.
‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18 NLT)
[One may hear God’s voice] in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men while slumbering upon the bed. (Job 33:5 Amplified)
11. God speaks to children when they are in their bedrooms at bedtime.
And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So, he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ “So, Samuel went and lay down in his place.”
12. God speaks to us when we are outside looking at the stars.
Forever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So, they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20).
