How to Hear God’s Voice Part 1:

Six practical things you can do today to get a direct line to heaven

Having a conversation with God, who is invisible, might seem mysterious and simply weird to you. I get it. In fact, it wasn’t until I was a young adult that I realized I could ask God a question and get a specific response from Him. But once I entered into a conversation with Him, I haven’t been able to stop.

I want to take a minute in the middle of this chaotic world and encourage you that God created you to hear His voice, my friend! While the focus of my blog isn’t specifically about hearing God’s voice, doing so is an integral part of living life fully, so I’d like to cover it briefly. If you’ve read any of my previous blogs or my book on living the abundant single life, you know that I often point back to the importance of staying connected with Jesus and following His leading in order to navigate singleness. So let’s dig into this a bit further.

The truth is, you were born to be in relationship with God. He longs to have many conversations with you. If you have welcomed Jesus into your life, the gift of hearing His voice came with your new nature when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. Jesus explains through a parable how we are each created to be in relationship with Him:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27

Think about it, how does a friend’s voice become familiar to the point that you can recognize them without seeing them? For example, if my sister called me from my mom’s cell phone, as soon as I hear my sister’s voice, I immediately know I’m talking to my sister, not my mom. Why is that? It’s because I’ve spent a lot of time with them! We talk often and have cultivated a strong relationship with each other. The more time you spend with someone, the easier it is to recognize their voice when you can’t physically see them. The same is true with God. The more time you spend asking Him questions, waiting, and listening, the more you’re going to recognize His voice over time. I like how James Goll puts it in his book, Hearing God’s Voice Today:

“The greatest key to hearing God’s voice is cultivating a love-based relationship. From God’s perspective, the most important reason for hearing the voice of God is not so that we will know the right things to do but so that we will know Him, the source of the guidance.”

God is waiting excitedly for you to connect with Him. In fact, this is His invitation to you:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Revelation 3:20

When you do hear God’s voice, be on the lookout for Him to speak in different ways: through Scripture, an inspired thought, people, a visual image in your imagination, and in dreams and visions to name a few. Most of the time though, it will come through a still small voice in your heart and mind, a deep knowing. In order to hear it, you need the space to quiet yourself and listen. Just relax and bask in God’s presence as you listen.

If you long to hear God’s voice, but are having trouble discerning it, I have a few practical pointers for you:

o  Develop expectancy that you will hear from God.

o  Keep it simple. Don’t overthink it (see Proverbs 3:5-6).

o  Remove anything that might be blocking you from hearing God’s voice by inviting Him to search your heart and convict you of any offenses you’ve made against Him. Confess any sins that come to mind and receive God’s forgiveness and grace.

o  Be patient and practice listening to God’s voice. Cultivating a relationship with God is a lifelong journey, and hearing His voice is a continual learning experience.

o  Journal your prayers. Writing is a great avenue for revelation to flow. It also serves as a great way to reflect on your conversations with God.

o  Filter everything through what’s in the Bible to help discern if what you’re hearing is from God. Ask yourself, what fruit does this thought bear? Does it produce love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and/or self-control? This is the kind of fruit that reflects a thought from God. 

There are many resources available to help you better understand how to hear and discern God’s voice. If you want to learn more, I highly recommend reading Hearing God’s Voice Today by James Goll. Remember, the first step to hearing God’s voice is simply to believe that God speaks to you and that you hear His voice. I believe as you seek Him, you will find Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

Proverbs 3:5-6

If you’d like to hear God’s voice more clearly, here’s a simple prayer to get started:

Father God, I thank You that You’re a good Father, and You’re excellent at making sure Your children hear Your voice. I ask that You will encounter me now and bring about assurance in my heart that I am not going to miss it! Hide me from the enemy and protect me by the blood of Jesus. Search my heart, and expose anything that is blocking me from hearing your voice. I ask that you will remove any blockage as far as the East is from the West, in the name of Jesus. Open my spiritual ears, and give me wisdom and discernment as I listen for Your voice, Papa God. Open the floodgates of communication with me and increase my recognition of Your voice as I seek You first. Empower me to always seek you first, Lord. Today, I want to hear your voice above all others. In Jesus’ powerful and mighty name, amen.