Hearing God

Dear JimBob,

I am struggling to "hear" God.  I honestly want to go where God is leading me and do what He is asking me to do for Him but I just don't hear anything.

You have preached on this before and you said that to hear God we have to spend time with Him, in His word and in prayer.  Maybe I'm not doing that enough.  Do you suggest reading the Bible front to back on a daily basis repeatedly throughout the year?  Is it enough to just do a daily devotional?  And seriously, how do you pray without falling asleep or getting distracted in the middle because this is a MAJOR challenge for me!

Sincerely,

Can you hear me now?

Dear Can,

            Throughout my entire faith journey, I have wrestled with the question of hearing God. There have been times when it was almost as if I could hear the audible voice of God, or a tangible nudge of the Spirit directing my path. Other times—and these “other times” have lasted months or years—God’s voice has been silent and his touch has been absent. The Bible paints the same frustrating reality for many of the great persons of faith. On my ever-growing list of “Things I’ll ask God when I get to heaven,” one of the top 10 is, “Why aren’t you more forth-coming with clear and distinct direction to those who desperately want to follow your will?” I’m sure there will be some justifiable answer, but it doesn’t lesson my (or your) aggravation right now.

            Though I readily admit I still struggle to hear God at times, there are some helpful hints I’ve discovered over the years that have opened my ears to the still small voice of God.

Scripture: There’s a reason why the Bible is called “The Word of God.” The Bible is a text recording (if there is such a thing) of what God has been whispering to humanity for thousands of years. There have been countless times in my life when I’ve needed to hear a word from God that a scripture would come to mind that specifically dealt with my need. Had I not been reading the Bible, God would have had one less vessel (and one of His prominent vessels) to speak through. Would it help to read your Bible more? Absolutely. Go through it every year. Memorize portions of it that speak to you. You will be amazed at how those verses will come back to mind at just the right time. In fact, you’ll discover so many “at just the right times” that you’ll be forced to see those times as anything but coincidences and realize they are the whisper of the Spirit.

Scripture: I know I just said this one, but your initial quest had to do with hearing God’s voice as it relates to His desire and direction for your life. I’ve said countless times that if we would simply try to follow the directions already clearly offered throughout the Bible, we would have little time to worry about some of the more self-related questions we spend so much time hoping God will speak to directly, i.e. where should you live? What about the multiple job opportunities? Etc.

Closed & opened doors: Sometimes we are so emotionally involved in a decision that all we can do is pray, “Lord, I need you to close doors I’m not supposed to walk through and open others that are in line with your will,” and then trust God’s “voice” when we encounter those doors. My presence in Texas is an open door. Five years ago, I had multiple options available to serve in ministry. Though Texas was one of those options, it was not even on my personal radar. My only exposure to Texas was driving I-40 through Amarillo. No offence to panhandle Texans, but that area looks like a huge, hot litter box. I wasn’t too excited about going to Texas, but I couldn’t shake the “feeling” that it may be an option. Finally, I had to ask God to open and close doors. Some doors slammed shut and others slowly creaked closed, but in the end, Texas was the only door wide open and inviting. After I walked through it, more things happened to verify that God was in the process.

Drop of oil in a five gallon bucket: I’m stealing this picture from my father (who probably stole it from someone else). He used to say that sometimes God spoke like a drop of oil in a five gallon bucket of water. If you don’t like the drop at the top, put a stick in the bucket and swirl the oil to the bottom. It’s out of sight…for a time. Given time, the oil will work its way back up to the top and you’ll have to deal with it again. Sometimes God speaks through a recurring thought that despite our best efforts we simply cannot shake. I’ve heard countless ministers say that for years they ran away from God’s call, but He just wouldn’t let them be; the oil (call) kept coming back to the surface.

Still small voice that we can recognize: As I said, I’ve wrestled with hearing God all of my faith journey. Part of my issue was that I was waiting for God to speak audibly, or appear in a beam of light at the foot of my bed. About 15 years ago, I realized that there had been many times in my life when a person in my church came crashing into my mind. I would often ignore the thought and go back to whatever I was doing. Many times, I would later hear (2-3 days later) that person had died or was in the hospital. It finally dawned on me that the impulse I was “feeling” when that name occurred to me was the Spirit urging me to reach out to that person in his/her time of need. Once I became aware of that reality, I started being sensitive to that same impulse in regard to other aspects of my life. Do I get it right all of the time? No. There are still times when I’m probably hearing my own neurotic thoughts. But frequently, that impulse has put me in the right place at the right time. By the way, this doesn’t come to those who sit and wait. It comes to those who are out and doing. And you’ll probably never be able to discern the genuine voice of God from your own inner thoughts until you’re willing to make some mistakes and learn.

Clean out your ears: This probably should have been listed first, but, if we’re honest, sometimes, though we talk about wanting to hear God and walk His path, we really want God to justify or validate our own selfish agenda. In other words, we’re often not able to hear God because our spiritual ears are clogged with sins that blunt or cripple our sensitivity to the Spirit. The only remedy for that is to ask the Spirit to make those sins known, confess them, and then take them to the cross.

Stay faithful to last thing God said: I’m the type of guy who wants God to lay out every detail for me, to tell me exactly what the next step is, not to mention the next step and the step after that. However, I’ve discovered that, like a good parent, God wants His children to grow up and mature. A part of that is letting us venture out in life on our own. By “on our own,” I don’t mean that God actually leaves us. Jesus promised he would be with us always (Matt. 28:20). Rather, God withholds his tangible presence; He pulls his hands back from underneath our arms so that we would be able to stand and walk on our own. Sometimes God is helping us develop our trust in Him and/or our perseverance as to faithfully following his commands. If God gave you a clear leading at some point in the past and has not closed a door or given any indication that he wants you to divert off the path He already placed you on, stay the course.

I know these don’t fully answer your question, but I hope they will give you some helpful handles for the journey.

In Christ,

Jim

PS: If you would like to pose a question anonymously, click here.