How to Listen for God’s Voice

We communicate with the people we care about. There’s no relationship without communication. It’s the same with you and God. It hurts when it feels as though God is silent. God’s voice doesn’t usually come to us in the same way human voices do. So how can you listen for God’s voice while trying to survive in our very natural world?

God’s friends we read about in the Bible frequently struggled to listen for God’s voice. Just like you and me, when God seemed silent they asked, sometimes screamed, Why? David prayed, “Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.” (Psalm 22:1-2) “To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.” (Psalm 28:1)

As Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia, God can and does show up and speak anywhere and anytime He chooses. Sometimes it’s with a roar, sometimes it’s with words that only you and no one else can hear, and sometimes it’s with a silent presence you only become fully aware of later.

But there are clearly things you and I can do that help as we listen for God’s voice.

Believe God wants to speak to you.

God is a communicator. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) And not only does He communicate with His people in general; He communicates with you personally. “For this is what the high and lofty One says– he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” (Isaiah 57:15)

Choosing to believe that God wants to communicate with you will make a huge difference in your ability to hear Him. If you struggle with that, try borrowing a little of the faith that thousands, millions, of people over thousands of years have affirmed, that God does communicate with us. And you can hear Him.

Choose to actively listen.

Think of your closest personal relationships. It’s likely there are many times when your spouse, child, friend has tried to tell you something and you didn’t hear. You were not listening. Even if your ears hear the words they say or your eyes see the behaviors, unless your mind and heart are open to listening you will not receive the message they are trying to send. When I talk to couples who are struggling to communicate one of the most important skills I help them with is listening to understand.

It’s the same with God. If you try to listen for God’s voice while trying to form a rebuttal in your mind, asking Him to prove Himself before you will follow, or trying to get Him to do what you want, you will never understand. God is patient, and is well able to work with you through your doubt. But you will only truly hear Him when you listen with an open heart, seeking to understand.

Be like Samuel: “The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”” (1 Samuel 3:10)

Determine to follow whatever He says.

Some people refuse to follow through when they have heard God tell them something, and then wonder why they cannot hear His voice again. Beware of only being willing to hear God say what you want Him to say. “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”” (Isaiah 29:13)

If it’s been a while since you heard God’s voice, be sure you are doing the last thing you heard Him say. Just keep on doing the last thing He told you until He tells you something else. Your obedience in little things will prepare you to trust Him, hear His voice, and be obedient in bigger things.

Get quiet often.

God does not often add His voice to a cacophony of sound – in the world, in the church, or in your own mind. “And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (I Kings 9:12) In the King James, “a still small voice.” You hear Him when your heart and mind become still, when the other voices shouting their messages become silent. “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

How do you do that? Choose to get quiet. Yes, God can speak anywhere, but to hear Him best, get in a location where the messages around you are still – your own closet, a quiet place in nature, a chapel. If your heart is overflowing with emotions let them flow out in God’s presence. Yell, cry, beg, or whatever you need to do. Dump it all. And then don’t run away. Stay there, and be still. Just be. Let your own voice and the messages in your head be silent. And keep coming back over and over again. I guarantee that if you do this repeatedly God will speak to you.

Choose to move closer.

In human relationships you have the choice to build the wall between you and another person higher and thicker, or to work actively to dismantle it brick by brick. It’s the same with God. We do not make the first move; God does that. But you still have the primary choice in the matter. You can choose to move closer. You may not see how God has made the first move until you make that choice.

These 5 steps are part of choosing to move closer. And when you do sense any small part of God’s voice, treasure it. Value it. Believe it. Follow it. That will help you move closer still, and hear His voice even more clearly next time.

God wants to communicate with you. It’s like the old cliché, “Can you hear me now?” As you listen, He will speak.

Your Turn: How well are you listening for God’s voice? Can you see any ways in which you can listen better? Leave a comment below.

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Communicating with God is in many ways like communicating with other people. And listening to understand makes all the difference. Here are 5 ways you can listen for God’s voice. Tweet that.

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