Listen

I made a bold statement in one of my first blog posts that God told me to pursue this water project. This statement was made with a great sense of awe for a few reasons. First, God wants to use me? And, second, knowing how to hear from God has always been a part of my faith walk that I have struggled with.

I have learned and finally accepted that hearing from God is not always about hearing an audible voice. That definitely was not how I heard from Him in Atlanta when He gave me this project to do. I have discovered that God speaks to everyone in different ways. And I am learning to trust that even though I may want to hear definitive words from his mouth, He feels this is not the best thing for me.

God speaks to everyone in different ways: an audible voice, scripture, nature, dreams, visions, creative activities, journaling, "coincidences," and more. None of these are intrinsically better than the other. Just as God loves each of us as the individual that we are, He also speaks to us individually. But, knowing how to listen is not quite so unique. With that in mind, here are some questions to think about as you wait on God's voice and leading.

What distracts you?
If I call you and in the background I can hear a TV, the clicking of your fingers on a keyboard, the interruptions you make to speak to someone else, and your chewing, I know that you are not really listening to me. My words aren't getting through. The same is true for the voice of God. If I spend my time in and fill my brain with things and people that cause Him grief and ignore His word and church, He knows I am not open to listening to Him. His words aren't getting through.

Who else are you listening to?
One of the most common ways that I have heard from God is through other people. My friends have at times said exactly the words of comfort I needed to hear or have affirmed a decision I was praying on. They have quoted scripture to me that has opened up new ways of thinking or deeply challenged me. Often, they do this with no prompting from me but out of their own relying on the Spirit. I have followed God's lead on who my closest friends are and when they speak to me, I listen. On the other hand, if I fill my life with people who don't know God, He can still speak to me through them. But, it will happen much less frequently and the influence they have over me would probably block a lot of His words from getting through, especially if they are actively against my faith.

Are you actively pursuing a relationship with God?
When we are in relationship, we talk, listen, invest time, love, and care about what the other person cares about. In any relationship, if we don't do the above, the relationship is going to slowly die. The same is true with God. If I am not actively pursuing a relationship with Him, He is not going to continue speaking to me. Am I spending time in prayer or having a conversation with God? Am I blatantly doing things that hurt God's heart? Do I show a lack of love for Him by being embarrassed to talk about Him?

Do you really want to hear from God?
Seriously. I think we often talk about how much we want to hear from God but then betray by our actions that we aren't really interested in what He would say. When I listen to God, I have the potential of hearing that He wants to completely change my life, that He wants to give me a task that scares me, that He wants to use me in some way. If I'm not willing to do what He may ask of me, why should I even ask Him to speak? I'm just going to reject His words anyway.