How to Hear God's Voice

(First in a series about prayer)

 By Liz Shrieve

 “He shall call upon me and I will answer him … ” –  Psalm 91:15

God wants you to know Him. He is a personal God who longs for an individual relationship with each of His children. Just as a relationship between two people relies heavily on communication, our relationship with God is dependent on communication. Prayer is the spiritual communication between man and God: He speaks and we listen; we speak and He listens. You do not have to go through life blindly or rely on your inner compass for direction. EXPECT God to speak to you, and TRUST that you can hear Him.

Think about when you were a child, and you would lay in your bed and hear voices of family members outside of your room. You could not see the people out there, but you knew exactly who they were: mom, dad, brother, sister, grandma. You knew their voices, despite not being able to see them, because you had a relationship with them and heard their voices often. The same is true with God. When we make time to have conversations with Him and grow in that relationship, His voice gets easier and easier for us to recognize, even when we cannot see Him.

In the Bible, we are often referred to as God’s, or the Shepherd’s, sheep. In John 10:27, Jesus speaks to the Jews in Jerusalem saying, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” You can hear his voice!

When you realize this truth, prayer is no longer mindless rambling but is a conversation between your Heavenly Father and His child. He wants to know your deepest desires, your joys, your heartaches and your needs. He is a Father who cares about what you have to say!

Prayer is an opportunity to worship and praise the Lord for who He is and what He has done for you. It also allows genuine repentance and a time for you to present your requests to God. So give it a try, He will not let you down. Whether you are a skeptic regarding whether prayer works or even if God exists or if you are a prayer warrior, lean into prayer more today. Deepen your relationship with your Heavenly Father, and see what He has waiting for you.

“Hearing God is not all that difficult. If we know the Lord, we have already heard His voice—after all, it was the inner leading that brought us to Him in the first place. But we can hear His voice and still miss His best if we don’t keep on listening. After the what of guidance comes the when and the how.”
– Loren Cunningham, founder, Youth With A Mission

Liz Shrieve is a full-time student at Moody Bible Institute and part-time LCC staff member. In her free time, you will often catch her at a coffee shop, soaking up sunshine rays on the river, traveling, or finding something to laugh about.

You can check out the second and third blogs in the series on prayer here: “Why Should You Pray?” and “How Do You Pray?”