Have you ever noticed that two people can pray about the same issue and come away with different responses and attitudes. We all come to God with our own experiences. These experiences and expectations affect how we hear Him. One will be excited and overjoyed by the response from the Father. They will be eager to see the hand of God working in the situation. Someone else will feel pessimistic about the same set of circumstances. They may not have or think they have not heard from God at all. It all boils down to your connection with Him. There are three things that must be looked at when determining how well you listen to and hear from God:
- Your relationship with Him. The ability to hear the Lord is directly related to your relationship with Him. Yes, you are still granted salvation when you receive Christ as Savior. You are eternally secure in Him. Neither God nor the principles of faith have changed. He does, however, adjust His messages to individuals based on their spiritual maturity and how they view situations. God yearns for you to grow stronger in your faith. This means building a closer relationship with Him. With this relationship, His goal is to make you more like Christ.
- Romans 8:29 (NKJV) states that God has predestined us “to be conformed to the image of His Son….”
- Ephesians 4:13 (AMP) speaks of reaching mature manhood and attaining the fullness of Christ. This indicates the lifelong journey of growth and transformation into the likeness of Christ. It is marked by a “deep and abiding” relationship with Him.
- Philippians 3:10 (AMP) expresses a desire to “progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with” Christ. This represents an increase in knowledge, understanding, and personal connection with Jesus. Moving you from just knowing about Him to truly knowing Him. It involves the continuous process of:
A. Gaining a clearer and stronger appreciation of Jesus’ character.
B. Being aware of and experiencing His presence in your daily life.
C. Learning to discern His voice and comprehend His will for your life.
D. Aligning your values and priorities to His.
E. Becoming more and more like Him.
F. Understanding and experiencing the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering.
You get the idea. The continual act of becoming more Christ-like gives you greater discernment (being able to recognize and distinguish) and clarity to hear from God. By conforming to the image of His Son, we learn God’s language and how to speak and hear Him better.
2. Your understanding of who He is. How you view the Lord affects how you hear from Him. You may have an unhealthy fear of God or believe you are speaking to some cold, distant deity. In which case, you are likely to feel He doesn’t listen to you. That you can never live up to His standards and expectations. In actuality, God is a God who loves, sustains, and molds you throughout your life. If you view God this way, you will hear His encouraging voice and accept His loving discipline. Can you see how your perceived thoughts could change what you hear or think you hear from God?
Reading your Bible is the best way to get a good understanding of the awesome and loving God you serve. You will find His character traits and attributes in the pages of the Word. Of all the verses in the Bible, there is one that sums God up in a nutshell-1 John 4:8. It says “…God is love.” Once you know, understand, and believe that, you will begin to know who and what God is.
3. Your attitude toward Him. Obviously, if you come to God with a proud, self-righteous nature, you won’t be inclined to hear His voice. Those attitudes of pride are not beneficial to the positive, loving relationship the Father longs to have with His children. Other destructive mindsets include anger, apathy, or resentment towards God, entitlement, and selfishness. While not sins, like pride, they deter from the Christ-like disposition you are supposed to be developing. On the other hand, if you come as a servant, with an obedient heart and filled with humility, you will hear His voice and eagerly accept it. In addition to humility, love (the greatest commandment) and complete trust in God are crucial. They promote the relationship that is needed to hear the small, still voice of God. It comes in the quietness of your mind.
That tends to change how you come to Him, doesn’t it? When you are in right relationship with Him, you can come boldly and joyfully. You can be confident in your kinship with God, knowing that He loves you, forgives you, and rejoices in your prayers. He not only desires to hear from you-He yearns for it. It is a deep and personal longing. God patiently waits for you and is ALWAYS ready to listen. He genuinely wants to hear about your day. Your hopes, dreams and challenges are extremely important to Him. God already knows what you are going to tell Him. He still has a profound need to hear it from you. His yearning for this personal connection makes Him no different than all of humanity in His craving for contact. His eagerness for two-way conversation does not diminish; He is constant in all His ways.
The freer and more open your connection with God, the better you will hear Him. As you build on your relationship with the Lord, your spiritual discernment will continue to improve. You will be able to pick out God’s voice in the most hectic and confusing situations. Even today, God is actively communicating throughout the world. Take time and consider what might be obstructing your personal connection to His message. Whatever these barriers are, turn them over to God. Ask Him to help you hear His voice more clearly. Do this; then make time for Him. You will hear the words He’s been longing to tell you.
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