Positioning yourself to hear God speak

“I don’t hear God speak. I hear people say, ‘God told me this or that’ like it’s an everyday thing, but it doesn’t happen for me.”

Perhaps you can relate to this sentiment. You’d be thrilled to hear from Heaven about specific areas of your life, but you don’t know where to start. Or perhaps you’ve tried and have grown frustrated in the efforts.

Here are five ways to increase your ability to hear God speak to the details of your heart and your circumstances:

Immerse yourself in His word. God’s spoken word (Greek = rhema) sounds like His written word (Greek = logos). The more time you spend in the Bible the easier it is to recognize His voice. You can be assured that what you’re hearing really is His voice because the Holy Spirit will never contradict God’s word. Along with that, God knows you’re serious about hearing from Him when you pursue His word diligently.

Pray regularly with at least one other person. “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in their midst” (Matt. 18:20). You will find when you pray with a small group or even one prayer partner that as you allow Him, God will lead your prayers. He’ll connect the same thoughts in different people, reinforcing what He is saying to you individually.

Fast. When you “crucify the flesh” by fasting it makes your spirit more sensitive. God is spirit, and only a spirit can communicate with another spirit.

Start with worship and praise. This can be as simple as calling out a few sentences describing the attributes of God. You will find as you reflect and speak out His goodness and His worth, His manifest presence will be sensed more readily for “He inhabits the praises of His people” (Psalm 22:3).

Physically position yourself in humbleness. I have learned that going face down in my “prayer closet” is one of the most effective ways to hear God speak. I honor God in this position of humility, and God in turn honors my desire to hear from Him. There is something about this that not only shows reverence for the King, but also brings about a focused singleness of purpose (Matt. 6:22) that shuts out distractions.

Have faith! Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” If He said so, then you’re hearing from Him more than you probably realize.

Finally, some of us may need to ask ourselves this question: “Do I really want to hear from God? Or am I afraid of what I know He might be saying?”

Photo by Britt-Knee (Nanny Snowflake), “Mary Poppins goes to the beach,” April 17, 2012 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.