Hearing God's Voice!

How to Hear from God

Wouldn't it be great if God decided to use billboards to talk to us? Something Big, bright, and super obvious!

Something like :    "HELLO!!! Listen to Me!"

 Just think, we could drive down the road and God would simply choose one of a zillion billboards to get our attention. There we'd have a whole message from God. Pretty cool, huh? I've often thought, that would certainly work for me! 

On the other hand, he could use something more subtle. Like a gentle knock on the head whenever we go off course. 

Yup, there's a thought. God smacking people whenever they don't listen. 

Hearing from God is a learned skill.

Of course, you could be one of the lucky ones like Moses, who was walking up the mountain, minding his own business, when he stumbled upon the burning bush. Most of us don't have those kinds of encounters so we find ourselves looking for skills to help us hear from God.

Anybody can hear from God, but only those who choose to will. If we choose to want to hear God's voice, we are in it's essence, choosing to pursue God!  This means living a life set apart for the Living God, reflecting Jesus in what you do.
We have to repent and turn away from our old ways because if we are living in sin, our hearts are bound to oppose and be hardened to God's word which is the opposite of sin. 

How Can I Tell if God is Talking to Me?

Here are some common ways God talks to us:

• The Actual Voice
  Sometimes we're able to "hear" something in our spirit that sounds to us like an actual audible voice. Or all of a sudden, you just know you heard something. Pay attention to those occasions because it is very likely God trying to tell you something. However, God doesn't always speak to people like this, so don't be disappointed!

• His Word In order to actually "hear" from God, we have to know some things about God's character. We have to develop an understanding of who God is, and the way he does things. Fortunately for us, all that information is available in the Bible. The Book goes into a lot of detail about how you can expect God to react, what kinds of expectations he has for us, and most specifically, how he expects us to treat other people. It's actually a pretty good book, given its age. It isn't an audible voice but it come from God Himself!

• Other People Many times God will use other people to try to get through to us. It's possible for God to use anyone at any time, but I find more messages coming from people who are practicing Christians than non-practicing ones.

• Our Circumstances
  Sometimes the only way God can teach us something is to allow circumstances in our life to lead us to and through the very thing we need to discover. One of my favorite authors,Joyce Meyer, says, "There's no such thing as a drive-through break-through."
• The Still Small VoiceMost of the time God uses a tiny voice, almost like a thought, inside us to let us know when we're not on the right path. Some people call it "the voice of peace." Whenever we're contemplating something and we don't have peace about it, it's a very good idea to stop and carefully look at the options. There's a reason you don't feel peace about 

When God Speaks, Keep Quiet!

Yes, communication is 2-way, but how will God speak if we are keep talking or are to busy to listen? 

God uses lots of things to talk to us.  

But actually hearing from God isn't so much a matter of if  he's talking, but rather, whether we're listening.

How can we listen to Him if we are too busy playing with our phones, using our computers, listening to music, etc.

Be quiet and hear what God is saying to you today!
Another thing that we could be listening to is ourselves!
This is because, as you know, God's way isn't always the easiest way.
So we listen to the next best thing, "Me, I, & Myself".
But little do we know that God's plan is perfect and infinitely above whatever plans we can imagine for ourselves.

 So choose to listen to God, even if it may seem out of your way, because ultimately, we want to know and glorify Him.