Numerous scriptures speak about hearing the voice of God, one of my favorites is Psalm 32:8 which says, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and keep my eye on you.” Walking in our God-given purpose isn’t mysterious or daunting, God has already promised His help and oversight, but in order to receive God’s instructions, we need to know how to hear when He speaks.

The dilemma for some Christians who are trying to figure out their purpose is that they don’t know what to do, because they don’t seem to be able to hear God speaking to them. The goal of this post is to provide a very basic framework that will enable believers to begin to hear the voice of God with clarity.

This may not apply to everyone, so for those who are fortunate to hear and know the voice of God already, please pause and pray for those who haven’t quite mastered it. Pray that they would be patient in the process and extend grace to themselves along the journey.

Before we move on, if you haven’t already done so, please pause on reading this and read the post titled, “Just Be….”. I believe, the first step in learning to hear the voice of God clearly is identifying and stepping away from ‘performance Christianity’. It’s all in that post, so go read it then continue with the paragraph below.

I’ve been quoting this verse a lot because I consider it to be a key in Christianity. “For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants”. (Philippians 2:13)

I’ve learned that God wants us to hear Him. He doesn’t play tricks or hide and seek with us. In John 10:27 He identifies the ability to hear Him, as a characteristic of being His child (His sheep), “My own sheep will hear my voice and I know each one, and they will follow me.”

First things first! Are you a child of God? Have you repented of your sins and asked Jesus to be Lord of your life?

If you’ve never asked Christ to be Lord of your life please pray this prayer. “Heavenly Father I am sorry for my sin please forgive me, cleanse me, and make me your child. I commit my life to you today. Amen.”

In my journey to hearing God’s voice clearly, one of the first lessons I learned was that He was already speaking to me, I just needed to learn to distinguish His voice from the noise around me. I often wondered if the voice I was hearing was me, God, or the devil. The devil’s voice was easy to eliminate when I understood that he will never give me instructions to do something that will glorify God.

When you sense the prompting to pray, read your Bible, invite a friend to church, volunteer at a food pantry, or give $20 to the beggar on the corner, that’s not the devil. It’s not in his best interest for you to do any of those things.

When you feel the urge to stop at the supermarket and get some groceries for a neighbor, on your way home after a long exhausting day at work, that’s likely not you. We’ve already ruled out the devil, so that’s your Abba Father talking to you.

You will not generally tell yourself to do something that goes against how you’re feeling or what you’re sensing. Like agreeing to get up at 5 in the morning to drive an acquaintance to the airport. Yep, that’s all God.

So what about hearing Him when it comes to purpose? Take this blog for example. The idea to start and revive this blog was definitely a God idea. I’ve never really liked writing for other people to read. As a child, I wrote poems and short stories, but they were for my eyes only.

I was always very critical of my writing and expected everyone else to be the same way. So writing a blog was not something I would come up with on my own.

We can also rule out the devil, because he would never, prompt me to establish a blog that aims to encourage, inspire and empower women. And to publish a weekly post strategically aimed at pushing women upward and forward toward fulfilling their purpose and calling in life.

I hope I haven’t confused you by interchangeably using the terms, prompting, urge, and sense. I haven’t met many people who have heard the voice of God audibly. I certainly have not. For me, He speaks by a quiet unmistakable nudging in a particular direction, or contextual words that come to mind, or just knowing something that I would not ordinarily have knowledge of, or a passage of scripture that He shines light on as I read and study the Bible. Also, God will never tell you to do something that is contrary to His written word, the Bible.

You are most probably already hearing God’s voice pushing you towards your purpose, but you’ve probably also been convincing yourself that it’s not Him and doesn’t make sense.

Pause now and ask God to give you confirmation that it’s Him. Read about Gideon, who asked God for multiple confirmations, in Judges 6:36-40. God knows your heart, and He knows that you desire to be in the center of His will, so He will willingly confirm what you very likely already know.

It’s important to note that as with all aspects of our lives as Christ Followers, the Holy Spirit who resides within us helps us with this process. We are not wondering through this or stumbling around blindly. In the absence of an Eli, as Samuel had, to teach us to say, “… speak Lord your servant is listening…” (1 Samuel 3:7-10), Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit who will, “…teach us all things…” (John 14:26).

That’s a start, a very basic introduction to learning to hear God’s voice. Remember that this is a process and you will become better with time, as you trust God more and give up the need to ‘perform’ to be deserving of His love. He already loves you and you could never change that. In addition, His plans are for you to prosper.

As you go through this week, practice listening to the voice of God. The more you do it, the better you will learn His voice. Never be afraid to ask if it is truly Him. He will confirm it to you and you’ll become more confident in knowing His voice.

We would love to hear about your journey, and if you just became a child of God, we have some resources to share with you. Please leave a comment or use the contact us form to connect with us.

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