Hearing God is a sensitive topic. Either you’re viewed as a lunatic or an ordained prophet. In this article, I wanted to share some thoughts on my experiences in this area.
Does God Even Speak to Us?
Before we can discuss the principle of hearing from God, we have to decide whether or not it’s even possible.
I read a lot of books, and lately, those books tend to be directed toward Christian theology. I want to not only study the Bible, but I want to also understand it.
In order to do so, it’s important to grasp the context behind the verse. We need to learn how to “read between the lines” in order to gain insight into the principles presented.
Most of these books mention hearing from God as if it’s a natural thing and simple to do. Just do what God says, and your life will be great.
In fact, a lot of the time, it is presented so flippantly, that it comes off as inconceivable. So let’s turn to our manual for living for some evidence that God does speak to us.
Verses that Explain Hearing God
Isaiah 30:21 says:
"And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or turn to the left."
This verse makes it seem as though God speaks to us directly, even so far as providing directions. Jesus spoke about the wide path and the narrow path. Wouldn’t it be great to have these directions on a daily basis to know how to keep on that narrow path?
In Jeremiah 33:3, we hear:
"Call to me, and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."
This implies that God not only speaks to us, but He also responds to us. So it’s not only that He is providing direction, but it’s a relational conversation.
By this verse, I understand that if I have a troubling situation, God will provide the answer if I ask Him for it.
Unfortunately, in John 8:47, it says:
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."
Therein lies the crux.
God will provide direction, and He will answer our questions – but only if we are of Him. To put it another way, if we are not living life in accordance with His precepts, then it’s unlikely that we’ll be blessed with this conversation. We’ll get back to this point in a bit.
God, the Father
In my spiritual journey, I have come to truly embrace God as my Father. Of course, I have my biological Dad, but God is the true source of all life.
I think, in literary terms, the word “Father” carries more prestige than that of “Dad.” That’s why I prefer to call my dad, “dad,” and God, “Father.”
I’m currently reading How to Hear from God by Joyce Meyer. I’m not very far into it, but right away an analogy is presented that I think is worth sharing here.
I’ll paraphrase, but in essence, the point is that as parents, we naturally want to provide direction to our children. We want them to avoid our mistakes, and we desire them to be successful.
To accomplish this, we guide them. We answer their questions and talk through their hurts. We nurture and develop them. Since God is the Father, isn’t it a natural conclusion that He would do the same for all of us?
That makes sense to me. So if there’s a problem with hearing God, it’s on our end.
My Futility in Hearing God
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, the last few years now have been a developing experience in my spiritual journey. I have built and strengthened my knowledge, faith, and trust.
But I still couldn’t hear God.
After our dog Koda passed, I was distraught. Out of nowhere one day, I was overwhelmed with the desire to document her life. It took me over a year of hard work and persistence, but I wrote and published a book about my little princess.
Looking back, I am certain that God put that idea into my head. At first, I thought it would be a best-seller that would bring thousands to Christ, and that was my purpose in this life.
After selling 12 copies, I realize now that was not the intent. The point was to help me heal. Furthermore, it increased my experience and proficiency in writing and publishing an actual book.
Regardless, I believe that it was for my benefit, and God knew that I had to do it. So He told me to.
How God Speaks to Us
It wasn’t as if I heard an omnipotent, audible voice declare, “Aaron, thou shalt write this book!” thundering from the Heavens. That said, there are examples of God speaking in this manner found in the Bible.
Tell someone that you audibly hear God and they’ll measure you for a straight-jacket.
From what I gather, my experience is a more commonly experienced means of hearing God. A thought that persists; an overwhelming desire that aligns with God’s principles.
In order to know if that thought aligns with God’s principles, one must first understand the principles.
I’ve also read that God speaks to us through the words and actions of others. Someone might say or do something that directly relates to what we’ve been thinking. It’s too coincidental to not come from God.
Why I’m (Usually) Not Hearing God
For the past few years, I’ve prayed consistently to hear God. Usually, it’s something like this:
“Lord, please help me figure out a way to earn more money. We need to build a house, and we can’t afford it with our income. Please show me the path and tell me what to do so I can provide my family with a home.”
At the time, I thought that was what you were supposed to do. Bring your problems to God, and He’ll answer them. Only, I never got a response.
I know that He heard my prayers. I wonder if He was responding, but I didn’t know how to hear Him.
Just as probable, I wasn’t “of” God as it’s mentioned in John. That part kind of stings, to be honest.
I get that I’m not a pious saint, but I felt like I had been growing and becoming a better person. Now, I think that I was missing the point.
Hearing God: A Conversational Relationship
Last week, I finished reading a book called Hearing God by Dallas Willard. The subtitle is Developing a Conversational Relationship with God, and naturally, that’s what the book is about.
Following an example provided in the book, I prayed to hear God. Only, this time I didn’t pray for answers or wisdom. I prayed to hear God, simply for the fact of hearing Him.
I told God that I was lonely. Even though I have friends and family and coworkers, I have a void that’s inside me. I spend a lot of time thinking and conversing with my thoughts. And that’s lonely.
I invited God to join the conversation with me. Really, I think that’s what my subconscious wanted all along, I was just phrasing the question wrong all those years.
It’s not that I wanted an answer about how to make more money (although that would be nice), it was more that I just needed someone to talk to about it. And not just someone, I needed God.
When my dad was still alive, he’d call me out of the blue to chat. Usually, we’d talk about the Vikings, the Twins, or how work was going. It wasn’t often that we discussed things of extreme importance.
It was a casual conversation. Sometimes he’d just stop by my house on his way home from work. We’d chat a bit, and he’d be on his way.
Again, it’s natural that God wants this same type of relationship with His children.
Did I Hear God?
I still don’t know. I’d like to think so, but the experience is still new to me, so I can’t say it with certainty. Let me just tell you the story, and perhaps those of you who have experience in hearing God can help me decide.
After I invited God to join me in this conversational relationship, something happened.
One night last week, I was putting our daughter to bed. She fell asleep in my arms while we were rocking in the rocking chair. She was out cold asleep.
I stood up, walked over to the crib, kissed her, said I loved her and placed her into the crib. All normal stuff.
The strange thing is that she immediately stood up, grabbed my face with both of her hands, and she said, “Daddy, hold onto this.” And then she laid back down and fell asleep.
I didn’t really think anything of it. I thought she was out of it, waking up like that. Maybe she was in the midst of a dream and she was confused or something.
The odd thing is that it happened again, the next time that I put her to bed. The exact same scenario. It was then that I started to wonder if this was God speaking through my daughter in order for me to hear.
What Do You Think?
Like I said, I can’t really claim to know that I heard God. I’ve had feelings, and I do believe that God spoke to me through my daughter. But I don’t know it.
Furthermore, I can’t decisively verbalize the meaning of what she told me. I have my suspicions, but I’d like to hear your thoughts.
If you have experience in hearing God, I’d love to hear about it below. I’d like to know if what I experienced was, in fact, God speaking to me. And I would very much like some insight into the meaning besides my own thoughts.
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