Is God speaking to you?

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Comments about the last article revealed this truth: people's distractions interfere with hearing God's voice either as clearly or as consistenly as they would like.

In the book How to Hear God's Voice by Mark and Patti Virkler, the authors suggest for internal distractions,

1) writing down thoughts that flutter to the surface,
2) confessing sins as you become aware of them, and
3) focusing on a visual image of Jesus in your mind.

This assumes that the pray-er is in a quiet physical space. In The Art of Practicing His Presence, James W. Goll discusses how important it is to find a quiet place for meditative prayer. One must purpose to find a quietness with minimal distractions. He teaches that neither internal nor external distractions will go away without effort.

John Eldredge has good ideas in Walking with God on how to begin practicing hearing God's voice. He says that once someone determines he wants to hear God's voice, he can begin asking questions of God.

Hearing God's voice in a crisis, Eldredge says, is harder than when things are calm. So, he suggests starting out by asking God simple questions about ordinary things. He gives his own example of asking God if he should go to the ranch that weekend or not.

A reader, Chris, commented on Hearing God's voice, "I sometimes hear His voice when I am writing my prayers to Him. If I take the time to slow down and write what is on my heart, especially if it is a subject I am struggling with, I start hearing Him dictating what to write. I generally know it is God because what I am hearing relates to His Word in the scriptures."

Eldredge's concept is that, with practice, a person will hear God's voice more clearly and more regularly over time. Goll is of the same mind--practicing the mental discipline is essential. The more the person practices, the more intimate he becomes with God.

For those of you who say, "God knows my address and if He wants to talk to me, He knows where to find me," take a look at these Scriptures:

". . . . the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; . . ." 2 Chronicles 15:2 NASB

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8 NASB
 

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