How to Clearly Hear God’s Voice and Know His Will
Would you like divine direction when making important decisions for your life? If you are like me, you crave God’s advice for life-altering decisions and everyday tasks. Here are 7 practical ways to clearly hear God’s voice and know His will for your life.
1. Read the Bible to Hear God’s Voice
Only 8.5% of Americans read the Bible on a daily basis according to Christianity Today. How can we know God’s heart if we don’t know His Word?
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2
If you find yourself having no desire to sit down and read, try something new to peak your interest. Test reading a different version that you find easier to comprehend, like the New Living Translation or The Message. The Bible App for your smartphone and Bible Gateway for your computer are completely free and have a ton of version options for you to read. Better yet, listen to one of the many narrators read God’s Word to you on the Bible App. Most importantly, just start somewhere, and even five minutes is better than none!
2. Pray
Don’t overcomplicate this one. Praying is merely speaking to God as if you were speaking to a friend. For instance, you might pray, “Hi, God. I am tired and overwhelmed, and I need your help to make it through today.” Close your eyes and be still for a few seconds, and allow God to speak to your mind. Sometimes God will respond by bringing you a thought to your mind, or He might send someone across your path later in the day to help you. Cleverly, God answers prayers in countless ways, so don’t overlook His answers!
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. -Philippians 4:6 (The Message)
3. Hear God’s Voice Through Teachers of the Bible
Fortunately, technology provides numerous opportunities for us to learn about God. Seek out Bible-based teachers on platforms like podcasts, YouTube, radio, tv, books, and blogs. One obvious way to be taught about God is to attend a church. The more you learn about God, the more you know His will. When you know His will, you will understand how best to respond to the challenges of life.
4. Spend Time with Other Faith-Filled People
Regularly surrounding yourself with other believers is a great way to grow in your relationship with God. Faith-filled friends can remind you of scriptures to encourage you and advise you of godly ways to respond to problems. Joining a Bible study or a small group within your church is an excellent source for finding faith-filled people.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. -Hebrews 10:25 (New Living Translation)
5. Meditate on Scripture to Clearly Hear God’s Voice
Meditating is probably much simpler than you might imagine. Just pick a Bible verse from a chapter you have previously read or on which you have been taught and allow it to sink into your heart. Here’s an example.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” -Romans 8:15
While thinking about the first part of this scripture, I ponder the fact that fear is a slave, and God does not want me to be a slave to fear. God does NOT want me to be fearful. Moving on to the later part of this scripture, I think about this truth: God is my heavenly father. Researching the meaning of abba, I realize it is a personal and intimate way to say father in Aramaic, just as we would say daddy in English. This makes me think of a child being afraid and frantically calling, “Daddy, Daddy!” I know that a good father would quickly run to the child, wrap his arms around him, and encourage him to not be afraid. This is how I should envision God. Wow!
I pray, “God, you are so good to me. Thank you for revealing your heart to me. Please help me to remember to cry out to you when fearful thoughts enter my mind. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!
6. Give God Praise
Within the book of Numbers, we learn that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Does it surprise you to know that it should have been an eleven-day journey? Instead of trusting and obeying God, the Israelites complained and failed to remember all of the miraculous ways they had been blessed. We should learn from their mistake and praise God for the good that he has already done instead of complaining. Here are some practical ways on how to gain a good attitude.
7. Obey God’s Direction When You Hear God’s Voice
After asking God for wisdom, God does not hand us a detailed plan from beginning to end. Instead, he typically offers us one step, and that one piece of guidance does not always make sense because we don’t see the whole picture. Remember that God sees the whole picture, and trust His Word. He has good plans for you; however, he will not give you the next step until you act on the first step.