Does God Care? How Do You Hear God Part Two

Last week my daughter woke up coughing and with what looked very much like the flu. As a working mom, I always feel pressure when this sort of thing happens. Should I call in to work and stay home with my child? Or, should I call a grandparent to watch her for the day? Or, should I send her to school and hope that it’s not that bad? All options seem to have pros and cons which are quite different for me and for my daughter. The thought crossed my mind…“Ask Jesus”. But does Jesus really care about this sort of stuff, isn’t He up in Heaven keeping the planets from bumping into each other? Does He have time for my little dilemma?

Ask Him Questions 

Many times we don’t hear God’s voice because we never stop to ask Him what we should do. Yet this is exactly what God wants us to do, He wants to be part of all areas of our lives. If we would only make a habit of asking God what to do (it only needs to take a minute!!), in all sorts of every day decisions, He would LOVE to give us the best advice around! We’d all look like geniuses in our personal lives and in ministry if we just would learn to ask God about everything.

Recognize the Sound of God’s Voice

Once we get to the place where we are willing to ask the Lord questions then we need to learn to recognize the sound of God’s voice. Usually hearing God’s voice is not a big spiritual experience. We need to look for the still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). The fact is that God almost always speaks through simple thoughts in our heads. Too often we miss out on His voice by dismissing His talking as being our own thoughts, or the thoughts of others (1 Samuel 3:1-10).

How to Listen 

Ask God to speak to a particular situation. Then have a moment of silence (could be just a few brief moments). Write down the stuff that come into your mind, God often speaks through:

• Thoughts and impressions 
• Pictures in your mind 
• Words which come to your mind 
• Scripture 
• A song 

Write down the first thought, impression, picture, or word which comes to your mind after you ask God something. Act on what you heard, there is nothing more important to cultivating the Voice of God in your life than obeying those little promptings and words He gives you. Of course, you need to remember that God won’t ask you to do anything that isn’t backed up by Scripture. If you’re not sure then pray with a godly friend or church leader who can help you figure things out. Sometimes there is a time delay. Keep listening, even if you sense silence, often times He will wait a bit to speak to you. Don’t get discouraged! If He doesn’t speak right away, go on with your day, or keep on praying. You’ll probably find that later in the day you’ll get an ‘idea’ or thought which relates to what you asked God. That’s God’s voice! Write it down! This often happens to me while I’m in the shower or in the bathroom. Sometimes I get nothing in prayer and then I go outside to weed the garden or shovel the driveway and all of a sudden I get clarity on something…I run inside and write it down. God speaks all the time, while I’m driving, while I’m doing chores, etc. Don’t limit His speaking to your devotion times.

 Dealing with Distractions 

Often people find that their minds wonder when they listen in prayer. That’s OK, mine does too. I have to be intentional about settling my brain down before I have my devotions. Yet there is more than we can do about this. My #1 rule: watch your Inputs. We learned last week about the importance of soaking in Scripture, reading the Bible is a GOOD input into your mind. Unfortunately we live in an incredible LOUD culture. If we want to hear God better, often we need to decrease the input that our culture has in our lives. Increasing positive inputs is essential but at the same, we must be decreasing the input from ungodly sources. What are some of the main ungodly sources of input in our lives?

• Negative Media: TV, movies, books, music, internet, cell phone 
• Negative friends/family members 

In order for you to grow in hearing God, there will probably be some negative inputs that you need to reduce. It is important that we don’t make rash generalizations about these things. Spend some time listening in prayer asking God what inputs need realigning in your life. You may be surprised at what He shows you.

So, what did I end up doing about my sick daughter? I did take a few moments and asked the Lord what I should do. It was quite interesting what He showed me. He gently showed me that she wasn’t really “that” sick and that she probably could have gone to school but that on this particular morning, she needed to know that she was more important than mommy’s job. She needed to feel my care and love for her and she emotionally needed me to stay home with her. So…that’s exactly what I did. I explained to her that I still had work to do (I spent the entire morning working on the computer) and she sat right beside me on the sofa reading a book. But she knew that she was important, she knew that I cared and I still got all my work done. It was a win-win! Thank you Lord!