5 Ways to Hear God’s Voice and Let Him Lead
God’s direction can easily be misguided in a world full of plans, goals, and deadlines. Calendars and project management tools keep you focused on the task at hand, but if you don’t allow God the margin to intervene, those tools can hinder the Greater Plan.
So, how do you set a pace that respects God’s timing and His ultimate goals? The answer is connection. By recentering yourself, connecting with God, and listening to His promptings, you can set a pace to let God lead and respect His timing.
Implementing simple practices into your life will help you achieve connection and receive guidance. Use these five practices to hear God’s voice and allow Him to guide your steps.
Turn off notifications.
Have you ever been deep in your devotion time to be distracted by a nagging *DING* on your phone? According to Duke University’s Center for Advanced Hindsight, the average person receives 65 to 80 notifications a day on their phone. If you break that down, that’s roughly one notification every 20 minutes. Since it can take up to 25 minutes to get back on track from a distraction, you can see that it’s nearly impossible to stay focused these days. While not a full-proof way to remove distractions, turning off notifications can be a great way to remain focused while you spend time with the Lord.
Write in a journal.
You’ve heard it many times before, but writing in a journal is KEY to hearing God’s voice. If you are not a fan of physically writing in a journal, you can use your phone or computer to take notes or even dictate your thoughts on the phone. The goal is to get your thoughts out of your head to see them visibly. Physically seeing your thoughts allows God time to speak to you through the Holy Spirit and the words on the page. Don’t have anything to write? Try doodling. God can communicate to you through anything, so just let it all out in whatever way feels right for you.
Spend time alone.
Spending time alone with God may be the hardest thing to do on this list. Many of us have packed schedules filled with responsibilities, and even when you have a moment to spare, quiet is a luxury. People have access to you whenever they want these days, so having planned and intentional times away is critical to hear from God. Jesus did this – so we need to as well. Take a full day, a few hours, or minutes – whatever it needs to be. You can bring your Bible, listen to a Christian podcast, or sit in silence. Remain tethered to the Lord during your quiet time alone. And don’t be afraid to include your community of support to help keep you accountable.
Listen to worship music.
If you struggle with finding the right words to say or have a hard time turning your mind off, listening to worship music can be a fantastic way to connect and hear from the Lord. You can listen and soak it all in or sing using the words as your own in beautiful praise to God. Although dedicated time is preferred, this method of connection and worship is easy to do on the go when you need His direction, but life demands are heavy.
Read the Bible.
Mic drop. Kidding, but this is a no-brainer. To hear God’s voice, you need to understand His heart and desires for your life and others, and there is no better way to do that than to read the Bible. It’s simply the most extraordinary love story and life guide ever written. So, why wouldn’t you want to dive in and learn from the best teacher available?
God wants us to come away and rest with Him to allow Him to restore and renew us. He is good and faithful and will provide the direction you need in the areas you need it. You are a part of His Greater Plan. So surrender your life to Him to give Him the freedom to lead you to His purpose.
To learn about more practices in letting God lead, listen to Episode 32 of the Faith Inspired Podcast, where we talk about How to let God lead with guest Dre Barthel.
