On my Desensitized blog Rebecca asked for some depth on the discipline of listening to God, and so I want to take a stab at that. Let me preface by saying I’m just putting up how I teach this to teams and this is not the end all be all of how God works and speaks, but is a great introduction
Firstly, recognize that there are many things vying for our attention, and in my experience those that take the longest to learn to hear the Spirit are those that simply need to spend time learning to quiet those extra voices. We break it down into 4 categories – the flesh, the world, the enemy, and the Spirit. The flesh is obvious, when we try to still ourselves to hear, our imaginations can fill the void rather relentlessly. The world is the preconceptions of what is good for us. What we’ve been trained to think of as success or the way to provide that is actually not centered on God, along with all those ‘to do list’ things that pop up when we stop moving. The voice of the enemy I’m sure needs no explanation, as it usually sounds like the first two with some lies thrown in the mix.
Then there’s the goal, the voice of the Spirit. So whenever I’m trying to listen I start off by asking God to silence each of the other three in turn – giving Him my own thoughts and asking that He help me silence them; giving Him my to do list and trusting that it will be looked after as I am in faith giving Him this time; and asking that God would jealously guard my mind in this time from the enemy and his lies. In addition to these things, I ask if there is any sin in me that needs confessing. While sin does not keep us from speaking with God, it has a way of muddying the waters, much like a fight with a spouse makes it a little harder to listen to them, even if they’re right, until there has been forgiveness.
That’s the practical start. There’s a whole other side to be aware of though, and that’s your attitude, where you’re sitting spiritually. Check your heart as to whether you’re truly submitted to God’s leadership. Usually when we ask a question, we’ve got a framework in which we expect the answer to fit. Do I take this job or that one, for instance. We may not even be asking the right questions. Be sure you’re open to God telling you He doesn’t want you working right now, for example, and trusting Him, but more than that pull back from such pointed questions. Those types of questions can be a good starting point as you get used to this kind of prayer life, but know that God desires a real relationship with you, so maybe try just listening to what He’s saying today instead of always dominating the conversation with the direction YOU want to take it in. Also, pray with expectancy. Expect God to speak, whatever He may say.
So, real practical steps, cause I know so many of you need it, but know that there are more ways coming. 1. Grab your bible, a journal/writing surface of some sort, and a pen. Get to where you can be less easily distracted. Set the time aside, maybe 30 minutes as a start, and plan to do this every day for at least this week to get into it. 2. Pray, as I described above, checking your heart as you do, and if you feel the need ask Him something, or just ask Him to reveal His heart to you today. 3. Write down what He leads you to, be it verses, people, events, anything. As things are brought to your attention, if you’re still not sure that it’s God, just keep asking – if a person pops into mind and you’re not sure why, you just give it back to God asking Him to clarify what to do with that thought. They’ll come back up in a different context or mental image before long, or not at all. God speaks in a million ways, and training yourself to recognize the urgings of the Spirit is a process. 4. Check what you’re hearing – does it exalt Christ, does it line up with scripture, do other believers confirm it, does it produce good fruit, and does God bring it to pass.
If you keep getting distracted, keep taking thoughts captive and persevere. As I said, it can take awhile just to train yourself to shut up. And if the whole time is spent on that, don’t worry, you’ll do it again tomorrow, and it’s good training. First time I did this it took me 3 days of learning to be still before I started getting anywhere, and those 3 half hour sessions were great simply for the stillness. Also, if it’s stuff that you need to do coming to mind, make a quick note and ask God to be over that so it can be out of your mind. I hope that gives you good grounds to start, post your comments and questions, and get going. More to come tomorrow.
