Listening to God

Take a moment and time yourself. Sit quietly for 3 minutes, eyes closed, center yourself trusting God will place some word or phrase on your heart. God does interact with us all the time. We many times do not take the time to listen. How do you create space to hear from God? How packed is your day with extra items? When have you intentionally created margin in your day to hear from God?

James, the half-brother of Jesus, says in James 4:2, “You want but you don’t have, so you scheme to get it. You are jealous of others but you can’t get it. You don’t have what you want BECAUSE you don’t ask God for it.” And if you’re in dialogue with God, he’s going to answer you in some way.

As disciples of Christ, you and I are called to create the conditions on our end to hear God’s voice in our life. So, what are some ways I do that? Even though I’m a pastor and am constantly working on the “next sermon”, I have my own personal Bible study to hear God’s voice through scripture. I have a persistent prayer life, almost never saying “amen” because as I think, drive, walk, I’m praying. I keep a journal and write down spiritual and life thoughts as the week rolls on. I do my best to surround myself with positive, spiritual-led people so that I stay focused and encouraged. I create space for silence meaning no radio, no podcasts, no talking, no social media…just empty space to hear God speaking to me.

Paul calls us to be “transformed” (Romans 12:1-2). Stop putting it off. It’s time to create the space to be transformed into the beautiful creation you were meant to be in Jesus Christ. May God bless you as you start this journey toward a life with margin to hear God’s voice speak into your life.