On hearing God

Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m very big on purpose. Purpose is the reason I wake up every day, with the knowledge that there is a particular people out there who ought to benefit from God’s deposits in my life. 

But guess what this lifestyle has made me discover.

I’ve realized that to really fulfill purpose/destiny, you have to figure out how to hear God for yourself.

Sure, we’re wired to make mistakes once in a while as we journey through life, but trust me, there are some mistakes that do not have to be made. [Like choosing the wrong career path, friendships or partner.] And the only guaranteed way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to hear God. For yourself.

So maybe you’re thinking, “How do I make that happen?”

Follow me.

1.        Join the family:

The first step to being able to hear God is to be sure that you are born again, [and that’s just a fancy way of saying you have given your life over to Christ to not just be your Father and Friend, but also a Lord, Master and Guide.]

 Sure, everybody is God’s creation, but not everyone is God’s child. God can only regularly speak to His own children because He knows they will hear Him.

Remember John 10:27? “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.”

2.       Get in the Word:

If this has been a herculean task for you in the past, and you’ve struggled to read/enjoy the Bible, you might want to change your mind set.

You see, the Bible is God’s love letters to you. It’s His way of helping you follow the path that he has already paved to your success and prosperity.

It is a living, breathing voice of comfort, assurance and direction.

As helpful as other things/people may be, they won’t be as helpful in pointing you in the specific directions you need to take for specific areas of your life.

3.       Believe:

When you don’t really believe that God can speak to you in very clear and personal terms, you create a subtle, but very strong wall between you and the voice you so desperately want to hear.

God wants to speak to you. He wants to guide you in EVERY decision that can make or mar you, but you must not make room for the enemy to play you.

Believe God doesn’t just want to speak to your parents or pastors, but also to YOU, it’ll begin to work for you.

4.       Be intentional:

So you have twenty-four hours in a day, and sometimes, at the end of it, you wish there was more. I know! Trust me, I know! There’s always so much life to catch up on, so many things to do...

Yet, ever noticed that communication keeps relationships alive? Cut off the communication lines between you and your best friend and whatever you had between you two will begin a gradual death.

 If God’s voice is top priority to you, you can’t just wish for it to happen. You MUST find time for it. Every. Single. Day.

Remember, the power is not really in the duration (though this is a big plus), it’s in the consistency.

 ‘Off and on Christians’ can’t really know the voice of God.

5.       Submit your way:

Most of us are used to making our own decisions, without being accountable to anyone or anything and surprisingly, it might have been working for you. But should I shock you?

Sometimes the things/people that are very right to us are the farthest from the plans God has. I know it hurts our pride to hear that, but it’s the truth.

To hear God, you have to be willing to be wrong and allow Him be right [‘cuz He is].

More so, The Holy Spirit is a gentle man Spirit. He won’t force you to do anything. He’ll instruct you and allow you make the final choice.

 I hope you choose His way.

 

6.       PRAY always!

This one seems a bit obvious, but guys, I admit, it is HARD {needed to use capitals for that one}

Always? Like every second, every minute or what?!

Don’t panic, relax.

It doesn’t mean you should put the rest of your life on hold and lock yourself in, every hour of every day, praying. You can’t actively change the world that way, can you?

It only means to keep tabs with God every time.

It’ll amaze you how many times in the day we stop to worry, cry, sigh or even say, “nawa o”.

How about we just whisper to God in those moments? Something like, “God help me,” or “Holy Spirit take control.”

Simple, but effective, guys. Trust me.

 

7.       Stop talking!

If number six was hard, this is HARDER!

I never knew I liked to talk so much until I realized ninety-nine percent of what I called prayer was just me talking and crying and begging God.

Maybe the reason why you can’t hear God is because you don’t give Him a chance to even speak!

 Sometimes you just need to go still in His presence and meditate on Scripture. You’d be amazed how much wisdom God would reveal to you.

 

That's all for now!

N.B; This is by no means an exhaustive list, because God speaks to us in various ways. These are only strategies that would position you to hear God’s voice yourself. I hope this helped!

See you in the next post.