Listening to God (Part 1)

Have you ever wondered what God is saying to you? Many people feel as if they can't hear God and as a result they walk around aimless, clueless, and lost. You can tell people that know they've heard God because they're doing what He said to do. Some hear and are in denial of what He said, so they act as if they're deaf and need clarity. There are those people that are new to hearing the voice of God and actually want to know how you do it.  Here are some ways you can know God is speaking to you.

-Learn to listen to God through instinct.  

Sometimes instinct is God's way of telling you something. If you sense you should do a thing, then you should probably do that thing, as long as that thing lines up with Scripture. You may be out running errands and you believe you should take a different route home. That could be God telling you to take another route home instead of the normal way. Even if you don't see any tangible construction or danger ahead, sometimes it's good to follow your instinct.

-Learn to listen to God through the Scripture

The Scripture is what God has already said. He's not going to say anything that's contrary to what He has said previously. God is not schizophrenic, hypocritical or confused. He is true to the things He's said before, and will say them again if need be.

-Learn to listen to God through prayer

Prayer is communication with God. You talk to God, and God talking to you. You have to make time for Him to talk to you. Often times we talk to God and dump our requests on Him and then go about our business and God is ready to say something back to us. You don't talk to anyone else like that, so give Him the courtesy of speaking as well.

-Learn to listen to God through nature

God made the earth and everything in it. It has the ability to speak to us in a way that people cannot. God's creation speaks of power and might and stability and many other attributes. Sometimes it's great to just take a trip to a place where you know you'll get peace and quiet and reflect and enjoy nature. You can look out into the ocean and get answers to some of life's hardest questions without asking a thing.

-Learn to listen to God through observation

Watch the world around you and you will see what God is saying. As you're watching, pray about what you see. It's not always about what's on the surface but there's usually an underlying thing God wants you to notice, especially if you see a trend happening. God operates in patterns, so be aware of patterns going on around you, whether it's good or bad. God may be trying to tell you something.