Hearing from God: Can You Learn to Listen?
A guide to understanding, expecting, and practicing communication with God
The Question Most of Us Are Afraid to Ask
Have you ever thought to yourself that you want to hear from God better? Have you wondered if you can hear from God with greater clarity? Or maybe you have had a conversation with someone that brings up these topics.
Most of us fall into a few broad categories when we think about “hearing” from God. Some of us don't think about it much because we haven't experienced it, so we don't ponder or consider it too much. Others hear stories of people who regularly hear from God or experience moments of clarity where they understand what God is saying. Those stories stir something in us, and we would like that same clarity. Then there's another group, people who do hear from God, but erratically, with no seeming pattern or way to understand why sometimes we have clarity and other times there is silence.
What's Happening Beneath the Surface
This is what we want to address today, these kinds of questions. And it goes another layer deeper. Below the surface questions, we ask things like: Should we hear from God? Does God intend for us to hear from Him? Isn't that adding to Scripture, or trying to expand what the Bible says? Our thoughts can swirl around, creating a mix of concerns and questions.
In addition, some of us wonder if hearing from God something only certain people can do, is it a gift some people have and others don't? Or is it a spiritual practice and discipline; something we can work on, improve, and commit ourselves to so we can grow in this area?
For some of us, there is another question that lurks beneath the surface, an identity question. We ask ourselves: Does God even want to talk to me? Is God interested in communicating with me personally? Or am I just another cog in the wheel, someone God doesn't need to speak to directly because others are doing the real ministry work? We demean our role and importance in the body of Christ and disqualify ourselves.
A Story That Started It All
I've wrestled with many of these same questions at different points in my own life. There is a simple story from my childhood, one I've told several times, because it ignited my interest in hearing from God. As I grew older and matured in my faith, walked with Christ, and completed my master's and PhD, I kept digging deeper into this area. But this one experience serves as an anchor.
When I was in grade school, I grew up attending a traditional Mennonite church. The church community rarely discussed the Holy Spirit, how the Spirit worked, or what role the Spirit played. One Sunday evening, I stood in the pews during the service with a pounding migraine, that pain pressing behind my eyes. I tried to sing from the hymnal, gave up, and sat down. I don’t remember even really praying; I just had a thought: Why does my head hurt so bad?
Then, with striking clarity, I heard a voice. Not a literal, audible voice, but a clear, unmistakable voice that said: "Stand up and worship me." It was so clear I turned and looked behind me in the pew, but no one was there. Confused, I realized, “I just need to do this.” Immediately, I stood up and started singing from the hymnal and worshipping God. By the time we reached the chorus, maybe 30 or 45 seconds later, my headache was completely gone!
At the time, I had no framework to understand what had happened. Only in retrospect could I see it: God was working in my favor, communicating something, and helping me. Later, my PhD research explored evangelism and how church plants grow by bringing people to Christ. One of the factors was that those churches regularly encounter the supernatural and engage with experiences beyond the physical world. This impacted people in positive ways so that they came to Christ. My experience and educational formation came together in way that encouraged me to more deeply pursue how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.
Going Deeper
Below, you'll find links to five posts I wrote on this topic towards the end of last year. Each post informs a framework so that we can better understand how we hear from God and what His intent is in communicating with us. We explore how we can receive knowledge and insights beyond our human capability. There is a thread of God’s desire to communicate with us that follows from Eden to the temple to the incarnation and Pentecost.
Three Dimensions: Mind, Heart, and Practice
Here's is the core of our discussion: we need to understand in our minds why hearing from God is good and right. We need to understand in our hearts how God expresses his love and care for us by speaking to us. And we need to understand in practice how this works within the community of Christ Spiritual gifts and hearing from God doesn't exist to elevate one person above others but in order to edify the whole body, for the benefit of everyone.
And within that community context, we must also recognize that whatever we "hear," and I say it that way because God communicates through pictures, visions, sensations, and impressions, we must be willing to submit it to the body of Christ. No one can self-justify an action by saying, "God told me to do this." Words and communication requires submission in the context of the community.
What Happens When We Stop Listening
With all of that in mind, I want us to explore how we become the kind of people who not only understand how to hear God's voice, but who expect God to communicate with us. Because if we don't press into this, we drift toward the belief that God cannot or will not speak to us and that belief can create hard edges in our lives.
When God speaks, He often tells about how we can apply what He has already told us plainly in Scripture. We know we should love one another. We know we should love and honor our spouses. We know we should care for our families and children. But the missing piece is often how — exactly how do we do that well? When is the right moment? What form of love actually lands as love for the person receiving it? It's not enough to say, "I love you, therefore I'm doing this." An important question is: does the other person receive it as love?
God Wants to Speak to You
God brings together seemingly impossible things. And we miss out on that when we fail to recognize that God wants to communicate with us and bring us clarity. I love the verse in John where Jesus tells his disciples: "I no longer call you servants, but friends, because I will tell you everything I am doing." He wants close communication with us.
Below, you'll find a summary of the five blog posts I shared in October and November, along with links so you can read each one in depth. I pray that as we do, our hearts and minds open to what God has for us and that we see his communication as drawing us into deeper relationship with him and with one another.
October 21, 2025: Understanding the Word Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Prayer Ministry
Word gifts such as prophecy, knowledge, wisdom, tongues, and interpretation form a subset of spiritual gifts essential to prayer ministry. They allow believers to minister with supernatural insight beyond natural understanding. While dreams, visions, and signs can also play a role, the focus remains on prophecy, knowledge, and wisdom, as these communicate what the Holy Spirit speaks to strengthen, encourage, and comfort those receiving prayer. READ HERE
October 28, 2025: How Peter Explained Pentecost
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter explained the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, a seismic shift from God speaking to a select few to the Spirit speaking through every believer. This new covenant reality means direct communication with the Holy Spirit is now universally accessible. Pentecost redefined the holiday itself, inaugurating an era in which all believers can hear God's voice and communicate what He says in order to build up others. READ HERE
November 4, 2025: Jesus and Words of Knowledge: Examples for Prayer Ministry
Jesus modeled words of knowledge in his ministry, seen in his encounters with Nathaniel and the Samaritan woman. In both cases, his supernatural knowledge of specific details served two to glorify God and draw people toward faith. These biblical examples help us understand that words of knowledge remain a Spirit-given tool today, affirming individuals, encouraging faith, and creating openings for the gospel. READ HERE
November 11, 2025: Word Gifts in the Early Church
Acts 9 illustrates word gifts in action through Paul's conversion, as the Lord used a vision to direct Ananias to Paul, equipping both men with supernaturally revealed knowledge. This story demonstrates how word gifts bring conviction, provide insight, and reveal God's heart. It also highlights the gift of discernment as essential for testing whether a word aligns with Scripture and points people toward Christ. READ HERE
November 18, 2025: Accessing Word Gifts in Prayer Ministry
Drawing on Peter's Pentecost message, this post establishes that word gifts are accessible to all believers, not only a select group of believers. The key to experiencing God’s voice is cultivating closeness with the Holy Spirit through Scripture, gratitude, and repentance. Practical steps include regular prayer, attentiveness to the Spirit's leading, and using gifts for the common good. The goal, then and now, is helping others encounter God's love and grow in relationship with him. READ HERE
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