How to Hear God's VoiceSample

Way #2: Prayer

Another way the Holy Spirit will speak to us is through prayer.

Charles Spurgeon once said: “When asked, ‘What is more important: Prayer or Reading the Bible?’ I ask, ‘What is more important: Breathing in or Breathing out?’” His point was that both are equally important. You must live by breathing in the Word of God and breathing out prayer. You need both.

Prayer causes you to be in tune with the Spirit. For example, think of a guitar. When I lay my guitar on my lap to tune it, the guitar doesn’t need to do anything. It does not need to worry about anything. It is my responsibility to tune it. The guitar’s only job is to rest on my lap. In the same way, if we wait on the Lord and rest in His presence, His Spirit will tune our hearts to hear what He’s saying. We don’t have to strive or try to force God to speak. That is His job. He will tune you to capture the tone of the Spirit. Your responsibility is to present yourself before Him—to be in prayer and fellowship with the Lord.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

When we are still, the “knowing” will come. When we are still, the mind of Christ becomes elevated in our spirits. When we are still, fleshly impulses and all the noise and distractions begin to subside. Our thoughts become His thoughts. Our feelings become His feelings. What grieves Him grieves us. What gives Him joy brings us joy. What God loves we begin to love. What God hates we begin to hate. And it’s all because of that union of prayer.

You see, prayer prepares your heart to receive the Word of God. I encourage you to prayerfully read the Word. Don’t just read it for the sake of reading it or as a chore. Read it prayerfully, and your heavenly Father will reveal the Word to you in a way that is truly life-changing. The Word will become energized in your spirit.

So, the second way to hear from God is to live a life of prayer. But you must also surrender, or yield, to Him. It’s not about trying to force anything. A life of prayer is a life of yielding, surrender, and rest. Be still and know that He is God. He will be exalted in the nations.