It’s easy to speak to God.  Anyone can do that.  But can everyone hear God speak back?  Let’s dive into 5 different tools that will help you hear God.  At the end of every practical tool, there is a practical challenge for you, this way you can put into practice what you learn.  

1. Forgiveness.

Matthew 6:5-15 has loads of instructions on prayer, but the one I want to highlight the most is forgiveness.  You might not think that forgiveness is an obvious tool in hearing God, but it’s included right in the Lord’s Prayer: 

  “Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

A few verses down, Jesus also says “forgive, and you shall be forgiven.  If you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive you.”(Matthew 6:14-15).
  Yikes, that’s pretty serious.  You might think it can’t be that bad, but let me explain something to you about forgiveness.

  I facilitate prayer sessions with people; kids, teens, adults, college students, business owners, married couples, divorcees, Christians, AND non-Christians.
  At the beginning of a session, I usually say “Let’s start with forgiveness. You might know people who you already need to forgive, but some random people might come up as well.”  Only once, a person was unwilling to forgive someone in their past, they wept at the thought of how they were hurt.  Even though they wanted to hear God and experience what He had for them, they weren’t able to forgive and that cut the session quite short.

  Unforgiveness closes the door in your heart to what God wants to give you.  Forgiveness opens that door back up.  It’s a part of my daily prayer regime to forgive people, and ask forgiveness from God.  It has been a game-changer to not carry all the guilt and all the anger from unforgiveness. 

  Challenge:
Ask God for a list of 3 people (if it’s more, that’s okay) you need to forgive.  In your own time, forgive those people.  

2. Read & Declare the Bible.

  One of the things I teach to those I mentor is making a practice of reading the bible and making declarations over yourself from it.  Everyone will have a verse that God highlights for them (if you haven’t found yours, it’s okay, keep reading!).  Using that verse will be a small key that unlocks a very large treasure chest when you use it.

Challenge:
Take time to read your bible after you forgive people, ask God to highlight some verses and write them down.  Put them in an easily accessible place to remind you to read and pray.

My favorite verses for kickstarting the ability to hear Jesus are these (they are in my day planner so I can’t forget):
John 14:14
Jeremiah 33:3
Daniel 2:22
Matt 6:10

3. Fast From Negativity.

  On a long weekend a couple of years back, I went camping and did not read any news, look at any posts, and I did not allow myself to linger on any negative thoughts.  We all have those intrusive thoughts about people we don’t like, but have to love (because, y’know, the Lord).  I didn’t allow myself to dwell on even the potential of a negative outcome in the future, or remembering “that one time 8 years ago when I did an embarrassing thing.”  It was really freeing, and I do this on a regular basis now.

  I say the word “fast,” pointedly.  Because it’s one thing to just go off social media to be productive.  But it’s another thing to commit the time to focusing on God more than what’s going on in your heart, on your phone, or in the past.

Challenge:
Take a weekend “off.”  Delete your apps, give your phone to someone else, put it in a safe, drive over it with your car – do whatever you have to do to detach from social media.  After that, make a mental note all weekend to focus on the good things, and not to let the bad things distract you.

4. Take Time to Pray

This one fits the title of “painfully obvious”,  but some of us might be resistant to it.  I’ve heard this often:

  “I think it’s too robotic or mechanical to have a schedule or ‘slot in time’ for Jesus.  I want it to be a natural thing, an inspired time of prayer.  Not something like, ‘I have time for you on Wednesday at 4, o’ King of Kings.’”  

   If I said that about going to the gym, I would never progress with my physical fitness.  I would never reach the goals I want for myself, I would become stale and lazy.  It’s the same thing in faith.  I encourage people to start with 10 minutes of prayer and Bible reading 3 times a week.  Sometimes, people think that it’s not that big of a deal to do 10 minutes of prayer & Bible time 3 times a week.  If you’re reading this and feel the same, I encourage you to do this 6 times a week.  It’s the constant practice of maintaining the relationship with God that makes us more connected to Him.
Challenge:
Take 10 minutes 3 times this week to read your bible and pray.  If you feel like that’s too easy, adjust the time length and frequency to your own desire.  Ask for some biblical revelation before you read and spend time listening in prayer.

5. Read and Write Down Testimonies

  Something that boosts our faith to take on tasks that seem near-impossible is reading the testimony of another person. 

  Have you ever heard of the Four Minute Mile?  It’s a record that was broken in 1954 by Rodger Bannister.  Most people thought it was physically impossible to run a full mile in under four minutes.  People tried, and tried again, and most eventually gave up trying to obtain that goal. 
Until Rodger came along, and ran a full mile in three minutes, and fifty-nine point 4 seconds.  After that, people tried again, and the record was continuously broken.  Now, the new record is 3:43.13 (ran by Hicham El Guerroj).  That is almost 17 seconds from impossible.  The people who heard of Rodger Bannister’s story (or testimony) inspired other people to believe the same.  I’m slowly writing down a list of testimonies from people I know and have prayed with to constantly boost my own faith. 

Challenge:
Find a church or a conference website and look for their testimony page.  Read some, and ask for God to do the same in your life.  If you attend a church, ask someone if they have a similar area for resources.  To help you remember the times God has moved and spoke in your own life, start a journal.  

***

  At the end of this, you might think that some of these won’t actually work.  You might think that because God is sovereign He doesn’t need you to use any of these tools for Him to speak to you.  While His sovereignty is there, there’s a humility about God where He asks for you to not just be in awe of His majesty, but to be His friend, too.  Jesus died on the cross for all to receive a relationship with Him, so why not believe that if we ask Him into our hearts, we get the ability to hear Him along with that?  To gain a new skill, get some gains in the gym, or learn a new language, you have to dedicate time to it.  Start this upcoming week off with a time where you go through forgiveness.  Then, find time in your schedule to have some bible and prayer times, in those times, write down verses that speak to you.  At the end of the week, get off your phone and get away from the news.  Finally, write down what you noticed in your emotional, mental, and spiritual life.  Use it as a platform to take bigger steps in hearing God.