One of the most frequently asked questions I get as a pastor is, “How do I hear from God?” or “How can I recognize when God is speaking to me?” So, I want to give you a little lesson on prayer and hearing from God. The following are habits that I have developed in my own life, which I think will help you as well.

Prayer should be more than a one-way conversation from you to God. We want to be able to hear from Him regarding our lives and the decisions we have to make on a daily basis. If the only thing my kids wanted to do was to complain to me or tell me their problems without listening to my response, it would do them little to no good. We are the same way. Yes, times of “venting” to God is needful, but we need to be skilled at listening for the answers to our problems.

So, here are 6 simple tips on how you can hear God's voice better. 

• Make time. This seems like a no-brainer, but if you want to get to know the voice of God, then you need to spend time with Him. My kids don’t need me to tell them who I am when they hear my voice because they have spent a lot of time with me. Schedule your time with God. I like to get up early at 5:00am while everything is quiet and there are no other distractions. I get my tea and sit down with Him. A lot of times I will leave my phone somewhere else so I don’t have the urge to get on it.
• Praise Him. Begin your prayer time by praising God and thanking Him for the many blessings in your life. If you need to make a list to help you, do it. The Bible says in Psalms 22:3, “But You are Holy, You who inhabits the praises of Israel.” God showed up when the children of Israel praised Him and He will show up for you too. You can also play a praise or worship song to help you.
• Talk to Him. Have a conversation with Him as you would have with a friend. I will often lift prayer requests up to Him, but I also do a lot of just sitting in His presence and listening for what He speaks to my heart. I think we tend to make this more difficult than it really is. We would all be amazed at how much we are actually hearing Him speak to us without even really recognizing it.
  Let me explain. You are a 3-part being. You are a spirit, you have a soul (mind, will, and emotions) and you live in a body. When the Holy Spirit speaks to us, He speaks to our spirits. Our soul then acts as a filter or a transmitter that picks up on what the Holy Spirit is speaking to your spirit. Because it goes through your soul, you will hear or get unctions from Him that sound like your own voice. We have all experienced having a strong feeling or intuition about something or someone. Hearing from God is a lot the same. Sometimes it comes through an unction or a feeling - like a feeling of peace. Other times you may have one word or a picture come to you. Bottom line is that the more you practice hearing Him the more you will recognize His voice. Besides, John 10:27 says, “My sheep hear My voice.” Well, you are His sheep so believe you can hear His voice.
• Read the Bible. The primary way we learn His voice is to read His letters. Most of the time He will speak to you through a scripture reading. Pray for Him to speak to you through His word before you begin to read. When you read, take your time. If a scripture seems to stick out to you, stop and re-read it. Think about it. Write down the thoughts that come to you regarding that scripture. It might not seem like anything new to you, but it will encourage you just the same.
• Write it Down. Like I said, keep a journal with you and write down what you feel the Holy Spirit is speaking to you out of His Word and from your spirit. Remember, however, that He will NEVER contradict His Word. He will never tell you to do something that is not backed up by what the Bible says.
• Make it a habit. It takes 21 days to make a habit. Therefore, you need to work at making your morning (or evening) time a consistent habit. Create such a dependence on God that you will feel incomplete for missing a day.

Remember that God’s desire is to have a relationship with you. He wants to be known by you and for you to hear and recognize His voice in your life.

We devoted a podcast episode. Check out How to Hear God's Voice For Your Marriage

Let us know how you best hear from God in the comments.