Exercises

Hebrews 5:14 states, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Developing your ability to hear God’s voice requires training and effort. Below are some ideas that you can put into your “training routine”:

But, first and foremost! Ask Father, in Jesus’ name, to give you ears to hear. Father longs, He greatly desires for all of His children to hear His voice. He will give you ears to hear, if you ask Him. He might even show you areas in your life that need to be removed or forgiven before your ears are ready to hear. He might even lead you to fast for a period of time. (Fasting has a way of ‘clearing out the ear wax’ and sharpening our ability to hear.) Be expecting, willing, and prepared for anything.

Give God-like attention to anyone who speaks to you

1 John 4:20 contains a powerful truth: “If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

That verse reveals that the heart-attitude we have towards our brother or sister whom we can see is the limiting factor of the heart-attitude we have towards God whom we cannot see. In the context of hearing God’s voice, how we listen to someone else is how we will listen to our Father.

Put your agenda aside, put your accomplishments aside, put your opinion aside, and really listen to the person who is speaking to you. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

Give God All of Your Attention, Regularly

In today’s fast pace of life, it’s not always possible to give God 100% of your attention every moment of the day. On a daily basis, set time aside to be alone with Him—to be quiet, to be still, and to listen.

Yes, listen. Many Christians feel that when they are praying that they should be talking the entire time. Praying is a two-way communication.

It’s not the quantity of time that you set aside to pray and be in His presence—it’s the quality of that time that you set aside.

God honors the pure motives in your heart towards Him, not what you do in outward appearance. He is drawn to the person who spends 15 minutes in solitude whose heart is yearning for a word from Him and drawn away from the person who spends 2 hours clock-watching and just putting time in with the attitude of, “I pray 2 hours a day.”

Be still before Him in solitude with an expectant heart and listening ears on a daily basis for whatever time you are able.

Give attention to repeated thoughts

Have you ever received a phone call from someone you were just thinking about? Or someone was on your mind and heart for days until you interceded for them? Have you had thoughts that repeat, like, “Close all the windows in the house before going to sleep.”? Oftentimes, we don’t recognize repeated thoughts as originating from our Father. Notice every thought that passes into your mind (2 Corinthians 10:5) and soon you will notice a pattern and the quality of our Shepherd’s voice.            

See as God sees

”See? I thought we’re discussing hearing?” Perhaps another title here could be “Understanding as God Sees”.

Here in the United States, we are constantly bombarded with the importance of appearance: nice cars, nice homes, fashionable clothing, cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dentistry, etc. Unless we Christians are watchful, we will forget that our Heavenly Father sees the unseen—the heart—and that is what we too should see.

Take for example, a very successful Christian businessman who serves faithfully on the deacon board. To many in America’s churches, he is looked up to, and respected for his 7-figure yearly income. Yet, inwardly, that person’s heart could be the farthest from loving God. We need to see past the external.

In Revelations 3:17, Jesus sends a prophetic message to the Church in Laodicea: “You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” We need to understand that the external can easily create a false impression of the internal—that which is physical can conceal that which is spiritual.  

Learn to distinguish between His voice and your own voice/thoughts/desires

Your own voice, thoughts, and desires will serve only you. His voice will speak words that bring life and glorify Him. His voice contains a “flavor” that no other voice contains. Jesus said that His sheep know and listen to His voice (John 10:27). The ability to distinguish His voice from all other voices is available to everyone.  

Notice impressions you might get when in the company of another person

Hearing God’s voice requires a sensitivity to something that originates in the spirit realm. As your sensitivity to His voice increases, you’ll get impressions from the spirit realm. (There is a demonic source, but that’s not the scope of this topic—do not confuse this ability with demonic divination.) A person’s spiritual condition, good or bad, is like the physical odor(s) they give off, whether it’s perfume/cologne, or the sign that a good shower is needed.

Impressions, divine impressions, can contradict our natural senses. A divine impression, for example, about a person can reveal a gall bladder condition when the person looks quite healthy (this is classified as a word of knowledge).

You can also feel emotions, no matter how hard they try to hide them. You can feel the depression a depressed person is feeling. You can feel the uplifting joy on someone who is full of God’s love and life. Other impressions can include: peace, confusion, love, restlessness, patience, and fear. Receiving these impressions can help you truly listen to others and understand what’s actually going on inside of them, rather than getting clues only from the words they speak.

Here’s a comparison using emotions that we all can identify with. In a room is a large group of people and they are all laughing about a story that was just told. When you walk into that room while everyone is laughing, you too will feel that emotion and be affected. Quite possibly, without even knowing what’s been said, you too will laugh. Similarly, when you walk into a hospital’s waiting room where everyone is crying because they were just told that a family member died, you will feel that sorrow and mourning.

(This topic is discussed further in the Ears-2-Hear Teachings.)