Are You Listening?

I don't know about you but when I read this title it immediately reminds me of the Christmas song "Winter Wonderland" Michael Bublé - Winter Wonderland [Official HD] - YouTube however, this is not what I am referring to in this message today.

Friends, God is speaking to us each and every day, the question is: are you listening? I've heard some say that God doesn't speak to them, but I would respectfully disagree. I believe God IS speaking to them, but they haven't spent enough time with Him to recognize His voice.

So how do we begin recognizing God's voice?

The first step is to pray: Ask God to reveal Himself to you and when he does don't dismiss it or minimize it, some people say "that was just a coincidence" but I would disagree. I believe God is divinely orchestrating our lives right down to the smallest detail and it's imperative we pay attention, because there are no coincidences.

The second step is to spend time alone: This means turning your phone off completely and do not listen to music or podcasts, go for a walk alone or sit quietly by the water's edge and begin paying attention to all the sounds of nature and allow God to speak to your heart.

The third step is to read the Bible: God reveals Himself is through His Word, but this means we must read it and meditate on it daily. Pray before you begin reading and ask God to reveal His message to you through the specific passages you are reading. The more you do this the easier it will be to recognize when His convictions are guiding and directing your steps.

Last but not least: Begin training your mind to quiet down, turn your thoughts off and feel the peace that washes over you when you do. The more you do this, the easier it will become and the more you'll enjoy this time alone with God.

Numbers 12:6 NIV

"he said, Listen to my words: When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams."

The quote above shows us how to know if God is speaking to us. I can tell you that number two is true for me, God gives me messages in twos, as if He wants to make sure I heard Him the first time! I often wonder if that is because I am hearing impaired? When I hear the message the second time, I always acknowledge it with an "okay God I'm listening" to show that I am indeed hearing Him and trusting what He is putting on my heart.

Daniel 1:17 NIV

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

When you are in a crowded room it can be extremely difficult to hear someone talking even when they are sitting next to us right? Well, this is how I feel it is when we can't hear God speaking. We have so much noise surrounding around us that we aren't able to hear Him. We need to disconnect from social media, turn off the TV and learn to sit quietly without distractions.

Remember God created each one of us, which means He knows exactly how to speak in a way that you will hear Him. For some this means through visions and dreams, music or even other people, and at times it can be your gut instinct, you just know without a doubt you need to follow His lead. Moses is a man that God spoke directly to, Daniel and Paul were guys who could interpret dreams and visions. How is God speaking to you?

Numbers 12:5-9

Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, "Listen to my words: When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him i speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. When then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.

Friends, I hope you will take this message to heart and begin spending time with God.

Exodus 33:11

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Remember, the more time you spend with God the easier it is to recognize His voice!

Written by: Jill Theriault

Crossroads Coaching - @crossroadscoachingongodstime