Maybe you, like me, sense that it’s getting noisier by the moment. With the onslaught from social media, the constant bombardment from the various news outlets, coupled with the various people in my life who have things they want me to hear, I feel like I’m on audio-overload some of the time, if not most of the time. 

I am reminded that John 10 clearly says His sheep hear His voice. Sometimes I find it difficult to pick out His voice among all the other voices yelling at me to do this or that, buy this or that, be here or there or make this or that decision.

I have said on multiple occasions that the most important thing on a leader’s job description might not actually be on their job description. 

That one thing is to hear regularly from God. 

Those of you who read my posts know that I very much enjoy Eugene Peterson’s The Message. 

Here are three verses that really speak to my heart on the subject of hearing from God as I allow him to speak to me and guide me.

“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,  loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”

~ Psalm 46:10

“Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track”

~ Proverb 3:6

“But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God given me the work to do, God given me the energy to do it.”

~ 1 Corinthians 15:10

I deeply desire to daily step out of the traffic of life and spend quality time looking lovingly to Him and experience the grace, peace, perspective and guidance He wants to offer me. There are  people driving behind me leaning on their horns asking me to do more and go faster, when the need of there hour may for me to exit the freeway into a rest stop for a while.

I deeply desire to listen for His voice in everything I do, everywhere I go.

I deeply desire to allow Him to give me the work He wants me to do and allow Him to give me the power to do it, so I don’t go out with just my ideas and rely just on my power.

The problem I encounter is that the traffic is moving so fast these days and picking up speed all the time, that it’s difficult to slow down and sit quietly. I’m tempted to be more like Martha and less like Mary. (Luke 10: 38-42) 

He speaks to me through Scripture and I speak to him through worship and prayer.

  • How are you doing with hearing His voice?
  • Do you have a dedicated place and time to sit still,  be quiet and listen?
  • Are you praying for the personal discipline to be consistent?
  • What have you been hearing? What is He saying to YOU?
  • How are you being enabled to respond to what He is teaching you, showing you?