Hearing God's Voice

Hearing God’s voice. It’s something every Christian will talk about. Whether it be “yielding to His will” or “Feeling His spirit” or countless other names that we as Christians label hearing God’s voice speak to us. It’s something we all strive for and something that doesn’t always come so easy to some as it does others.

Hearing God’s voice is not something that came easily to me. I am a very independent person who likes to have control over things that are going on. I need to know what’s going on at all times and know at least three ways of bailing out if need be. It’s a security thing for me I guess you could say. Because of this though it took me years to finally figure out how to listen and yield to God’s voice. Here are some quick tips on how I was able to finally settle myself down and hear God speak to me. These may not work for everyone, but they have certainly helped me out.

First of all, I need to be alone. I need my space away from the world and from the typical distractions of the day. I turn off my phone for a bit and if I’m home I tell friends and family to not bother me or that I’m taking a nap or something so I won’t be disturbed.

Secondly, I pray. I pray for God’s help in clearing my mind of trivial things and from trying to take control and go with the answer I want or am looking for. I pray for discernment, guidance and sometimes to just be slapped over the head with His will because sometimes that’s the only way it will get through to me.

Next, I pull out my Bible. The Bible is the Word of God, so why not start there when I’m trying to hear from him?

After praying and reading for awhile I will sit and reflect and be as “still” as possible. (Figuratively, not physically) I again attempt to clear my mind and really focus on what God is trying to say to me. Usually I will also wrestle with certain thoughts and outcomes in my head.

Typically after that I will journal as a way to organize my thoughts and be able to look back at what I felt like God was telling me.

I will then close with a short prayer and go about my day.

And there you have it. This is not the only way I hear God's voice, but when I really need guidance or am making a big decision this is what I do. It may not be the “best” way or even the most organized way of hearing God’s voice, but it is something that has worked for me personally and who knows, maybe some of these tips will work for you as well.

*Posted for credit for JRN371

Spoiled Rotten

Valentine’s Day. Single Awareness Day (S.A.D.). Whatever you call it, you cannot escape it.

Pink, red and white suddenly become every girl’s new favorite color. Teddy bears, flowers, chocolates and little blue boxes holding their supposed “best friend” consume the woman’s every thought.

Are you seeing a trend here?

Candle lit dinners, cute romantic comedies and little limericks to show his affection. Elaborate dates, expensive gifts and the simple hope for a goodnight kiss.

How about now? No? Let me help you out. How many of the things listed above apply to men? Other than the fact that they are the ones breaking their backs to attempt to please their girl by being sweet to her? This seems to constantly be the trend with Valentine’s Day. Girls expect their men to spoil them rotten and typically do nothing in return other than a nice homemade card he’ll naturally forget about or throw away. Why is this the trend?

I suppose I can’t exactly single this attitude out to only applying on Valentine’s Day. Every single day of the year men are taken advantage of. Women can at times be spoiled, obnoxious, selfish brats. And I’ll admit, I definitely have my moments of taking the gold for each of those categories. And the ever growing number of Hollywood romance movies filling our minds with this stigma isn’t helping matters much.

So why not change things? Why not take your guy out go-kart racing every once in awhile? Why not surprise him with a date YOU planned for HIM? Out of 10 different guys I talked to they all agreed that they would really appreciated it if their girlfriends did something special for them.

So there you have it. Short. Simple. To the point.

Make your guy feel special— he deserves it.


*Posted for credit for JRN371