The Time Crunch: Hearing God’s Voice

I often hear people ask: “How do I hear the voice of God?” This is a problem in our noisy world. If you want to have a serious conversation with your spouse, do you make sure that every T.V. and radio in the house is blasting at full strength? Obviously not. You want quiet. Similarly, if you want to hear God’s voice you must reduce the noise. What is noise? It is whatever fills or distracts our minds—radios, CD players, the internet, T.V., household appliances, children’s voices, etc., etc. If the decibels are not turned down, trying to hear God’s voice is like trying to converse with a friend at a very loud rock concert or a playoff football game in the Metrodome.

In several of these posts on The Time Crunch I have urged you to hear God’s voice as the basis for escaping from a harried lifestyle. When you know what God wants you to do, it is much easier to say “No” when asked to do something different. But how do we turn down the noise?

Cathy and I recently returned from a vacation with our kids and grandkids. Wow! We had forgotten how demanding young children can be. All day long we were engulfed by their chatter and their arguments and their shrieks and their laughter. How does a mother of young children find time to hear God speak? She may need to rise early because it is the only time she can have uninterrupted time with God.

Jesus also made quiet time with God a priority. After a strenuous day of ministry that lasted well into the night, very early the next morning, while it was still dark, he left the house and went to a solitary place to pray. Jesus knew what was coming. He knew that the daily racket of people’s needs would make it difficult to hear the voice of His Father throughout the day. So he began the day tuning his ear to the Father.

Each person’s life circumstances are somewhat different. At this stage of my life it isn’t difficult to find quiet time in my daily schedule. But if you do struggle to find time for God, look carefully at your habit patterns. Do you need to watch Sportscenter each morning? Could you get up 15 minutes earlier? Could you put off checking your e-mail until you have had some time to read your Bible and converse with God? Could you devote your lunch break to be alone with God?

Learning to discern God’s voice takes time and diligence. A five minute devotional at the end of the day isn’t enough. How well would you know your mate’s desires if you only spent five minutes a day communicating?! As with a marriage, so it is with God—there must be extended times of quiet interaction to be able to hear His voice. Would you set aside some extra time this week to be with your Father? He is waiting and wanting to talk with you.