Do I hear god?

Jesse (May 28th, 2006)

First off, I'd like to apologize if this article seems a bit confusing. I thought it may be usefull to someone that feels like they are trying to hear God in this way but it isn't working. This is coming from my experience of listening to God, with that said -- read on!

Many times I feel like I'm struggling to hear God. That's because I'm focusing on my thoughts and expecting a "yes" or "no". Sometimes when I'm praying and asking God about a certain issue, for some reason I expect an instant answer if it seems like a simple request. It is as if I'm listening to my conscience and thinking God is going to speak to my thoughts. In my personal experience after going through this thought process over and over to try and hear God, I think I was doing it all wrong. Sometimes my conscience would supply me with an answer, but I'd find myself debating with that thought thinking, "Was that God, Or was that me?" I don't mean to say God can't speak through your thoughts, in fact he does a lot, that's where I get a lot of my ideas from to do things for Him.

I began thinking, How do I hear God? I understand the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and I am a person in the flesh, but I also have my own individual spirit that God designed. So if the Holy Spirit of God wants to speak to me, he is going to communicate with my what? My spirit. How do you or I know if God is speaking to mine or your spirit? Well if you are born-again you should know by now, but how can I explain that!? It's not a gut feeling or any type of instinct. Well, maybe it is an instinct now that you are born-again! For me it's a feeling in my heart, not my physical heart, but around that area. It's non-verbal, it's just an anointed feeling of God's presence.

Once I can feel that presence of God, I go digging in and ask Holy Spirit what He is conveying to me. It's extremely hard to explain, but if you know what I'm talking about then I won't sound crazy. Because this is supernatural that everyday people don't have the blessing to experience because they haven't given their life to Jesus.

I think the most important thing to always remember is that God makes things simple. He is not complicated and He isn't the God of confusion. This article may sound a bit confusing because I've put too much mental thought into trying to hear God in the past! God can speak to you verbally and out loud to you, though I've not been blessed to have that happen yet! My suggestion is; when you are aware of the Holy Spirit touching your own spirit, focus in and sit quietly and do more listening than talking.

I haven't heard of anyone having long conversations with God, if someone had claimed it, I'm not sure I'd believe it because it would be extremely rare. God is constantly working in you, He is working more than he is speaking to you. You have to weigh this in, wouldn't you rather have God changing you even when you may not be aware of it than for Him to simply talk to you in a conversation? Just like Jesus died on the cross, He came for one purpose to forgive sinners who turn away from sin and follow Him, God is doing a work in you -- but we wanted a cup of tee and an interview of life's questions with Him. That's going to have to wait until Heaven friend! For now, God wants you to use your faith and trust Him. It would be wise to pray and ask God How to hear him!