God wants to communicate with us. Prayer is the basis of that communication.
Most of us never get past talking to God (the first and basic part of prayer) into the next and deeper communication which is listening. Both talking and listening are crucial to any relationship. If we want our relationship with God to grow, we have to spend time listening to God.
Steps to take to listen to God
- Set aside some time 12-18 minutes is a good start. It is helpful to not have distractions when we intend to listen. Find a safe place. Have a Bible handy.
- Preparation: Ask for forgiveness for sins. Hand over any problems you are facing. Tell God that you trust Him. Surrender your life to His will. Ask for His guidance and wisdom. (say 3 minutes)
- Listening: Be still. Be quiet. Don’t talk. Close eyes if necessary. Just open up to all God wants to show you. Open your Bible if you need to. Do not be concerned if you do not hear anything [see step 5]. (say 10 mins)
- Recording: Write down what you hear God saying. If it was a picture that God showed you, draw it or write down a description of it. If it was a song, write down the words you were singing. (say 10 mins).
- Remember, step 4 is not a Key Performance Indicator of God. What is important to Him is not what we learn, but that we are becoming more like Jesus as we make time to listen to Him. Many Christians spend between 30 and 120 minutes a day in this discipline. A journal can be a helpful tool for the recording phase.
