How can I improve my listening to God?

Psalm 5:3Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

We can improve our listening to God by coming to him regularly and waiting expectantly.

Psalm 46:10“Be still, and know that I am God!”

Luke 5:16Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

We can improve our listening to God by finding times to be quiet and meditate on his word.

Luke 8:18“So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.”

Acts 17:11The people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

Hebrews 2:1We must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

We can improve our listening to God by being attentive to the Bible, his word. If we are unsure if an idea or message is from God, we can examine it against the truth of his word.

1 Kings 19:12After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

We can improve our listening to God by being aware that God often communicates with us during quiet moments and in quiet places.

James 1:22-23Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.

Listening to God is pointless if we do not remember and apply what we have heard. True listening follows through with action.

John 10:27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

We can improve our listening to God by learning to recognize the Shepherd’s voice and follow him. The more we practice this, the easier it will be to hear his voice above the voices of others.