Learning to hear God is a lifelong process, but getting started is
really quite simple. Without realizing it we can limit the ways that
God can speak to us.

Learning to hear God is a lifelong process, but getting started is
really quite simple. Without realizing it we can limit the ways that
God can speak to us. Most Christians can hear God speaking through the
Bible, or through prayer. You may hear people say that they felt led or
prompted by God to do something. These are the most common ways that
people hear God.

In the Bible, God communicated with people in a variety of creative
ways. There is no limit in what He can do and how He can speak. Many
Christians are aware of at least a few of the ways God spoke to people
in the Bible. God spoke to Joseph and Daniel through dreams. Others
were sent messages by prophets, angels, and even handwriting on a wall.
In the New Testament, there are an assortment of spiritual gifts
described that enable a Christian to hear and interact with God and
other people. Some popular references are 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians
4, and Romans 12.

When God speaks or reveals something to a Christian, it is called a revelatory gift. Just to be clear, let me give a brief outline some of
main revelatory gifts.

• Word of knowledge: This is something that God tells you that you couldn’t have otherwise known about a person or situation. It’s usually
  something about the past or present.
• Word of wisdom: This is a much higher form of wisdom, advice, or resolution than what you could come up with on your own. You might call
  it “inspired” and it often cuts to the root issues of a situation.
• Prophecy: This is a message from God about a future situation.
• Dreams & visions: These are more unusual and not easily understood but over a third of the Bible relates to God speaking in
  this way.

There are many misconceptions about the purpose and use of these gifts
in the church. In 1 Corinthians 14:3 we see that “…everyone who
prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement, and
comfort.” Notice this verse speaks about building people up, not
pronouncing judgment or correction. We would do well to stay within
these parameters when hearing God for other people.

I believe that we must practice hearing God. When I first heard the
idea of practicing I wondered if we were actually okay to do, or if it
would be like trying to predict the future or something. But the fact
is that practice is necessary to grow and mature in our spiritual
lives. Here are some of the highlights of how to remove roadblocks and
hear God for yourself and others.

• Believe that God is still speaking and wants to communicate with you. With this mindset, you’ll likely discover that God is speaking to
  you more than you ever guessed.
• Be less busy. Taking time out to regularly sit and be quiet and focus yourself on God can really open the lines of communication.
  You’ll find that your productivity will go up and your stress levels
  will go down also. Consider doing less of anything that you use in
  place of spending time with God.
• Read the Bible regularly. It’s a good way to get to know God’s character and what He’s like. Often God will impress a certain verse to
  you that will mean something significant. God will never say something
  to you that is contrary to what He says in the Bible.
• Respond to what He says to you. Write it down. Apply it to your life. If it seems appropriate, tell it to others who might benefit.
  Value God’s words to you, treat them like treasure.

Learning to hear God in everyday life for ourselves and for others is
one of the most exciting aspects of being a Christian. By practicing
listening, we become more receptive to the Holy Spirit and more in tune
with what God is saying. Keep in mind that often God will tell you
something about someone or their situation and it’s just so you can
pray for them. At other times, it’s to bring lasting change and draw
them closer to a relationship with Him.

There are number of ways we can use the revelatory gifts to reach
people with the love of God. I do a workshop on how to get “Encouraging
Words” for people and share them in everyday language. Encouraging
Words are really words of knowledge or prophecy in non-religious terms.
We find that most people really are open to hearing from God in this
way, and that most Christians are surprised at how effective and
uncomplicated it is to get encouraging words to share with others.
Learning to listen for His voice is a good way to start.