December 9, 2020

Every day is a busy day and everything in this world will scream for your attention, only distracting you away from the one thing that is really needed — God.

When we are so distracted with work, activities, or even spending time with people, but never time with God, it’s easy to start to feel far from God. It’s important to be intentional about your time with God or else, how will you ever hear His voice? And if we can’t hear Him, how will we ever know how He wants to lead and guide us with His loving eye? How will we ever have intimate time with God, if we don’t make the time for Him?

Today, I’m pondering on the different ways to set myself up for success, of hearing God’s voice.

Submit

Be willing to submit every part of your life to God. Your job, your family, where you live. If its not submitted to Him, then you are leaving the door open to do you will, rather than His will. If you are holding too tightly onto our own plans in a certain area of our life, it sets you up for failure. Even if God did speak to you regarding something, you won’t hear Him when you aren’t submitted, because you aren’t willing to do His will in the first place. You will hear your voice or the world’s voice over the voice of God. You will hear only what you want to hear, rather than God Himself.

Not being submitted to God in all things is only setting yourself up to avoid or ignore the voice of God.

Be in the Word

Find time to be slow down and be alone in the Word. It’s one of the main ways He speaks! And when reading the Word, read slowly and let it sink in. What does the text tell you about God? What does it tell you about yourself? If you seek Him, you will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:12)

Pray about everything

Invite Him into every thought (even the thoughts that seem unclear and you don’t even know what to think), every concern, every feeling, every weakness, and every joy. He wants to hear it ALL, so lay it all out on the table for Him. If you don’t pray about it and talk to Him, what is there for Him to personally answer you about?

Be alone

Sometimes I find when I’m alone, whether that is going for a walk, driving, washing the dishes, or preparing dinner — a time when there is no one around — it could be very refreshing to me. With no one to talk with and no one to listen to, it allows thoughts to come to my mind without any interruption. I take these thoughts and turn them into prayers. It ends up feeling like I’ve had the chance to talk with God and just spend time with Him. Like Father-daughter time.

Be watchful

Be watchful on how He might be using certain people or certain things outside of His word to speak to you. If God can use a donkey to speak, he can use anything to get our attention to speak through that. I truly believe there are no coincidences!  And of course, if you believe He is using something outside of the Word to speak to you, pray about and use discernment. Is what He is speaking to you, lining up with His word?

Don’t doubt

Have child-like faith that He can and will speak to you and guide you. If you don’t have the faith that He can and will speak to you, when He does actually speak to you, you won’t believe it anyways! Have child-like faith that He can and will!

If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you, so set yourself up for success! (James 4:8)