I left a bible study group one night and started crying in my car. I was so sad because it seemed like everyone else could speak in tongues and I couldn’t. Whether it’s hearing God’s voice, speaking in tongues, or simply feeling far away from God, it sometimes feels like others are more qualified than me and I’m not good enough. When I left that bible study crying, I asked God “Why can she do that and I can’t?” Does this sound similar to an experience you’ve had? It’s okay, me too. If you don’t hear God’s voice, don’t be ashamed. You’re in the right place.
Before I dive into 4 reasons why you don’t hear God’s voice, we need to lay the foundation of one truth:
You are good enough to hear his voice!
Comparing our spiritual walks to others isn’t good because we’re all uniquely created and uniquely called by God. BUT, being surrounded by a community of believers is healthy because we can be inspired to grow deeper with God. That other girl’s ability to speak in tongues moved me! She had something I now wanted. Without community, I wouldn’t have known it was possible.
Being honest with myself, I was also jealous of that girl. My instinct wasn’t to worship God because of her gift. My instinct was to put her down in my head. Thinking thoughts like, “she’s weird”, “she’s actually not perfect – remember that one time she did X, Y, Z.”
James calls me out in James 4:2-3, “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”
Do you want to hear God’s voice? Well, what is your honest first thought when you hear others say, “God told me _____ ”… Do you judge them? Question them? It’s okay, I have too. When someone says they heard from God, I’ve felt not good enough, and sometimes my heart feels even further from God. Like he’s rejected me because I don’t hear him. But Jame’s verse is saying we’re jealous, plus we haven’t asked God for it. Have you asked God for the ability to hear Him? And when we ask, we’re not receiving because our motives are wrong. Why do you want to hear God? I’ll answer first – I wanted to speak in tongues because I wanted proof for myself that I was saved, and I wanted to be seen as good enough in a community of Christians. Ouch.
I have good news for us. It’s not about being good enough, because it doesn’t matter what we’ve done:
Romans 3:23-24, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”
We are right in his sight! We’re good enough to hear his voice! We’re good enough to speak in tongues! Since EVERYONE has sinned and fallen short, there’s no reason someone else has the ability to hear God, and you don’t. Let me clarify – we’re all NOT good enough, only Jesus is. And that’s why we have the ability to hear God’s voice!
After leaving Bible Study and crying in my car multiple times (I’m not joking…), I eventually asked that girl about it. “How can you speak in tongues?” She recommended the book “My Sheep Have Ears” by Cath Livesey. Wow – this book changed everything for me! I highly recommend it.
Here’s the secret that book shared with me – IT TAKES INTENTIONAL PRACTICE! You ask God, and you receive. Then you believe you receive. Then you practice. And at first you think it’s weird and you doubt yourself, but you believe. You practice. And the result varies for each individual because we each have unique relationships with Him but he’ll meet you here.
Since this takes practice, here are three reasons why you’re not hearing God’s voice:
Reason #1: Distractions
Whenever I go away on vacation for a weekend, I usually come home not hearing God’s voice clearly. Why? Because of distractions. This also happens on days when I’m super busy. Martha in the Bible can relate:
“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:38-42.
Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, listening. The key word is listening! Martha was distracted. It’s not that Jesus wasn’t speaking – He was. He was even in the same room as her! God speaks; are you listening? Have you surrendered all the details of day-to-day life and traded them for discovering what will not be taken away?
Sometimes we can confuse “am I distracted?” with “did I read my Bible today or not?” But theres a difference. Are you possibly in a morning routine and reading the bible every morning, but still not hearing his voice? I believe that’s because the point isn’t to read our bible, the point is to spend time with Him! And we can do that by reading our Bible, but it might be actually hindering us from growing.
If it’s not producing fruit, stop! What’s the point of faking the routine and relationship if nothings being built? (Unless you’re trying to build intensional faithfulness) But I’m talking about your routine becoming religious and less relational. It would be more fruitful to go on a walk and talk out loud to God. Listen to worship music in the morning. Put your face into the ground and cry out to him with how you actually feel. Show up authentically as yourself – THIS is the point of a daily relationship with God.
So it’s not only about being potentially distracted by a busy schedule. But are you possibly distracted by your religious structure?
Let’s untangle this distraction and pursue HIM.
Reason #2: Our Daily Bread
Jesus prayed the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:11, and in his prayer he asked for God to “give us this day our daily bread.” The request for a daily bread is because Jesus needed God daily. The Greek word for “daily” is epiousios and it means “a daily necessity for existence”. Jesus needed God not for yesterday’s conversations or tomorrow’s planning; he focused on God providing for him today. If Jesus left heaven and came to earth and STILL needed God daily, how much more do we need him?!
Now, what is bread? Jesus asked God for “a daily bread”. The word “bread” used here in greek is “arton” and it literally means “loaf of bread” (haha, i find that funny for some reason) But in Matthew 4:4 Jesus also said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” In the prayer, Jesus was asking God literally for food everyday, but he is also asking for daily nourishment from the mouth of God. The daily nourishment of His voice.
We can receive daily nourishment from God in many ways. When you connect with a loved one, are you always formally connecting with him at a daily meeting? No! Maybe you’re going on a walk, getting food together, doing something fun together. You can do the same thing is with God! We can worship him and get close with him. His voice speaks to us the more we hangout with Him – and it gives us daily nourishment.
Who is our bread? Jesus. In John 6:25-37 Jesus revealed that He is the bread of life, “ When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
Jesus needed God daily.
We need Jesus daily.
Reason #3: Don’t know His voice
After college, I lived with a variety of roommates, one of whom was a married couple. One evening they came home from work, and the tone the wife spoke to her husband in shocked me. I was internally triggered, offended, and thought a fight was about to break out. But to my surprise, the husband responded so kindly as if nothing happened. My guard lowered. This happened a couple of times, so after reflecting on the situation, I realized there was no “tone” from the wife. I just didn’t understand her character and intension. But the husband did, he knew her voice.
The same happens in our relationship with Christ. Have you ever read the bible and thought Jesus sounded harsh? Absolutely, we all have! But just like my roommates, once you get to know someone’s character and intentions, you hear their words differently. When we make Jesus our daily bread of life, we’ll get to know his voice better. We’ll also get to know him as our good shepherd. Connecting these two ideas together is key in understanding how we can start to hear his voice.
David writes in Psalm 23:1-6 AMPC about how God is his Shepherd. “The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake. Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with [a]oil; my [brimming] cup runs over. Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.”
What stands out to me most about this scripture is how the sheep trusts the shepherd. The shepherd is leading and the the sheep follows. The sheep is comforted and protected by the shepherd even down scary paths. And the sheep is fully loved every single day by dwelling in the shepherd’s leading. This is a sheep that knows their shepherd’s character!
Read the scripture again and pay attention to how David hears God. did David ever say he hears God? No. But David still gave God all the credit for feeding him, guiding him, leading him, refreshing his soul, protecting him. How is that possible? Jesus explains in John 10.
Jesus says that his sheep know his voice (John 10:24-28 AMPC): “So the Jews surrounded Him and began asking Him, How long are You going to keep us in doubt and suspense? If You are really the Christ (the Messiah), tell us so plainly and openly. Jesus answered them, I have told you so, yet you do not believe Me [you do not trust Me and rely on Me]. The very works that I do by the power of My Father and in My Father’s name bear witness concerning Me [they are My credentials and evidence in support of Me]. But you do not believe and trust and rely on Me because you do not belong to My fold [you are no sheep of Mine]. The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand.”
David is a sheep that heard the shepards voice, listened to his voice, he knew his shepard and followed him. But did David say he heard God? No. But also yes, he heard God’s voice. How is that possible?
How do we hear God’s voice?
It’s possible because God’s voice is his chracter. God’s voice is knowing him. God’s voice is being intune with your spirit. This isn’t a downloaded voice we get because we’re “good enough”, but it’s a voice we start to know when Jesus is our daily bread, and our good shepherd. We follow him and we listen.
When I say “God told me to do X, Y, Z”, it’s a nudging in my soul. It’s a voice that sounds just like my conscience but my conscience is interrupted by thoughts and ideas that aren’t my own! When my conscience nudges me to go talk to someone, but I don’t want to talk to them, but I say “Okay God, I’ll do it”, that’s the sheperd leading me. When I wake up with a praise song on my mind, I know it’s my Holy Spirit worshiping God because I’ve surrounded myself with his presence.
When we aren’t distracted.
When we get to know Jesus as our daily bread.
When we listen for his voice.
When we get to know Jesus as our good shepherd.
You’ll start to hear His voice, because you are in are in relationship with Him.
Prayer
God we ask to hear your voice. We want to know you. We want to listen and hear you. Please fight for our belief in you; help me to practice hearing your voice, and trusting the voice I hear is you. Help me have the strength and courage to believe the voice I hear and to talk to you. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
