We all want to listen to God’s voice and message for us, but sometimes it gets a bit blurred as we don’t know where exactly or how to listen. This is where prayer comes in.
One of our favorite talks on how to determine God’s voice is Beth Davis’ talk on “How to hear God’s voice in Prayer.” This was one of her talks in the Pray More Lenten Retreat 2021 and has really been a great eye-opener for many when it comes to finding and hearing God’s voice. We’ll be using some of her talk points as we discuss our topic along the way.
Prayer
Now, let’s talk about prayer. Prayer is a very important aspect of the Catholic faith, as it is the instrument that will bring us to a closer relationship with Christ. Having an active prayer life will surely transform your life; it will help you be more attentive to God’s voice.
Sometimes prayer can be difficult, especially when a lot of distractions surround us. It gets hard to focus, and you can easily pass through it without truly being present. If you find yourself in those situations, you can ask the help of our Blessed Mother to guide you as you focus on your prayers.
Now, how do we listen to God’s voice in prayer? Just like what Beth Davis said in her talk, we must agree on one thing first, and that is, “God is speaking to us. That God is still speaking to us and that you can hear Him.”
One of the first steps that we need to take for us to be able to listen to God’s voice, is to acknowledge that He is speaking to us and that we are capable of hearing Him. It’s not just some hoax that the Lord can speak to us, it is true, and we must acknowledge and truly believe it.
Other Ways to Listen to God’s Voice
Prayer can also be in different forms. Personal prayer and time and conversation with the Lord are definitely encouraged, but other events can be in the form of prayer where God can be speaking to us, just like the Holy Mass. As Beth mentions in her talk, “Primarily we hear God’s voice in his Holy Word, in the scriptures. If you want to hear God’s voice, get in the Word, read the Word….Every time you go to Mass and simply hear the word of God, a seed is planted in your heart, and the Holy Spirit can come and bring that word to remembrance at just the right moment. So, if you want to hear God’s voice, get in the word. Okay, so that’s one way that we hear God’s voice, is in the scripture.”
Besides hearing God’s voice through scripture and attending Holy Mass, we can also hear Him through other people. sometimes when we least expect it, someone will do a simple act of kindness or strike up a conversation with you during difficult times and give you comfort. These moments can be moments where God is trying to communicate with us.
Lastly, if you really want to be able to listen to God’s voice and it is very important to fully be in a state of grace. How do you avail of this state? It’s simple, just go and partake in the sacrament of confession! As Beth says, “God is waiting to receive you with mercy, with love, with wide-open arms. And as we stay close to Jesus in the sacraments, in the sacrament of confession, receiving Him in the Eucharist at Mass… We will become even more sensitive to His promptings. So be in a state of grace.”
Sometimes God is communicating with us through ways that we do not expect. We should be open to Him and His voice at all times. We know He loves us and only desires good things for us. So we invite you to take a closer look into these areas in your life and listen closely, maybe He has been there reaching out to you all this time.
Useful Resources
If you want to know more about how you can hear God’s voice in your life, we recommend you try to listen to two talks, namely, “How to Hear God’s Voice in Prayer” by Beth Davis , “Hearing God’s Voice on the Journey to Healing” by Jim Schuster and “How to hear the voice of God” by Father Anthony Co.
These talks are both from the Pray More Retreat and we have found them quite inspiring and useful in our journey towards a closer and better relationship with Christ. The retreat pages also come with reflective study guide questions that you can use in your prayer time and meditation with Christ. If you’re interested to join and learn more about these catholic retreats check out Pray More Retreat.Org!