Why You Probably Shouldn’t be Talking to God in the First Place

 Categories : Listening to God

 

When I laid out the core message of this blog , I challenged you to  spend 5 minutes a day silent in God’s presence, listening.  But most people need to clear a major hurdle first.

Many of us have been taught “Prayer is simply talking with God” So that’s what we do. We simply talk.  And talk.

Spending the majority of your prayer time talking to God is unlikely to yield the spiritual fruit you want.  God is the one with answers to all your questions and solutions to all your problems.  

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not suggesting that you can never pour out  your heart or make requests.  And I don’t recommend seeking God only to get answers or solve problems.  First and foremost, you’re developing a relationship.  But what kind of a relationship is it if you’re the only one talking?

When I say you probably shouldn’t be talking to God in the first place, I’m suggesting that you spend the majority of the time listening instead.

This is harder than it sounds.  Most of us come to God with preconceived ideas that make it nearly impossible to truly listen. And I think that’s the real reason we emphasize talking over listening in prayer.  Filling the time with words is safe.  Listening to God is risky.

If you doubt that God speaks today, or that he will speak to you, those belief make it harder to hear from him. The first step in hearing God’s voice is to honestly evaluate your beliefs about hearing him.

What if he doesn’t say anything?

What if he does?

Most of us harbor a false answer to at least one of those two questions.   But it doesn’t have to be that way.  When you encounter God, he replaces those false answers with truth so you’re free to listen and be heard.  You’re free to  experience greater intimacy, creativity, and effectiveness in every area of your life.  I want that for you, but you don’t need my solutions or anyone else’s.  You have all the truth you need available to you right now.

Now It’s your turn:

What’s  your biggest challenge when it comes to listening to God?

 



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  • Deborah Perkins

    Hello! Just found your posts through UBP14, really enjoying reading them & will be your next subscriber! :-) Your blog focus is similar to mine, and I was excited to read your perspectives. I realize this is an older post, but I wanted to respond to Aric’s comments here with a thought.
    I agree that it can be difficult to discern the voice of God “out of the blue.” In real life, it helps to become familiar with the voice of the one speaking, so that in a noisy situation, we can pick out what he is saying. Our minds can be noisy places, and we also have a an enemy who loves to sow confusion and distractions the minute we begin to pray!
    Something that can be helpful is to start with a verse or section of scripture – maybe a proverb or a psalm – and spend time meditating on that. Often, as we ask the Lord to expand on what He has already said, we gain deeper revelation about what He meant, and this leads to better voice recognition overall, since we learn what interests Him. Our tendency is to quickly read our Bibles and move on, or check it off the list. But a longer focus on simpler things can sharpen our hearing tremendously.
    Looking forward to reading your new posts! Thanks for sharing them here…
    Deborah Perkins
    http://www.HisInscriptions.weebly.com

    • Hannah Kallio

      You’re right Deborah. Everything God speaks to us personally will harmonize with what he’s already revealed. So if we’re struggling to familiarize ourselves with how he communicates to us, it makes sense to start with a passage of scripture that already “speaks” to us, and begin seeking God for more personal application. Thanks for the helpful insight!

  • Jennifer

    Thank you, Hannah, for helping me better understand how to hear from God. I appreciate your answer to Aric as I have experienced that inner knowing but rarely any of the others. And you are right, discernment is key as the Bible exhorts us to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The hardest part is finding and taking those moments to be still in a busy household. What does that look like in your household?

    • mlekallio

      Jennifer, I can relate to that challenge! Since our relationship with God is the most important relationship in our lives, we build time for each family member to be quiet in his presence (even if it’s 5 minutes) into our schedule. Intention is key. On days when my time is interrupted, God still honors my intention to communicate with him by teaching me through circumstances, words other people say, or thoughts he brings to mind as I’m doing household tasks. But I think it helps to schedule time when you’re first getting into a rhythm of communicating with him. Giving yourself permission to experiment with different settings and different times of day can be really helpful in finding that rhythm too.

  • Aric

    The phrase “hearing from God” had long thrown me off, since I came to trust in God and come to accept that God reveals Himself to us supernaturally. I would go off and be by myself and wait, trying to listen as I understood listening. I found myself tilting my head once in a while, and then wondering if I was supposed to actually hear something audible.
    I have since asked a lot of people a lot of questions of how they “hear from God”, and I have come to appreciate the idea (and phrasing) of “God communicating with us,” as it is less distracting for those who might interpret things more literally than others.
    I am still wanting to grow in communication with God, as I hear more and more testimonies of people who respond to God’s communication with them. I occasionally get an inkling about something, times when God has given me thoughts, but not especially clearly. I have found myself in situations where I am sure God has placed me right there for a reason. More often I have received a confirmation or affirmation of sorts from God, after the fact. I desire being directed more directly by God to go do this, or pray for that, but it is also good to recognize that these are still wonderful ways that God has communicated with me.
    For now, I have spent time being silent with God, and that’s all I can detect at the time… being silent. I wonder if I should ask a certain questions or lots of questions before being silent, too. But I know developing relationship with God can still occur there, even if it seems like it is just me being quiet.
    (Side note: I am astounded by the depth of Job’s relationship and revelation of God…and he sure knew a time of waiting.)

    • mlekallio

      Aric, Your honest, humble, inquisitive approach is such a blessing. Reading these comments taught me that I need to further refine how I talk about listening to God to avoid limiting people. When I use the term “listening to” (as opposed to “hearing from”) I’m thinking of the Hebrew word for listen (Shema) which involves being attentive with the whole body. Some “listeners” receive pictures. Others experience physical sensations. Some people sense an inner knowing, and others realize God was directing them after the fact. All these are valid, and I love how God gave us the capacity to experience and receive from him through so many different sensory channels. The type of listening I’m encouraging is conducive to all of these. I think the silence you described is glorifying to God even if it doesn’t seem particularly revelatory at the time, but starting out with a question sounds like a great idea. (more on this later) And I totally agree about Job. He’s one of my heroes for all the reasons you gave. Thanks for bringing such depth to this discussion.

  • http://www.domesticblissdiaries.com Alana @ Sparrow + Grace

    I was taught that praying is simply talking to God, as you’ve mentioned here. I’m only now learning that it does involve being still before God and letting Him “do the talking” to us. And, yes, it is risky, because we may not like what He has to say. He might call me to change my life or ask me to step outside of my comfort zone. *gasp!* I will say, though, one thing He will never do: tell us something that contradicts His word. This is so important because sometimes we can think we’re hearing from God, when it’s really our own thoughts.

    • mlekallio

      Absolutely! I’m glad you brought up discernment because that’s such a key part of a listening relationship. We definitely talk extensively about that in future posts. What’s been most helpful to you in distinguishing his voice from your own thoughts?

  • http://terismart.com Teri

    Hi Hannah, I just want to say thank you, for teaching me to realize that as Gods unique creation, that he’s placed in me a unique way of communicating. Through listening and speaking with you, I learned that I communicate best through writing. It’s one of my god given gifts. But I can’t expect God to write back to me! What I have done through journaling has been amazing. When I’m writing, I’m emptying my mind of all the thoughts that crowd out His voice. Now, when I express concerns or thoughts I am able to hear his reply. As I’m going about my day, I can hear him more clearly too. It all started with clearing my mind so that I am able to listen. I am on day 20 of my journal, and feel so much lighter and free, able to hear Gods guidance in my life. Now I just need to work on the “doing”. Another subject all together, I’m sure!

    • mlekallio

      Wow Teri, this is a huge answer to prayer! I’m delighted for you and thankful to have played a small part. Thanks for mentioning “the doing part” as well. Through you and others, God is prompting me to seek him about sustained by him as we listen and obey. This is exciting!