And God … How can we, in our world of incessant noise and activity, incorporate it into our daily lives? In making our request, we give God’s guidance authority over the other voices we hear throughout our daily lives. One of the best ways to do this is to spend time with God as much as you can. Start by saying "Father in Heaven" or "Heavenly Father." This is not a time to zone out or think of the activities for later in the day. And remember: Elijah heard, not the earthquake or the thunder, but a still, small voice. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Meditate on Scripture: After studying Scripture, choose one verse, phrase, or word upon which to meditate. You read the Bible. In my daily conversation with God I always get answers. Be still before Him: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. Samuel knew how to listen in Prayer (I Sam. Another Navigator reported on more ministry now through Google Hangouts and Zoom. Why should I expect our Lord to talk to me?”. PREPARATION FOR LISTENING PRAYER—YOUR ADDRESS TO GOD. Listening prayer as I am describing it, does not always involve hearing words from God. Why is simply sitting at His feet with no agenda so difficult—even frightening? Any thoughts on what I’ve said here? “Lord Jesus, I want you to listen and answer my prayers, I need You. Rather than discussing the Four Steps (“Four Absolutes”) of the Oxford Group program, I’ll focus on what Batterson has to say about enabling two-way prayer, prayer in which we both speak and listen to our Lord. Trying to show that there is no contradiction between what science tells us about the world and our Catholic faith. So, any response from God would be faithufl to His Word, the Bible. He says. I would do this and hear responses. And yet, God delights for us to sit at His feet and enjoy being with Him. Fr. Whenever you open your mouth in prayer: “Speak, Lord.” As you greet a new day: “Speak, Lord.” 6. Over and over God interacts with people in a variety of ways. Then we hit the pause button. Many people do this. It is good that he waits silently . Prayer is not a one way street. But it doesn’t happen by accident, or even on the way to anyplace else. In this posture of stillness, we can more keenly hear Him speak. We also believe that God also speaks to us through the word centered manifestional gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12: Prophecy; Tongues, with interpretation of tongues; The … If you want to be sure God is listening to your prayers, consider if you have ever asked Jesus Christ into your life, you can do so right now by submitting to him with a simple but powerful prayer. When God finally spoke, He said: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle” (1 Samuel 3:11, NIV). We tend to think of prayer as a spiritual discipline where we talk to God. It is the discipline of being still and knowing that He is God (Psalm 46:10). After reading a psalm, begin to sing it to a tune you know or create as you go along. God, in His manifestation as the Holy Spirit, might well speak in ways other than a deep voice saying “Hey you, I’m God and here’s what I want  you to do.”. Or, in short, as St. Teresa has it: “Prayer is an act of love; words are not needed.”   Hearing what God has to say is not to be achieved by our will, but by God’s grace. Now, If you’re friends with a person, conversations are a two-way street: talking AND listening. Cardinal Newman was one of those involved. After all, He knows all about us and knows what is going on inside us—both good and bad. Be aware of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in your life – All who come to Jesus Christ by faith are now temples of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and strengthens us for daily life with God. I think that is a large part of what it means to pray “in the name of Jesus”: to think God’s thoughts after Him. Pingback: Step 11: A Catholic Perspective on The Ways to Pray | Calix Society Blog, Your email address will not be published. How to hear God's voice through listening in prayer Below is an excerpt from an article Seth Barnes wrote, called "The Basics of Listening Prayer", that explains how you practice listening prayer: Learning to hear the Lord's voice isn't complicated. If prayer is a difficult area for you, learn these basics principles of prayer and how to apply them in your life. Yes, God hears our prayers on all occasions, whether we’re praying out loud or praying silently in our hearts and minds. 1.Worship God With Heart and Honesty Contemplative prayer is thoughtful, reflective prayer. [emphasis added] When He secretly shows us He hears our prayers, it is well to be silent, as He has drawn us into His presence; there would then be no harm in trying to keep our minds at rest (that is to say, if we can).. …I believe that human efforts avail nothing in these matters, which His Majesty appears to reserve to Himself, setting this limit to our powers. You need to hear the voice of God. Early morning is good for some persons, late evening for others. That’s a difficult question to answer, but I’ll give some of my thoughts below. I am neither. … Continue Reading. Only by listening to the Spirit’s conviction can I recognize my sin and hear Him direct me to seek forgiveness from my friend. Listening prayer centers around a clear request for God’s guidance. By commenting, you agree to our Code of Conduct. I have heard the Lord speak to me silently in my mind often, and they are always confirming His love for me and assurance/ I agree very much that we need to be silent during our prayer times. But the key is in order for Him to hear us, we need to know what kind of prayer He will listen to. ²I apologize for not being able to give a specific reference. That isn’t something that comes naturally to most of us. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. As we sit in silence, we will itch and squirm, our backs will ache, and our stomachs will grumble. God … There is no hurry. Join me in praying for those on the front lines, for their safety and for their families. Ponder it and slowly repeat it. But the most important discipline in prayer is learning to hear God talking to you! Samuel shows us how when we pray to God, we need to talk and listen to Him. Entitled How to Listen to God, it helped explain the Group's practice of Two Way Prayer. When we think about prayer, listening isn’t generally the first thing that comes to mind. Many people believe that prayer is not just a religious exercise but that God does listen to prayers and answers them. The following quotes are taken from Batterson’s pamphlet, “How to Listen to God,” linked above. All Rights Reserved. Although this advice seems straightforward, it’s not all that easy to achieve in practice, or at least that is the case for me. God cannot get through to us if we are tense and anxious about later responsibilities. Developing a discipline takes perseverance. When you hear a troubling news report, lift the situation up to God. It removes spontaneity from praying, makes it into an intellectual exercise. Navigators First Responders are doing what they do everyday on the job, facing risks head-on while helping our community. Guidance shows us which is the right side-not who is right, but what is right. Continue Reading, If we meditate on God’s Word day and night we will be “like a tree firmly planted by streams of water.” But how is that done?… Continue Reading, Eric Peterson offers a scriptural perspective on how to approach the “new normal” in the midst of this pandemic. Then listen and ask the Holy Spirit to provide wisdom and understanding to what you are praying out of His Word. The person praying is listening to the words of the prayer and God is said to be listening as well because the person praying is one with God. ¹When I first read about the Oxford Group’s connection with Twelve Steps, I confused it with the “Oxford Movement.”  The latter was a late 19th Century program initiated by High Church Anglicans In Great Britain to reinstall elements of Catholic liturgy. I do believe that Jesus appears in dreams and visions to many Muslims and speaks to them with so many coming to faith in Him! When it comes to listening to God in prayer, let us pause and consider some wise words from Mother Teresa:- "Prayer is not asking. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. John Esper has recounted ways the saints have dealt with distractions during prayer and what the Catholic Catechism recommends. In many articles on “How to pray,” I’ve read that a regularly scheduled time sets up a good habit. And these distractions are what Batterson wants to include as possible communications from God (see below). Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle, Fourth Mansion, Chapter 3. I must quiet my heart and embrace the stillness that allows me to truly know that he is God. We talk to God because he first talked with … 8:6-7; 9:15; 16:7-12) In my post Solitude I point out how important it is to seek a quiet place for your prayer time. Retired, cranky, old physicist. It is also opening doors to relationships in a deeper more meaningful way. How to listen to God? Groeschel’s Retreat Conferences. On many occasions, as I take time to listen to God, the Holy Spirit reminds me of recent conversations or comments that were not edifying. When I pray, do the Liturgy of the Hours or the Nightly Examen, distracting thoughts occur and I don’t always know how to get back to the important stuff. Let’s learn some important lessons on how to hear God in prayer. Get into a listening attitude. Let’s make prayer a foundation for 2021! Henri Nouwen calls all prayer "listening to the voice of the one who calls us beloved". Fr. I do this as I fast and pray. The pandemic caused one of the couples we disciple to reconsider getting a divorce. Our flesh does not like to be trained and controlled. Open your heart to God. We focus our time of prayer on intentional, purposeful listening and let God do the talking. Perhaps another reason we don’t practice contemplative prayer is we fear hearing no words at all. Are these thoughts completely honest, pure, unselfish? Why don’t most of us practice this discipline? One of the key things to listening to God and responding to God’s call is to tap into that God-inspired desire within oneself to please God, to respond to God in love, to reverence and stand in awe of God. However, as I’ll point out below, their prescription for prayer is incomplete. Such an examination of written down thoughts is not, I believe, useful or appropriate for prayer. Practice Saint Paul’s injunction that we “pray without ceasing“. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the, A Carmelite Insight Into Framing Your New Year’s Resolutions. Have with you some paper and pen or pencil. God desires to communicate with His people, even more than we desire to communicate with Him! We wait on God in a time of silence, giving the Lord opportunity to speak to us. Listen to God speak through His creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). Our God is endlessly creative in how he communicates with them. I heard this eight years ago listening to an audio tape of one Fr. Used by permission of NavPress. He never expects you to do something he doesn’t do first. His conclusion: distractions are inevitable, but we should return to prayer and offer love to God as a barrier to them. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts." This is Batterson’s method for how to be receptive to God’s conversation. God spoke to Daniel through visions, Balaam through a donkey, Peter through a rooster, and of all things, he spoke to Moses out of a shrub. Be alert and aware and open to every one [of these]. How can we cultivate our listening skills so that we can hear His voice? The Bible says that God “judges the thoughts and attitudes of … PRMI Board Members and Staff at the Community of the Cross praying for funding for the Prayer House, listening for God’s Guidance and Voice Different ways of hearing from God through manifestational gifts. We will find every reason not to practice contemplative prayer: things must be done, phone calls must be made, worries crowd our thoughts. Many of us don’t wait in His presence long enough to let Him love us. But it does require some discipline to find a quiet place and to allow some time just listening. Learn to read, meditate on, and pray God’s Word. Required fields are marked *. He is our creator and the one to whom we owe everything we have, including our lives. Presumably in the first two stages, where one engages in what St. Teresa would call “Mental Prayer,” one begins to converse with our Lord. I have often complained that His still, small voice seemed too quiet. Not talking, not singing, not reading, not watching TV. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. Prayer should not, then, be a one-way conversation: we need to listen to God as well as to address Him. God still speaks today. Batterson advises us to  relax before we engage in meditation and prayer. It is a time based on intention rather than attention. I thank You that You have called me Your friend and that I may come boldly to the throne of grace to find help whenever I have a need in my life. Let him sit alone and be silent” (Lamentations 3:25,26,29 NASB). Be loose. Spend time in silence, waiting for God … The Bible says we love God because he first loved us. This is the secret of unity. Have you ever dealt with a strange response? As you consider them, ask God to show you additional ways to incorporate this discipline into your life. Choose a verse such as, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” (Psalm 23:1). Sign up for email to stay connected. That might be an expected response, even though God, the Omniscient, loves us all. As you read God's Word, ask Him to speak to you. Ask the Lord what He wants to say to you (Psalm 119:78). Throughout the Psalms, David models someone who waits on God in this way: “My soul waits in silence for God only” (Psalm 62:1 NASB); “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. How can we get Divine direction for our life & spiritual discernment for making decisions. Your email address will not be published. . Let me emphasize that I agree with some of the Oxford Group’s program, but not all. Ordinary people like you and I can listen to God in prayer. Everyone is suddenly available. God assures us that if we pray in this way, “he hears us.” (1 John 5:14) So, for our prayers to be heard, we need to get to know the God of the Bible and learn what his will is. Believers can pray from the heart, freely, spontaneously, and in their own words. The program I’ll outline below is taken largely from a four page pamphlet by John Batterson, a member of the Oxford Group in the 1930’s.