When I told an acquaintance I taught a class on listening to God, he said, “Give me two minutes. What’s one thing that would help me hear His voice?” I told him the most common barrier I see is distraction: we don’t position ourselves where we can hear Him. Phones buzz, feeds scroll, alerts chime, and all of it sits on top of our real duties. If we had an RPM gauge strapped to us, the needle would be buried in the red. We are overstimulated by the world and undernourished by the Word.

When we do read our Bibles, we often don’t linger long enough to hear what God is saying to us personally. We say our prayers, but we rarely set aside time to listen to God. It’s like going to the doctor, listing to every ache and pain, and walking out before he gives his diagnosis or treatment plan. Yet Jesus promised his followers that we would hear from Him. He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

We could use a reset.

Making Room: Solitude

We aren’t blazing a new trail here. Scripture shows us how to draw near to God, and for 2,000 years, faithful believers walked this path and left markers on the trees for us to follow. Dallas Willard said that solitude is the most important spiritual discipline for modern disciples, and he urged us to “ruthlessly eliminate hurry” from our lives. Consider scheduling a daily appointment to be alone with God. Keep it the way you’d keep a meeting with your bishop. For most people, that’s early morning before your house wakes up. Some need a shower or a cup of coffee first, or they’ll doze off mid-prayer. But do whatever it takes! Listening prayer doesn’t happen by accident. If we don’t make room for it, it likely won’t happen.

Jesus was mobbed by crowds and tugged at by the sick. He was a man on a mission, yet He was never in a hurry. He stopped along the road for strangers, but he would stop along the road for time with God, too. In the Gospel of Luke, it says, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). He would sometimes slip away at daybreak (Luke 4:42), and once, he prayed all night (Luke 6:12).

A Simple Practice: The Immanuel Approach

Here is one way to meet Jesus, our Immanuel (“God with us”), and it is the focus in our latest Renew online course on listening to God. We wanted to present a summary adaptation from Dr. Karl Lehman’s Immanuel Approach that is easy to remember and put into practice:

1. Quiet yourself. Find a place to be alone. Take slow, deep breaths for a couple minutes.
2. Turn toward God with gratitude. Recall a specific memory you’re thankful for, like a child’s laughter or morning light on the kitchen table. Explore and savor it. Then invite Jesus to make Himself known to you in that memory.
3. Listen. With an open spirit, ask what He wants you to know – about Him, about you, or about others – and wait.
4. Write. Take notes on what you think you’re hearing, without analysis. Come back later to assess and discern if it’s God and what it means.

Five to ten minutes is enough. Your body settles, and Lehman teaches that the brain’s “relational circuits” come back online. Your soul – mind, emotions, and will – is stirred, aligned, and pointed toward Him. Your spirit stands on tiptoe, listening for the Holy Spirit within. When we ask Him to speak to us, God delights to answer: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:12)

Do this regularly, and you’ll find it easier to hear Him and abide in Him all day long.

Not a Technique; a Relationship

Practices help, but listening to God isn’t fundamentally a technique. It is part of a relationship with our personal God. Our ability to hear His still, small voice flows from how close we are to Him. So don’t start with technique. Start by simply drawing near. “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). When we confess our half-heartedness and receive His forgiveness, our relationship with God is repaired and strengthened. We come close, and He comes close; close enough to hear Him whisper in that still, small voice. 

Registration for the Immanuel Approach course is now closed, but more opportunities to grow in prayer, spiritual formation, and a deeper relationship with Christ are coming through Renew! Stay informed about upcoming courses, workshops, and other resources by visiting the Renew webpage (americananglican.org/renew) and checking back regularly for new offerings. You can also sign up for our free weekly AAC newsletter where you’ll get regular updates on new ministry opportunities, trainings, and Anglican news. Visit our news page (americananglican.org/news) to sign up, if you haven’t already!