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The decision is made. Today’s article will be about hearing God. The concept starts with questions. Common questions.

• Where is God in this ____? 
• Are my prayers heard, or are they just white noise to the Creator of all?
• I never seem to get answers to my life-altering cries for help. Does He care?
• God found ways to talk with the Old Testament people. Why did He stop talking?

Over time, I’ve collected materials that offer help for these common concerns. Some articles get deep. Other writers provide lists of 3, 5, or 10 things we can do to better hear from God. 

These articles often remind us that we won’t find God in the wind, an earthquake, or a roaring fire. We are instead to find a quiet space, eliminate all distractions, quiet our minds, light a candle, and wait.

We are usually encouraged to seek counsel from other Christians if we are confident that these people are walking with God. 

We are nearly always admonished if we fail to read the bible and meditate daily. No wonder we don’t hear from God, right? (I always wondered about this one, though. When God spoke to all those Old Testament people, it is interesting to observe that there was no bible. Just sayin'.)

Some have spoken about finding the voice of God in nature.

All of this is good advice. But I don’t think it is as scientific as we’d like it to be. It’s not a chemical formula. For example, I start every day with at least one cup of this equation, and you might do the same! Like all good and accurate formulas, it works every time. I have not found the formula for "it works every time" when it comes to a discussion with God. 

My impression leads me to believe that God is always talking. If we are open to it, we can experience His word anytime. 

We can hear Him:

• When we’re focused or daydreaming. 
• When we’re with Christians or work colleagues.
• When we are alone and quiet or at a busy Farmer's Market. 
• When we are walking through the beauty of His creation or watching television. 

It can be just before we fall asleep or even while we’re snoring. It can happen anywhere and anytime.

But I think we are most aware of His desires for us and those around us when we say, “Yes” to the little nudges that occur every so often. They’re usually calls to action, and we can immediately respond, or we can make an excuse. 

I am not aware of the spiritual leanings of Seth Godin. I do think he is a talented writer. He expresses his ideas concisely and accurately. And, although secular in nature, I often find spiritual wisdom associated with his musings. 

This idea of yes jumped out at me when I read one of his one-paragraph postings, The Lifeguard Hack. See if it does something similar for you.

Extra Credit:

Amena Brown produced a Spoken Word performance called, She Said How Do You Know When You're Hearing From God? I had to listen a couple of times to catch all the words, but it was worth the time.