WHOSE LIFE MAY BE POSITIVELY IMPACTED WITH YOUR OBEDIENCE IN DOING WHAT GOD HAS ASKED YOU TO DO?

Prayer and sitting quietly, listening for God's whispers, are the most effective ways of learning what God's purpose is for your life. Do not worry or give up if you are finding it difficult to hear God or understand what he is saying to you. Instead, keep praying and listening and paying attention. The most important thing is to lean in and keep listening; to devote some time to sit quietly and meditate; to relax your entire body, from head to toe; to let go of to-do lists and other distractions; and to keep your attention on Jesus. Breathe the name of Jesus in and out, in and out, taking a count of four to breathe in and four to breathe out. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you receive from God if you start by doing this for just a few minutes. I find that softly playing Christian music can help set my focus.

Believe he wants to speak with you and be patient. He will speak to you as he spoke to Samuel (read 1 Samuel 3:1-10 ESV). Answer as Samuel did: "Speak, Lord, for your servant hears."

If at first you don't feel like you’re hearing from God, be patient; don't be hard on yourself. It took Samuel, a long-serving priest, four times before he realised it was God speaking, and even then, it was only because Eli recognised that Samuel was being called by God. God won't "ghost" you; he'll keep trying to get through until you can hear him. He’s persistent that way!

“And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”” 1 Samuel‬ ‭3:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Posture your heart and mind; open them up, ready to receive what he has for you. This is an important step because he often asks us to do things that we believe are too big for us to handle. Have confidence that he isn’t going to speak to you, then do a mic drop and walk away!! On the contrary, he will walk beside you, guiding you with step-by-step directions. Even when his instructions don't make sense to you, trust him and move forward. God is unable to reveal every detail of his plans because doing so could frighten you off. Determine to be radically obedient, do what he is asking of you, and you will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. You can be assured that your extreme, radical obedience to God will have an amazing impact on both your life and the lives of others.

When you say, "Speak God," Your servant is listening; be ready; be prepared for what he asks of you. Don’t be afraid to ask him to help you; believe that he has your steps already ordered and that he wants you to succeed. Step out boldly, faithfully, and with confidence. When you do as God asks, you will gain favour with people. They will trust you and come to know you as a person of your word, which means you will have their attention to speak Godly truth into their lives and bring them into a relationship with him.

“Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in Moses’ Teachings?” Jesus answered him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ John 10:27

God continues to tell me as I'm writing this that we're all commanded to love him and his people, and paying close attention to him is a necessary step in fulfilling those two commands. Each of us needs to keep improving our listening abilities because we are all ongoing works in progress. Instead of complicating our obedience to God, let's focus on loving him and his people. We must draw near to God to receive his guidance and instructions. Talk to him, then stop, look, and listen for his voice.

Father, draw near to your sheep. I ask you to help us hear your voice and be radically obedient to all you whisper to us. Teach us to believe we are hearing you and to place all our confidence and hope in your guidance. It’s in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27