How to Hear God’s Voice Clearly Every Time | Ep 04

Hey friend, welcome to A New Creation Podcast where we're pointing women towards victory in Christ, one Jesus story at a time. My name is Jemese LaChel and I'm your host. Go ahead and get comfortable, get cozy, and let's dive right in to today's episode. First of all, I'm excited, and I feel like I say that at the beginning of every episode, but I am. I'm excited about this episode because it's actually my first solo topic episode and I've got a juicy topic for you today.

So, if you have ever questioned how do I hear God and know for sure that it's God speaking to me? How do I reach God when I pray? It feels like I don't even hear anything, and if you've ever struggled with anything like that, you're going to want to listen into this episode and stay tuned to the end.

This topic comes on the heels of a conversation I had with someone I love. This person said, "you know what Jemese I'm really glad that you know what God wants. I'm glad that you hear Him when you pray, " but she... it's like her countenance changed as she began to describe how when she prays, It's like she doesn't get any answers. And there was almost a sense of underlying shame because she knows--This person has been around, you know, the the block long enough to know that confusion doesn't come from God.

Confusion doesn't come from God

If there's any confusion in the matter, that's not God. He doesn't always  give us the whole blueprint for how the plan is going to lay out. But there's a difference in not knowing what's around the corner and being straight up confused. Confusion doesn't come from God.

And so, as this person was describing this to me, they go, "you know, when I pray, I just I'm not sure what he wants for me or what his will is for me, and it's just like I can't hear him."

And I'll be honest, it kind of hurt me because I just know that God doesn't want anyone of his children to feel that way. If you are his daughter, he doesn't want you to feel that way. You know, we're talking about God here, we're talking about Holy God, and the beauty is that, like, you know, we can know God as our creator, we can all know him as our creator, but once you embrace except believe Jesus, the Son of God. Guess what? Now you get to know God as your Father. And can you imagine any father--any good father wanting their children to feel like they can't reach him?

I know that Jesus did not go on the Cross and endure everything that he endured for us to save us, to give us salvation. I know he didn't do that for us to be here walking around the earth feeling like we can't access him, like we can't reach him. No. What Jesus bought for us was a right to go boldly to the throne.

I want you to imagine, if you're a parent (I know I have some parents listening) how would you feel if your kids felt like they didn't know what you want it for them. How would you feel if your kids felt like they couldn't hear you, they didn't know? That would hurt you right? It would bother you, and so we have to understand that when we're experiencing something like this, there's a root issue that we got to get to.

Because it ought not to be to be that way and I'm not saying that from condemnation. I'm not saying that to be judgmental in any way, and in fact I want you to hear that I myself have also personally gone through this season and I know, I'm sure there will be a time in the future where perhaps it seems like God is unusually quiet or I'm not sure what He wants, what he wants me to do.

But like I've I've shared before, there's a difference between God being quiet because he has a blueprint for us that we're in at privy to seeing the whole thing or what's around the corner. He's asking us to trust him. There's difference between that place and being in a place of straight up confusion when you're pray. We have to understand that confusion doesn't come from Him. If you find yourself in an experience of that, it's time to press and don't run from the father, don't run from God, don't shut the door to him.

Unfortunately, many have, many have said I'm going to walk away from this Jesus stuff, I'm going to walk away from this prayer stuff because it's not as though anything is changing. That's not the attitude to have. The attitude to have this. Okay, there needs to be an adjustment. There's there needs to be an adjustment. We have to understand that if we're experiencing this kind of scenario, it is never God. It's never an issue of God, It's always something going on with us, okay. And so when you come from that understanding and you just press in and humility, everything will change.

My hope and prayer for you is that whoever's listening to this episode and and maybe you're going through this, that you will receive the deliverance that you need from this issue. You know, deliverance isn't always have to be casting out the devil, casting out Dan's deliverance can be deliverance from this place to this whole other place. Okay, God talks about how we're going from Glory to Glory here. It's my prayer that God will deliver you, through this message, out of that place where you're feeling like you can't hear him.

I'm going to give you some practical tips. We're going to work through this thing and walk through this thing real quickly, so stay with me, all right.

The Little Foxes

So of course I'm going to take it to the scripture, to the word of God, and I'm looking at Song of songs, or maybe Your Bible says Song of Solomon. I love the part where it says "catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards will our vineyards are in blossom."

And it's honestly worth studying out that little portion of scripture for yourself. But in short, the little foxes could represent anything that would interfere our disrupt your relationship with the Lloyd. What does God, our Father, who wants for us? He wants every child to bear fruits. And how can you bear fruit when you're not even sure what God is saying to you? How can you bear fruit when you're you're on the rocky round? He's not rocky or unstable, but you're shaky about do I know that I'm pleasing him? Do I know this? That of the you know what I'm saying, these secret little thoughts that we have sometimes.

So here's how we're going to do with that. We're going to focus on getting a little foxes that are interfering with your relationship and your ability to hear God, your ability to hear Jesus. You actually have the ability to hear him today.

God is still speaking. He's still speaking, and we're going to get to the root of why we may be struggling with that. If you say you can't hear God and you're not sure what he wants for you and your prayer time and you're seeking answers, and I'm just going to invite you even now think about an issue that you're going through right now and you need an answer from God. You need an answer. Think about that issue and maybe keep that of the back of your mind as we are having this conversation, because God has an answer for you. He cares so much about every detail of your life. He loves you. There's nothing going on with you that he does not care about. He cares about you. Everything little detail, if he knows the very number of hairs on your head. Girl, he cares.

The breakdown

If you say you can't hear God, we're good to look at three things. First, we're looking at what do you believe about God, what's true about him? Second, we're going to look at what do you believe about yourself and what's true about you according to his word? And lastly, we're going to do that practical application and put your faith into action, because, honestly, what's the use of all of the spiritual knowledge if you are not able to apply it to your life. We don't want to be just hearers of the word, but we want to be doers. We want to put that faith in action.

Before we go in. I want you to recognize this. If you are struggling with this, and I know I'm speaking to someone specifically, if you're struggling with this, you need to hear me. It means that there is something in you that desires him. You need to put off that shame if you feel like there's something wrong with you. See, this is why people in a running trying to find all of doing all this kind of weird stuff. Trying eastern meditation and reading all these weird self help books, and I'm not trying to be judgmental when I say that. I'm saying I went through this. I struggled. I grew up in the church but. I struggled to access Jesus because I didn't understand that he wanted a relationship with me and how I was supposed to go about having relationship with him. I talk to Jesus every day now. You know what I'm saying. But back then and and I even went through a season where I'm like, I don't know how to access this. I don't know how to access all of the stuff you guys are talking about. It doesn't make any sense to me. So I went off exploring, exploring all kind of religions, exploring all kind of beliefs, just seeking, seeking, speaking, not realizing that the whole time I was running and that God was speaking to me the whole time but I couldn't hear it.

No shame

So I want you to understand this much. If you are going through that, please do not feel ashamed. Don't let anybody make you feel ashamed because of it, because there's no reason to be ashamed. If you're if you're listening to this right now, because you maybe are going through this problem, understand that there's something in you that desires him. See often the enemy will use this problem to condemn you, saying if you're a new believer, oh well, you just must not be good at hearing God, and you know, put you down in that way, those little secret thoughts, those secret thoughts.

You got to check your secret thoughts. You know what I'm saying? The Bible tells us to take all the thoughts, captain, bring him through the obedience of Christ. You take those thoughts, captive, because those secret thoughts, they could be like the little foxes, though, are because wreaking havoc in this beautiful vineyard. Okay, I know I'm getting poetic, but I want to I want you to understand that there's no reason for you to be condemned. So if you're having those secret thoughts of " Oh, I just must not be good at this,"and you're starting to feel some kind of way about that, understand that ain't God, that ain't Jesus, that's not the Holy Spirit. Okay? The enemy will condemn the new believer that way and and sometimes the enemy will convince the longtime believer to start comparing themselves to others, to compare their gifts, while that person over there seems to be here in God and visions, and that person over there seems to be here and God like this will god that'sn't talk to me like that and we have those kinds of secret thoughts. I'm telling you. This is why I'm saying God cares so much about every part of you from place of love. He's not trying to condemn you, but love it one. You are his daughter. Okay, he loves you and he wants. He wants you to be right in him more than you do. You understand. He wants this fix so much that, he said, and Jesus to die for your Sendet, okay, so that you could be recognciled and have that communication with him. You know what I'm saying. So that right there for somebody. Okay, maybe it's even for me, because I'm telling I've been through this before. So you need to know the truth, you need to speak the truth and need to understand for those of us in Christ, there is no condemnation. So don't you love the it of me or them secret thoughts put you down about this particular scruggle. If you're struggling in that way, you got what you get. What I'm saying, Girl. All right, we're just getting started, y'all. This is going to be good.

Little Fox #1: Your Beliefs about God

So let's look at that first point. We're going to look at what do you believe about God? What's crue about them? Scripture says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. That's coming out of John Hundred and twenty seven. Do you believe this? I'll say it again. This is the words of Jesus, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. This is Jesus saying that his sheep hear his voice. If you are struggling to hear God of your praying and your prayer time, when you're struggling to hear him or know what he wants, you need to just commit this verse to memory. Commit this verse, start in fact, right now. Holy Spirit, anyone who needs this word, word, please help them hide it deep in their heart. My sheep here, in my voice and I know them and they follow me. John Ten twenty seven, Jesus is telling you right here that whatever you believe, come on now, whatever you believe, his words the fire. I don't say. He said his sheep here, his voice and he knows you and you follow him. Are you his sheep's Jesus, Your Shepherd? If he's cruly your shepherd, guess what, he will make sure that you find him, that you hear him. I have this piece of artwork up in my hallway. It's some sheep and a pastor and I love this artwork. It's like this prophetic artwork piece because it just reminds me that we go through things in life. You may feel out there not even realize you're out there. I I have said that I was a resident who agan on the hot mess express, okay, going through life, and I did not know that there was a place for me in the Kingdom of Heaven, that God actually wanted me, that whenever he calls us, he chooses us, he wants us, he wants relationship with us, he wants to hang out with us, he wants to talk with us, he doesn't want anything to get in the way of a relationship with him. I didn't know that. So I love this profess ad a art piece, because every time I look at it I remember the Good Shepherd who keeps his eye on his sheep. He keeps his eye on the flock and he will not lose, not even one of us. He will leave the ninety nine to go back for the one. He did it for me, for someone listening. He did it for you, and that's how good he is. That's how good he is. Here, Jesus is telling me the truth. His sheep hear him, they know his voice and they follow him, and you have to understand that. That's for you. Anything that you're reading in the scriptures, when you're reading the scriptures and you hear something like this, grab hold of it, grab hold of it and cling to it tightly. When I first went through my barn again experience, I started just plastering a scriptures all over the windows and, you know, places that I would see I put them. I've got this window above my catch and sting and the whole left side that putting down that window has sticking notes and around my computer monitor sticky notes, all of these powerful scriptures that spoke to me in a time of need. And guess what? I would see those scriptures and maybe, maybe I didn't seem like things change right away. But as you are reading the Scriptures, that word is working on you. Okay, there is nothing in the world more powerful than God's word. Okay, it's sharper than any to edge. It's so raid. All right, I spoke earlier about we have been given the right to go boldly into that throne room, to go boldly to the throne of grace, to receive mercy, go boldly to the mercy seat, go boldly before the Lord. We have been given that right, okay, and so my recommendation is that you just simply in your prayer time, even if you feel like you're straggling to hear him. Ask Him. Lord, what do I believe? Do I actually believe what you said? Do I actually believe that I can hear you? Do I actually believe that you know me? Do I actually believe that you're there? And let him begin to work on you and your heart, because, see, a lot of times were believing the wrong thing, some beliefs people are carrying that are messing up their ability to access God the way that's intended. Is this belief or idea that God isn't speaking today. So, and maybe I'll talk a little bit more about this later, the Lord isn't leading me to have that discussion today. But some people are so rot with a religious spirit, are so rot with the experience of being in these congregations that are so oppressed to the point of suppression, suppressing the Holy Spirit, suppressing the move of God, suppressing and it's not about you convoluting up audible voices. Please don't do that. Please do our asking Lord to speak to you audibly. Don't do that. Okay, but some people believe that God isn't speaking today. So how could you hear his voice if you don't even believe that he's speaking. How could you hear his voice if, when you pray, you feel like he's here, some old guy sitting in this guy with a fly swatter ready to slap you on the head? You have to understand that God is speaking and the number one way to encounter his his word for you, is the word, and the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was God. So every time you pick up your Bible, then, every time you pick up your Bible, you are encountering God's word. You are encountering Jesus. Jesus is the word. Okay, so you have to understand that. It's the enemy is these wrong beliefs that will try to convince you that God is so far off in the distance. Girl, he could not be any closer. He wants to pursue you, he wants to speak to you, he wants to to guide you, and I will tell you every time that the number one way to hear him is by his word. Pick up your Bible and read it. I would encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to give you a scripture that you can cling to for the truth that God has something to say to you, specifically another false belief that sort of hinders a little Fox, if you will, that interferes with your relationship. It's the idea that God talks to other people but he doesn't talk to you. So some people believe that God will only work through the pastor that God will only work through a priest, that God will only work through these, you know, people high up and leadership, but that's not true. I think about the story of Moses. Moses was like listen, okay, I'm out here in the Wilderness. He was a fuguntive, okay, Moses was a Moses was a murderer, come on now, and he ran. But God chose him. He had something to say to him, and Moses was like listen, I can't even talk right, I can't even talk right. What you mean? God has had something to say to him, and Moses and Holy God went back and forth about that matter, and so Moses had it in his head like okay, I can do this, I can do this thing that God is asking me to do, because God had a will for Moses. God has a will in your life. There's something that is in his perfect will for you. There's something that he has for you to do there's an assignments, there's a purpose, there's something he has for you specifically, daughter, and he wants you to know what it is with a clearness. I encourage you to even calm through the scriptures, finding the Times why where God has spoken to his people, all the way from the Old Testament to the New Testament. That might be a good thing to study out today. We're not going to go that deep, but that might be an exercise that you want to do that could help break this down for you. I pray asking God to reveal to you who he is, because God is who he says he is. See, I made the mistake of believing that God was who I understood him to be, and that is so dangerous. Oh, that's such a dangerous belief. Have you ever been in the workplace or in school and you see someone? You don't really know them, but suddenly you make up this idea, this whole story about who that person is? And maybe it's the thing of Oh, I don't like that person, they seem kind of Snooty, they seem kind of that person seems kind of standoffish. Oh, they're like they're just so mean, or that person's a SNOB. You know, we start making these judgments. Okay, we want to assess the scene and we're trying to figure things out. Have you ever been have the opportunity to actually sit down with that person and find out they are nothing like you thought, nothing like you thought they would be? We do that to God all the time, and so when we're trying to make God into who we understand him to be, we are playing with fire. You're playing with fire, okay, because God is who he says he is. I don't want the god of my own limited understanding. I Want Holy God. I want God in his fullness. I want God for who he says he is. I want God for who he says he is. God says he's a healer, he says he's a redeemer, he says that he's a deliverer. He says he's the God of salvation. He says he's a friend closer than a brother. He says he's the lover of my soul. God loves you. I want God in his fullness. There may be aspects of God that I cannot even begin to like. Right now I'm really studying out the fact that I know God is love, the Scriptures tell us that God is love, but do I really know deep down in my bones? But I could, I really as I don't. I'm in this place of trying to actually like absorb this idea that God is love and he loves me, he loves his daughters so much and he wants us to walk in that perfect love. That perfect love casts out fear. That's something I'm walking, walking through right now and he's teaching me. But do you understand that whenever we box God in according to what we think, you are limiting him. You're like making that jugument Carl and the new girl in class on the new guy in class. You know what I'm saying, all that person's this or that and you're just assessing their character. You don't even really know them because you never took I'm one of the first things that the Lord told me when I had my encounter with him, when he was snatching me out of the flame. He snatched me under the darkness because I was so lost in it. I didn't realize until he told me. I didn't realize until I encountered him right in my living room and he told me was such gentleness. He spoke it to me at my spirit, he said. Dr Meise, he said, you have been carrying around this Bible for so many years. If you want to know who I am, if you want to understand read my book. There's a whole book about me. Come on. So I could go on and on about that issue, but I think you get my point. I would encourage you to pray to him, asking him to reveal himself to you through the scriptures, not through your own mind, but through the scriptures, and study out his character early on. Any time I found a scripture that identified his character or name, I wrote that doubt on this word document and I may turn that into a little thing, like a principle or something, so you can contact me if that's something that you're interested in.

Let's move on.

So we're talking about how do you hear God clearly and know his will for you when you want to know that, when you pray to him, that you're going to receive answers, that you're able to receive answers, rather, because we're not going to boss God around and tell him all you tell me this right now. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the belief that when you talk to God that he wants to speak back to you because he has something to say. So we talked about unpacking, unpacking those beliefs that you have about God.

Little Fox #2: Your Beliefs about Yourself

Now it's unpack the beliefs you have about yourself. We need to look at what's actually true about you according to God, and, believe it or not, a lot of this is wrapped up in identity. My question is, are you having an identity crisis? I wrote that down in my notes. Are you having an identity crisis? Because sometimes so, when we don't know who we are, that interferes with our ability to hear God, that interferes with our ability to receive his wisdom. Because you don't even understand your you don't even see yourself as his daughter, you don't even see yourself as as his beloved. You don't even understand that he's not just some elusive guy like other clouds somewhere floating off of the distance, but he is your father and as a father, you being his child, he wants to love on you, he wants to guide you, to discipline you, to correct you, he wants to speak to you, he wants to he wants to do all of that for you. He doesn't want you out here scruggling and your independence, being independent of him. He wants you to be dependent on him. And now that doesn't mean that you know, he doesn't make is capable, are confident, to be able to go out in the world and seeing her own two feet. That's not what I'm talking about when I'm speaking about dependents. What I mean is he wants you to know that in your own strength, you are going to fail, but with him on your side, every time you win, every single time you win. Okay, he wants you to know him this way. That's your identity. So one of the one of the most simple ways to break down and kind of pierce through this issue and kind of eliminate that Little Fox is to know who you are in God, to know who you are in God, to know your true identity. And so I have written down ten things that are in the scriptures and, like I said, in the beginning, when the Lord was working on me, I started to pull from the scriptures. You know, I first I pulled all these scriptures that I could find about who God says he is, and then I pulled scriptures about who does God to say I am. See, I did not realize all those years growing up in the church not really getting my questions answered, I didn't realize that I actually had an identity in him and that he actually had this whole identity laid out for me. What I ended up doing was searching and, like you know, changing up my style. I went through that phase and high school and Middle School where I was addressing in a different style all the time because I was having an identity. Christis, come on, I was so trying to figure out who I was. I didn't understand that I didn't actually have to go through that because Jesus gave me an identity. My father in heaven already had an identity laid out for me. I'm telling you, if you pick up your Bible and read it, you'll see that for yourself. Now these are just ten things that I climb onto in the beginning about what the scriptures say about who I am, about who you are. God says you're his child, he says you're set free. God says you're a new creation in Christ, that you are born of God by right, that you are justified by faith. He says that you are delivered from the power of darkness, that you're no longer an enemy, but reconciled to the father. God says you are his, you're holy, you're chosen, a special treasure and on a path like the shining sun. Girl friend, come on, come on. You have an identity in him and if you don't know your identity, like of course, that could eat at your confidency. That's a tool of the enemy. Sometimes. Now I everything in about the enemy. Come on now, the enemy doesn't need cloud. Not Everything's the enemy. Sometimes is us at our own wrong beliefs. But I'm telling you, that's a deception for you not to understand who you are. You have an identity in Christ. I believe that the believer, the true believer in father of Jesus Christ, ought to be the most confident person in the world. And why is that? It's not coming from a place of arrogance its is coming from a place of God. Is My confidence because he has won the victory for me and he is with torrious and you have to know who you are in him. And when you know that, you understand that he has a will for you. When you pray, he wants to talk to you. I think about the garden of Eden. You know, when everything was just perfect that in the cool of the day, God and Adam Walk together the cool of the day, and I'm sure that he spoke with Eve to. They have their conversations, but he, God, walked with them, talked with them. Okay, you're his child and he wants you to know how to hear him. So let's correct those issues.

Journal Work

First and foremost, we're going to take those things before the Lord. How do you see God and how do you see yourself? Here's a journal exercise that I would encourage you to do and your prayer time. No, journaling is great, but journaling is even better when you bring the Lord into it. So I don't encourage you to deal honestly anything without the Lord, the Lords that acknowledge him in all your ways. So I'm going to encourage you to get a journal, sit down, pray to God and ask the Holy Spirit to just be in your that experience of your writing, that experience of your journaling, and you're going to write two things. You're going to write down everything you believe about God and then go compare it to scripture so you can see if there's any errors, and then write down everything you believe about yourself. And also compare that to scripture. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you, on the list you've me what's a lie and where's the truth and scripture. Okay, so that's a little introspection. So we talked about all that. That's wonderful, but we want to get to this is what you're here for. We want to get to some practical application. We're going to put that faith in action. Here's how to fix this issue. Here's how to take the situation and change it. You first of all need to know that it's God who is producing the change. We try to change things on our own effort and we try to change things without him, but come on, he's been highlighting to me saw one twenty seven. Unless the Lord builds the house, he labors in vain. WHO BUILDS IT? Unless God is producing the change in you, it's going to be in vain, because you may find yourself and confusion. You may find yourself that know, I want to do so from the onset. Understand that every move you're making henceforth is it ought to be in the spirit of God. Every move that you're making. It's the Lord producing that fruit in you, because he says he wants to give you fruit that last. He wants to. He cares about you that much. So Trust God, pray to him, ask him for help.

Practical Application: How to Hear God Clearly

So here's some practical steps. We're going to go through this pretty quickly. None of these are in order, except this one.

#1. Read Your Bible

Number one, some practical application. Number One. Think you want to deal is girl, Read Your Bible. Maybe let's not looks she wanted to be here, but come on, read your Bible, Girl. The whole thing, the whole thing. I am passionate about the subject. Hear me, and I hope you know by now, like I ain't coming down on anybody. Come on. Paul said he was the chief sinner. Come on now, how could I come down in anybody? Everything, when I went through, I carried my Bible and around for over thirty years and never read that thing. Covered a cover, okay, but when the Lord encountered me, rather when I encountered the Lord, let's let's keep it real, when the Holy Spirit came, when Jesus came, the Holy Spirit came and convicted me of my sin and convicted me. Oh, I had to repent, tears screaming, he told me he began to work on me and my heart and he told me read the Bible, the whole thing. There is a whole book about the Lord and his relationship and the whole thing covered a covers, telling one cohesive story about Jesus. This is how God told me to do it. Now you'll if you go asking, people will give you all kind of different opinions. I'm sh tell you what he told me. I'm encouraging you to pray, asking how does he want you to handle it? But the Lord told me to read the first five books of the Bible because it was intimidating. Right, it was in timid dad and that's probably why a lot of people don't read their whole Bible. It's a lot of words, is really huge and it can be intimidating. He told me to first of all get a translation that I could comprehend. So I asked around and I got the message remix and I got the new King James version and he told me to read the first five chapters. So I read the first five chapters in my NK J v Translation. I read the first five chapters of, I'm sorry, the first five books of the Bible and I didn't realize it, but that's called the Torah. So I did that. Then he told me to read the whole book of Matthew so that I could hear Jesus, so I can see Jesus and the New Testament. So I did that. Then I he told me to go back and read the Old Testament, go back and finish the New Testament, and I have been reading the Bible cover to cover ever since and I don't like to get too far away from that, from that chronological you know, reading the Bible cover to cover, because there's something that happens when you're reading the Bible. You may not understand everything that you're reading at first, but there is a Bible scholar, Tim Mackie, who said it like this. He said the Bible is the only book, it's the only text you'll ever pick up and read, and while you're reading it, it is reading you. The Bible is alive and active, sharper than any two edged sword. So when you're reading the word of God, the Bible, when you're reading is actually working on you, it's actually convicting you of your sin. That's the Holy Spirit working through the scriptures. Is Convicting You, it's changing you. It's like moving the furniture around inside of your heart and inside of your mind, and so you think you're reading pages and maybe you don't understand what you're reading. But if you persevere, I promise you, your life will transform. You will not be the same. So you need to read your Bible, the whole thing. Maybe you're not in a place where you can sit down and you have the kind of time. I actually picked up the Bible APP, which I love, and I would let the audio book, the Audio version of it, just read itself to me while I was around the house doing my choice, taking care of my kids. Like I said, I have two little kids, so that I'll often give me time to sit down and just read. So I would pop my ear buds in and let the Bible read itself to me and go check out the you version Bible APP if you don't have the if you don't have it, the beautiful thing is that once you down on that APP, you have so many translations at your fingertips and you're guaranteed to find a translation that makes sense to you and the Um and modern language. Okay, now, when you do that, here's some good advice for you, and this is for anybody, whether you're a new believer or you've been following the Lord for fifty years, pray before you read or before you let the Bible read itself to you, because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Don't let anybody tell you that it's cheating to listen to the audiobook of the Bible. Come on now, not everybody out there key read, does do they not get the Gospel? Now, that's ridiculous, right. And the beginning and the ancient times that everybody had access to the scriptures because it was so expensive. There is a deep history of hearing the scriptures spoken orally. Okay, don't let anybody try to steal that joy from you. And and hear even Bible through the audiobook. But however you're choosing to go about this, whether you're going to sit down and read your physical copy of the Bible or you're on your phone and reading it that way, Dick, you Toldi, or letting the audio book kind of read itself to you, I would encourage you to pray. I wrote this down on a note card to remind me a symbol prayer, some things to pray for, some prayer points.

Before I sit down to read my Bible and it's all scriptural. Pray that the Lord would open the eyes of your understanding, pray that the Lord would lead you into truth, pray that the word would change you for his glory and pray that you would hide the word in your hearts. Now, like I said, none of this is an order or anything, except for this first one. Read Your Bible, Girl. Now the next thing, the next recommendation in terms of practical tools, it's begin to speak the word over yourself.

#2. Speak the Scriptures Over Your Life

So now you've you've been reading your Bible you want to start praying that out, speaking that out over yourself, because he said you will find me when you seek me with your whole heart. He said you'll find me. So you got to understand that. Like you, those promises are in the Bible and God is not a man that he should lie. So if he promises it, if he says it, it is done. That's the way it is, okay. So you want to begin to speak those promises out loud. I'm telling you, there is like you may not always be able to see what happens in the spirit realm while you're praying, but when you pray the word of God who. It's a weapon. It's a weapon. He said that you will find me when you seek me with your whole heart. He said he'll walk over his word to see that it's accomplished. So you want to start speaking and declare that over yourself. Pray, asking with the Holy Spirit would even give you just one verse to cling to. And if you're not sure where to look, I'd recommend looking through the psalms or the proverbs and let in the spirit, the Holy Spirit, guide you.

#3. Discern if Deliverance is Necessary

Here's something else you can try. If you're really struggling, you have to consider deliverance ministry. Okay, so I got to go too deep into this this one, but just know that we have to, I. Equip ourselves, because there is a spiritual war going on. And the moment that you accept Christ, Jesus, guess what, baby you is you in this? You and the Lord. Okay, you are. The thing is, you were already in it before you accept that Jesus. You just didn't know it. Okay, but when you accept Jesus, the enemy does not like that. Now this is nothing to fear, do you not fear? Don't have any fear about it whatsoever, because the Lord, when you read in the scriptures. He conquered the devil. Okay, Satan has no authority over you as the believer when you are submitted to God, when your father, you know what I'm saying, don't so don't be scared. But you want to understand that sometimes, if you are really blocked up and you're like, man, I'm praying, I'm on my I'm praying, I'm praying, I can't hear you, Lord, you may want to consider is there something going on in terms of spiritual warfare that may require deliverance ministry and trust knowing that if you need that, the Lord will help provide. When I receive deliverance ministry, I didn't even know what the deliverance the ministry was. I didn't even know what evangelism was, but the Lord led him to this woman. She's with the Lord now, but he led him to this woman, evangelist, Terry King, and she minister deliverance to me and it's but all ever sin. You know the Lord. The Lord says that we expose the works of darkness, right and sometimes it is so that the enemy will try to like send intrusive thoughts or whatever, whatever to block you up, so that if it's seems like it's interfering with your connection to God. But guess what, God is so much more powerful Jesus, the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, is so much more powerful than that. And I think nothing but a thing to get that corrected and kick the double out of your life, okay, and put the devil in his place so that you can begin to hear the perfect will of God in your life. I could share this because we must be equipped, because there is a spiritual war going on and to stick your head in the sand as a logical God doesn't want us to do that, and especially when he's given us a weapons and tools. When Jesus went off into the Wilderness and here it comes, Mr Devil, just giving him hassled at him. What did he do? He threw scriptures at the devil, and the devil he fleed. The double left. The double left, okay. So it's very important to know your valuable because once you know the scriptures, say like come on now, you want to stand on that thing.

#4. Fasting & Prayer

Another practical application that you may want to begin applying in your life you're scrattling to hear God is prayer and fasting and again that probably deserves its own episode. But when we fast, it's like say, we're not fasting to manipulate God, we're not fasting to change him or get him to whatever, whatever. We're actually fasting so that we can silence the noise around us and really press and press and to hear God. If you're if you're feeling like blocked up or anything like this, I would encourage you to maybe consider is it time to fast? I'm you definitely want to do fasting and prayer, because fasting without prayer is just a diet. Come on, okay, fasting and prayer. It is so effective and as the Holy Spirit has led me to fast and pray over the years. I'm telling you, it's like, oh the revelation I get from the Lord about problems that I'm going through or just things that he has for me. He has given me so much vision during my times of prayer and fasting. So if you're struggling with with with accessing God, hearing God, you might consider do you need to do you need to fast? I would encourage you with prayer and fasting always, you know, we want to stay submitted to the Lord, so ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and that and and just crust, just crush the process.

#5. Commit Your Ways to Jesus

And the last little thing of that I'll share in terms of practical tips is to consider Psalm thirty seven five. It says commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. Have you intentionally commit it your way unto the Lord? Have you intentionally said, God, you could have all of me. Have you intentionally said, look, I don't even, I don't even know fully what you're leading me into, Lord, but you could have it the way I was doing life. Ah, that in it. I want it, I want you. I want to do it your way. I've had enough of doing life my way. Have you intentionally commit it your way to him? See, sometimes we think we have to have it all, figure it out. I don't know if there's any type of personalities out there. Sometimes we think we got to have it all figured out and you know, I want to do this, then then that'll happen into the but God doesn't want us to be little gods with a little GE okay, he wants us to exalt him to his rifle place. Exalt him, okay, magnify him, commit our way to him. Because, because what? When we do that? He's going to order our steps, he's going to make the cricket place as straight, he's going to lead us and the paths of righteousness. And so maybe this sounds like Christianese to your like, what is this woman talking about? You just seem to hear this much. If God has some of you, but not all of you, come on now you want to commit your way to him completely. Ask Yourself, does he really have all of you, or is he just an option? Is he just an option, or are you fully end so you could s all of this up like this. You want to know God, you want to trust God, you want to love God. Repent where you know you need repentance, and maybe there's places you don't know. You know we can't. I didn't know that I needed to repent of a lot of the stuff that he saved me from. He was so gracious to come and find me. There's a little lost sheep. He came back and he found me. I didn't even know I was lost. Maybe that's you. Okay, ask him to show you. Is there anywhere in your heart were you're hanging onto unforgiveness? Is there anywhere that you're not dealing with something that he wants you to deal with, commit your way to him and then get out of the way.

Prayer

If you want a relationship with Jesus and you're ready to completely overcome what feels like maybe a really long time of doing everything on your own, maybe you just want to refresh relationship with God, the father, with Jesus. Just say this after me. Just repeat this prayer right along with me. Say it a loud or just in your heart. Oh most gracious and heavenly father, I want to accept you, I want to love you, I want to hear from you, and I need your help to do that. Oh Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the sudden God, I believe that you died for my sins, that you rose on the third day, Lord, and I believe that you love me and I want to know more of you. I want to grow in the knowledge of you. Today I commit my life to you, Lord, I commit my life to you and I ask you to be the Lord of my life and lead me and help me to trust your leading. Guide me and help me to trust your guiding. Help me to get out of my own way so that you can do what only you can do so that you can make all things new in my life and the mighty name of Jesus, I pray Amen. If you just said that prayer. Welcome to the family.

Conclusion

This was a lot, but I guess let I don't know that somebody got what they needed and I just pray that that person was you. Bless you. Thank you for tuning and apply this, and I want to hear from you. Go on to my instagram and dn me. Message me. I'm on Instagram @jemeselachel and let me know if this spoke to you. Let me know if you're one who has struggled to hear God and your life by applying some of the things that you learned today. Until next time, may the God of peace be with you until we meet again.