How do I hear God when I pray? When we pray, it’s easy to make it a one-way conversation where we tell God what we need, what we’re thankful for and maybe the occasional confession. But our relationship with God is meant to be anything but one-way…

Everywhere we go, we are bombarded with opportunities to be heard and to hear others, from phone calls to emails, snapchats to Whatsapps.

Our lives are interrupted by a seemingly constant series of bleeps, vibrations and swooshes. We are in a place and time that demands that we are constantly switched on and available to the world.

Yet, this pressure to constantly communicate; to be heard and to react, can often feel overwhelming – and has the potential to become stifling. 

Perhaps this is a distortion of what our souls long for. 

We were designed with the desire to be known, and to know others in return. We were created to be in relationship above all else; and open communication is right at the heart of this. In Genesis, we read that Adam and Eve walked and talked with God, not at him. 

Perhaps the pressure we place on ourselves to constantly communicate our day-to-day is our generation’s misguided attempt to address our inherent need: to be known and to know in return. 

The great invitation to be known and to know

What if we chose to turn this desire to communicate away from online platforms, and towards Jesus, in prayer? What if there was a God who knows our voice and cares what we have to say? What if that same God invites us to know him in return? 

The most beautiful thing is that there is – and he does. 

More than just listening to us, God invited us to listen to him. What a precious invitation and an expression of true intimacy. God doesn’t just invite us to communicate at him, he invites us to communicate with him. 

Yet it’s harder than ever to stop the relentless noise that’s thrown our way; to set aside our social media news feeds in order to find opportunities to listen to God’s voice. It’s much easier when we stop to pray to simply list our requests and move on. 

Personally, it’s when I’ve fought to have the discipline to stop and listen to the one I am praying to that I have begun to know him. And in knowing him, I have found answers to my prayers. 

Listening to God in prayer satisfies that desire that we have as humans to be known and to know – the psalmist encourages us that God wants us to be still and know.

To listen to the voice of our creator is the most grounding, perspective-giving, life-changing thing we can do.

So how do I listen?

There are some great practical tips on how to listen to the voice of God – don’t be afraid to step out and get started. 

So often, we have tried to establish our own realm of non-stop conversation. But if we stop for a moment and include God’s voice in this, we will begin to hear that he is constantly communicating his love and desire for relationship with us. 

When we begin to open our eyes and ears to this possibility, we begin to hear his voice all around us.