I used to think that “hearing from God” was something that only happened rarely, and usually in a burning-bush, dramatic way. Do I need to say that when I thought like that I didn’t hear from God very often?

 

Years later, I can honestly say that hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear from God. That’s because He’s taught me some important things about what that conversation is like—and how I can create an atmosphere that nurtures it.

 

If two-way conversation with God is new to you, here are some hints that might help you experience His voice more often.

 

God speaks to all of His children, not just to certain “special” or extra-spiritual ones. “My sheep know my voice,” Jesus said in John 10:27. And 1 Corinthians 2 says the Holy Spirit reveals to our spirits the very thoughts of God. So the starting place is to believe that God wants to talk with you and will talk to you.

 

God speaks in many different ways, but the most common way is by His Holy Spirit speaking to your spirit through an inner, “still, small voice” (1 Kings 19:12, kjv). When I was just starting to actively listen for God, I expected His voice to be somehow louder or different or more distinct from the way my thoughts sounded. But I gradually learned that He most typically speaks to me by interjecting His thoughts into my own, sometimes with pictures, but most often in ways very similar to how my normal thinking goes. Expect God’s “voice” to sound very similar to your own thoughts—except that what He has to say will be wiser, more creative, and all-around better.

 

Samuel, when he was first learning God’s voice, gave Him an invitation: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). Invite the Lord to speak to you, too. Let Him know how much you desire two-way communication from Him.

 

The enemy tries to get our ear. Frequently, our own thoughts and reasoning also compete with God’s voice. But Jesus assures us that His sheep “won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice” (John 10:5). Ask God to protect your time of listening from distractions, including any voice that is not His.

 

Sometimes, when I was starting out, I didn’t hear God simply because I did not give Him time. I’d ask a question or tell Him something and then move on to the next thing on my list, barely even pausing. When you speak to God, especially when you ask Him something, pause and wait quietly for His answer. Be still and notice what comes to you—thoughts, images, feelings, pictures, ideas, words or phrases, scriptures, memories. These could very well be ways the Lord is responding to you.

 

Recording what you hear is helpful for a variety of reasons. Writing helps you focus. It gives you a record of your conversation with God so you can better remember what He has said. It also provides a means of sharing what you are hearing with others so they can help discern if you are truly hearing from Him.

 

Trust God with the process. He wants to communicate with you even more than you want to hear from Him. As you seek to hear from Him with an open, submissive heart, you can count on Him to guide you and to protect you from getting off base.

            If you doubt what you are hearing (it should line up with God’s written Word and with His character) ask Him for confirmation, and perhaps share it with a friend who hears from God well. But don’t assume that when you hear words of loving kindness and affirmation to you that it’s not God. He’s your loving Father and truest Friend. If He says “I love you!” or “I’m pleased with you” or “You’re doing well” or “I want to bless you” or some other heartening words, don’t discount Him just because what He is saying encourages you! He’s the God of all hope, comfort, and encouragement.

 

Like any other skill, listening to God takes practice. The best way to learn is by jumping in and doing it. He will help you. He will protect you. He will meet you where you are and move you forward into deeper communication with Him.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I didn’t grow up in a tradition that observed Lent. In fact, generally speaking, the only way I was aware of Easter’s approach was when the Peeps and chocolate bunnies started showing up in stores. I had Catholic friends who observed Lent, usually by fasting from a favorite food, but as an evangelical, I thought that sounded like “works,” so it didn’t seem to apply to me.

 

Years later, I realized that I had thrown out the baby with the bathwater. The intent of Lent is not “works,” but rather, to invite believers to a time of examination and repentance that prepares us for receive the forgiveness of Good Friday and the hope of Resurrection Sunday. And that kind of Lenten observance is something I very much want and need!

 

Centuries ago, Ignatius of Loyola taught a method for engaging in this kind of humble reflection. He called it the “prayer of examen.” There are different ways to do an “examen,” but I’ll suggest one, the examen of conscience, that is especially good for the Lenten season.

 

Basically, the idea is simply to invite the Holy Spirit to show you anything in your life that is out of line with God’s purposes for you. That’s what sin is, after all—it’s the things we think, say, or do (or fail to think, say, or do) that prevent us from experiencing the abundant life God intends for us and those we live among. So we ask the Holy Spirit to uncover those things for us so that we can ask forgiveness for them and, with His help, turn from them.

 

It’s important not try to do an examen on your own. By ourselves, most of us will either justify things that need to be repented of, or else beat ourselves up. Neither is God’s approach. When the Holy Spirit points out sin, He doesn’t blame or condemn—He offers help and hope. He reveals areas of darkness so that we can come into God’s light and be freed, healed, and restored.

 

You can pray in your own words, or if you like, Psalm 139:23-24 makes a great ready-made prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

 

After you invite the Holy Spirit to examine your heart and mind, listen in silence for a few minutes. Jot down whatever impressions come to mind. Then talk to God about them. Confess whatever He has shown you, ask Him to forgive you, see if He wants you to make things right in any particular way, and ask for His help to turn from what He has shown you.

 

Can you see how engaging in a prayer practice like this over the days between now and Easter can make you more grateful for Jesus’ death and more hopeful and joyful because of His resurrection?

 

I think I have taken it for granted that everyone who is excited about prayer is also excited about Scripture. But several conversations I’ve had recently have caused me to start questioning that assumption. So, by way of encouragement—or perhaps challenge—I want to share with you some reasons why as a pray-er, I can’t live without spending time in God’s written Word.

1.     It helps me get to know and love the God I’m praying to. Which helps me to understand what He’s like—what brings Him joy, what grieves His heart, what He longs for, what He likes doing, how He feels about me, about my friends, about my enemies—it reveals what kind of Person He is. Which is not just making requests at a celestial service desk—it’s relating with a real Person who has feelings, opinions, and a definite personality.

2.     It shows me what kinds of things God has already done—as well as the things He has opposed. It teaches me about what kinds of prayers He loves to answer, and which ones He doesn’t. It helps me see His purposes in history—which helps me to better align with what He is doing now.

3.     It helps me to pray beyond my personal scope and small perspective on the world. I see how big God is. And as I become better acquainted with the things that concern Him, I pray larger, broader prayers.

4.     It gives me faith-building promises that give me confidence as I pray.

5.     It provides a way for God to initiate conversation with me. Instead of prayer always starting with me talking to Him, I can let Him talk to me through His Word and respond to Him. In this way He gets a chance to talk about what He wants to talk about for a change.

6.     It teaches me what God’s voice sounds like and the kinds of things He says so that when He speaks to me, I can be assured that it’s really Him.

7.     It introduces me to prayer mentors from whom I can learn how to go deeper with God in prayer.

8.     It gives me words for prayer—words to express praise, adoration, wonder, thanksgiving—as well as words (and permission!) to cry for help, complain and groan, lament, or express my contrition.

9.     It inspires me to persevere in prayer, grow in faith, live honestly before God, and love others—because in His Word I learn that God especially honors the prayers of those who seek to live in these ways.

10.It shows me the possibilities for relationship with God. When I look at how Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul, and others related to God and enjoyed Him, I am inspired also to go after a similar degree of intimacy, companionship, mutual trust, and meaningful partnership with God. His Word lets me know that He wants to have that kind of closeness with me, too—and teaches me how to cultivate that relationship.

 

 

How does the Bible help you in prayer? Or, perhaps you struggle to get into the Word. I’d like to hear about that, too. Let’s keep learning from each other.

 

 

 

A church prayer leader recently asked me a great question: “Is there a way our prayer ministry can incorporate listening prayer into our times of intercession for the church body?”

 

In her local church, the prayer team typically receives dozens of prayer requests each week for the needs of the congregation. Unemployment, illness, wayward children, and relationship issues usually top the list. The people submitting the prayer requests generally know what they would like God to do: They would like Him to fix, heal, and make the pain go away. If we’re honest, that’s what we all would like God to do when we’re anxious and hurting—no matter how mature we are. However, those of us who have walked with the Lord for a while also realize that God’s perspective and plans are larger than ours. In spite of how good and loving He is, making the pain go away is not always His first priority. He knows what we need far better than we do, after all.

 

So this prayer leader wanted to know how to handle the prayer team’s prayer times. Should they get together and pray through the prayer requests one by one, asking God to do exactly what the person making the request wants Him to do? Or is there a way to listen for God’s heart and see what He might want to add or how He might want to redirect?

 

I suggested that she group the prayer requests into categories. These would vary according to the requests submitted, obviously, but general categories might include: marriages, health, finances, wayward children, salvation of friends and family, and so on. Then when the prayer team gathers to pray, they could select a category, quickly read through all the requests in that category, and then begin praying by asking something like this: “Father, you hear these people’s hurts and hopes. We know You are good and You want to answer their requests with good gifts. We also know that Your ways are higher and wiser than ours. So what are You thinking You’d like to do for these children of Yours? Is there something You’d like to do in addition to what they’ve asked for? Are there things You want them to learn about You and Your purposes for their lives as they go through this trial?” (Or other similar questions the Holy Spirit may lead you to ask.)

 

Then, and this is important, then wait. Expect God to answer. Allow for at least five minutes of silence. Encourage your prayer team to write down impressions, Scriptures, pictures, or anything else that comes to mind as they are listening to God. After five minutes or so, invite your prayer team very briefly to share what they heard. Encourage them not to editorialize or elaborate beyond what they specifically heard. You don’t want to take up a lot of time with this part. The main thing is to see if there is a trend in what is being heard—if so that’s often a confirmation of God’s leading. So limit this time to two or three minutes at the most. Then spend the next ten minutes or so praying according to what you sensed God was saying.

 

You can repeat this process with the other requests. Or, if time is running short, you can divide your team into smaller groups, divvy up the remaining requests, and finish praying through in a more “conventional” way. Then next time you get together to pray, you could choose a different category to pray about so that over time, the various needs get prayed for in this more in-depth, “listening” type of prayer.

 

So there is one idea for how to combine listening prayer into a time of corporate intercession. But I’m sure there are others. I would love to hear from those of you in prayer ministries who also have thought about this interesting question—so if you have other ideas, please share them with us! Let’s learn from one another!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend Colin is one of the most enthusiastic pray-ers I know. If you were to ask him to describe the most fun he’s ever had, I am pretty sure his answer would involve praying for someone.

 

Granted, Colin is an extrovert who could probably make conversation with a hubcap. We’re not all wired that way. Still, he shared an experience he had the other day that inspired an introvert like me—and maybe it will inspire you, too.

 

Like many of us, Colin practices the habit of thanking God for his food—even when he is in a public place such as a restaurant. But Colin sometimes adds this next step: As the wait person is taking the order, he asks him or her (“her” in this case), “Shelly (name changed), we are going to ask a blessing on our food; if there was one thing we could pray for you tonight what would it be?” Shelly may have been surprised by Colin’s offer, but Colin wasn’t surprised when she actually did give a prayer request—for her young son. And so Colin and his wife prayed for her little boy. And it was a rich moment for all involved. As is always true about prayer, there’s more to the story—but not room here to tell it.

 

Mostly, I just wanted to share with you this simple idea for how to reach out to people who may not have anyone else to pray for them.

 

How about you? If you try this idea, let me know how it goes. Or if you have other ways that you pray for people outside your comfort zone of church and Christian community, I’d love to hear about those, too. Your story will be an encouragement to all of us.

 

Last time (1/18/12) I wrote about how I am learning to write “collects”—Scripture prayers crafted according to a specific form that help us to bring the truth of God’s character to our present place of need or longing. I hadn’t meant to make a daily practice of writing collects—but apparently God has a different idea in mind for me, at least for a while.

 

If you are part of a family, church, workplace, school, community, or any group that requires leadership or governing, there have probably been times when you’ve been concerned about the actions made by decision makers. Yes? You know what I’m talking about?

 

I was talking to God about one of these little societies I’m part of last night. I told Him I was worried about the direction we were going. I begged Him to intervene. In response, I sensed Him directing me to pray for those who hold the power. It wasn’t a new idea to me—Paul talks about it in 1 Timothy 2:2. And I do already do it. So I asked God to say more.

 

He reminded me of a conversation I’d had with a friend earlier in the day about workplace chaplains. And also about the collects I’ve been learning to write. As He connected the dots for me, I started to get excited. I am not a powerless plebian! I can ask God to give me prayers for those who need His help (even those who don’t know they need His help)!

 

So here’s what I did. I picked one person to start with. I asked God what that person most needed from Him. I sensed it was something about the “heart.” So I asked Him what Scripture might address the need of that person’s heart. He led me to Jeremiah 32:28-41 which says,

 

“They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.”

 

Following the simple outline I wrote about last time, here is the collect that emerged:

 

 

I love that! That’s a prayer I’d be glad to have anyone pray for me. It’s a prayer I know God wants to answer. So I’ll be praying it for this person, eagerly watching to see what God will do. And, if I’m hearing God right, I’ll also be asking Him to help me craft prayers for others in our little society. So apparently I’ll be writing collects for a while. Which is perfectly fine with me.

Hundreds (thousands?) of people from my denomination are gathering this week to work through some issues of major significance to our churches. So of course I’m praying for this important meeting. I pray my own prayers, but I am also praying a centuries-old prayer—called a “collect”—from the Book of Common Prayer. Here it is:

 

Yes, the language is formal. But I love how this prayer expresses the longings of Jesus and the truth of Scripture. It helps me to pray with faith and a heart connected with God’s. I need that!

 

So . . . recently I was challenged to write my own collects (pronounced CALL-lect). It turned out to be easier than it first seemed—and yet for me, anyhow, it has become a fresh and very rich way to pray Scripture.

 

Here’s the basic outline:

 

1.     Start by addressing God according to one of His names or attributes

2.     Say something about who He is according to that name or attribute

3.     Ask Him to do or be something according to a specific need you present to Him

4.     Describe what the result of Him answering this request will be

5.     Close your prayer

 

(For a more in-depth discussion of this prayer form, check out an article by Shea Tuttle: http://www.examiner.com/protestant-in-richmond/liturgical-writing-101-the-collect-prayer-form)

 

So if we broke down the prayer I am praying for my denomination into these parts, it would look like this:

 

1.     Almighty God (addressing God)

2.     Whose blessed Son before his passion prayed for his disciples that they might be one, even as thou and he are one (describes something about Him)

3.     Grant that thy Church, being bound together in love and obedience to thee, may be united in one body by the one Spirit (what you are asking Him to do)

4.     that the world may believe in him whom thou didst send, the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee (anticipated result)

5.     In the unity of the same Spirit, one God, now and for ever, Amen. (closing)

 

 

Granted, that formal example may be a bit tough to follow. So let me give you one of my simpler, personal examples. Recently, my daily Scripture text came from John 4:1-29, the account of the woman at the well. Here is my collect that came out of that reading:

 

What came out of that exercise was not just a prayer I could pray in the moment, but a prayer I wanted to pray all day, and I expect will come back to me often in the future, when I feel thirsty for God.

 

Some of you, no doubt, are very familiar with the prayer tradition of collects. Others are probably novices like me. I’d love to hear from you—your experiences with this form of prayer, or your experiments in writing and praying your own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a fresh idea! Want to join John in praying in this positive, God-centered way? Or maybe you have ideas to add to his list for the rest of the year. Check out the conversation and join it (http://www.praynetwork.org/forum/topics/keeping-prayer-fresh). Don’t be a prayer Lone Ranger!

 

I was talking with God the other day about my hopes for the New Year when He interrupted me. Why don’t you ask Me what I want to do for you and in you and through you in 2012? Hmmm. Great questions! After all, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps” (Prov. 16:9). So I asked. And not surprisingly, He had things to say.

 

There were some specifics (well, just one, actually) and then several general things He shared with me. They’re kind of personal, so I won’t share them here—but they had to do with ways He wants me to grow in my trust in Him, my confidence in a certain area of ministry, some heart-healing He wants to do, and a way He wants for me to enjoy Him and Him to enjoy me in this coming year. Good stuff!

 

His thoughts, as always, were so different from mine. Earlier, when I was jotting down my hopes, they were mostly specific, action points that involved a lot of work on my part. But His ideas sound inviting, nurturing, and fruitful—in an abiding-in-the-vine sort of way.

 

If you haven’t already sat down with God and asked Him to talk with you about 2012, why not try it? Or you could try doing it with a friend, family member, or small group. I did it this afternoon with a prayer group at work and we enjoyed hearing the things God shared with each of us and then praying for each other for the graces and gifts we will need for Him to accomplish those things in our lives.

 

I’m pretty sure God has things to say to you, too. He already has your 2012 figured out—and guaranteed, His plans for you are good! Wouldn’t you like to talk with Him about what some of those might be?