Slow Down to Hear Christ’s Voice: God Still Speaks!
Nothing is worse in a conversation than talking to someone who gives you the silent treatment in return.
If you’ve ever felt like God is silent, you’re not alone. I get it. Life is loud, our schedules are packed, and the world has a way of crowding out the quiet. What if we are crowding out the voice of God in the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Jesus desires to speak to us. In His own words (recorded in John 10:27): "Jesus says, 'My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me.”
Here is my heart for you:
At the end of Matthew’s gospel (Matt 28:20), Jesus promised to be with us always. And through the Holy Spirit, the personal presence of God is indwelling us right now (Romans 8:9). He is more ready and eager to engage us than we are to engage Him. The invitation is clear: Jesus speaks, and we can hear Him. The challenge? We haven’t tuned our spiritual ears to listen. The problem isn’t that Christ has stopped speaking; it’s that we’ve become so hurried and distracted that we miss His voice in the wake of life.
Let’s be honest: hearing Christ’s voice is a learned skill. If you’re not there yet, that’s okay!
Do not downgrade Christ’s promises to the level of your disappointments. He promised to speak. Hold to that!
He promised to be with His people and speak to His people (putting together Matthew 28:20 and John 10:27). So keep drawing near, even if it feels awkward or unfamiliar. The Holy Spirit is our helper. He will train our hearts to listen if we give Him the time and soul space to listen!
Do you want to hear Christ’s voice more often?
Here’s a simple challenge: give God a twelve-minute block of unbroken time each day. Neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf highlights the brain-transforming power of just 12 minutes of focused prayer daily. Over the course of 8-weeks, the change in the brain can be detected and seen! But not only does our “brain” change, our mind develops attentiveness and emotional bandwidth that can heighten our ability to listen for the voice of God in our lives!
What if you treated this 12-minute time of a daily prayer time block as an experiment?
Use this time to talk with God, not just to God. Yes, listen! And even when your attention wavers, that’s okay, return your focus to Him! Bring Him your specific questions, your need for guidance, and then sit in the silence, attentive to His internal impressions and voice.
God’s voice is often more like a whisper, not a shout. He cares about proximity. He speaks at a volume that you have to be near to hear!
A quieted, unhurried heart is the soil in which God speaks. So slow down. Be in Scripture daily (His active voice will never contradict his written word). Trust that Jesus is speaking today, and that, as you practice listening, you’ll learn to recognize the Good Shepherd’s voice more clearly than ever before. Let’s take Jesus at His word.
Christ is speaking. Do you have 12 minutes to listen?
Written by Brayden Brookshier
Brayden Brookshier is the Campus Pastor at Newbreak Church Ocean Beach. Enthusiasm is his superpower. Along with pastoring, he is passionate about getting people to be fully alive to the wonder of walking with God. Praying bold prayers and taking bold steps of faith energize him. You can find Brayden, his wife, Ariana, and his son, Kairo, and daughter, Ember, enjoying the great outdoors together. Brayden would love to connect with you and see how you can find your place at Newbreak! Check out his most recent book on Amazon, Flash Theology.