By Jessica Brodie

Sometimes it feels like God is silent. But he’s not, is he?

All day long, in every moment, he’s speaking to us. Sometimes he uses words, sometimes it’s other people and sometimes it’s dreams or strange little “intuition moments.” Other times it’s a planned talk, a rhythm, a song we’ve trained ourselves to hear because of a discipline we’ve implemented in our life—like hearing him in that quiet moment with coffee on our screened-in porch while we bask in creation. We tune our hearts and minds to this time with God, and soon we hear him so much better. The noise of the world is loud, but he’s always there.

Yet we’re not always listening. And we’re certainly not always obeying.

My full-time job is running a Christian denominational newspaper, and so I get the opportunity to talk to people who, quite regularly, hear God … and more importantly, hear God and then, in response, step out in faith. To talk to people choosing to heed that nudge God sends our way.

Sometimes it’s not a nudge, of course—sometimes God hits us over the head with it and we can’t possibly ignore it.

But it’s still our choice, isn’t it? It’s still up to us whether we do the follow-through.

For example, a pastor who was walking his dog and having his daily prayer time when God gave him the idea to start a Community Care Day (he did). And another who felt God tugging his heart to start a laundry care ministry in his community (he did).

There are so many demands on our time. Often, our priorities seem like good ones—taking care of our family, fulfilling our responsibilities at work, doing that preplanned, prearranged priority project. Worldly interruptions might tempt us to detour, and those are the interruptions we can ignore.

But sometimes God interrupts us. And those God interruptions are the ones we need to pay attention to.

The trick is listening, training ourselves to hear his voice amid the chaos of the world.

Remember: God’s voice is the one that speaks goodness, mercy, and love over concerns of the self.

God is asking. Maybe he’s asking you today, or he asked you this morning, or he is asking you right now as you read these words.

Here are three ways we can do God’s will in our lives:

1. Pursue a godly character. Read Scripture regularly and you’ll see that God tells us throughout his Word how he wants us to live. The things he wants us to abstain from. The good practices he wants us to defer to. Consider Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (NIV). Forgive. Offer grace. Be grateful.

2. Seek God’s wisdom. If you’re not already reading the Bible and praying regularly, do so. Those are two gifts the Creator of the Universe offers us freely—his love letter and instructions for life in the Bible, and unfettered access to him through prayer. Use these gifts.

3. Live your transformation boldly to glorify God. Matthew 5:17 tells us no one take a lamp and hides it under a basket but instead sets it out so it can shine light. We are called to do the same with our lives. The apostle Paul tells us we are a new creation in Christ, so live that transformation boldly. Show others there is a new way to live. Glorify him with your life and your actions.

These things will help us hear—and heed—God better over time.

Are you listening?

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