Readers have asked more questions about hearing from God than any other topic. They range from:
How do you know God is speaking to you?
How do you know God is speaking at all?
What are the ways you "hear" from God?
How do I develop a "listening" ear or heart?
How do I discern God's voice from all the others?
The answer to every question above is actually one word: PRACTICE.
But I won't leave you there, because that is one of the most frustrating places to be! I know. When I was younger, I was not just good but very good at piano - just ask my piano teachers. I could have gone further, but I decided I didn't want to #practice the 6-8 hours a day that was required to be a concert pianist. (In retrospect, I made the right decision.)
Later, when I wanted to pick up the flute, I realized I had to start at the "Mary Had A Little Lamb" songs again, instead of at the Handel-level I was on in piano. That lasted about two weeks. Maybe. I refused to put in the time or diligence required to start over to be good at something new.
Diligence. That's a good, old-fashioned word.
Prayer is the same. It takes time. Diligence. Habit-forming time. Habit-forming #diligence. Faithfulness.
The ability to hear and discern the voice of God, thankfully, doesn't take the same amount of time as the piano. You can get to the beginning stage immediately. You can get through the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" stage pretty quickly. However, it takes time to get to the Handel and Mozart and Beethoven stages where you are firing on all cylinders as it were.
God is always speaking. He uses whatever ways 1) we're tuned into, 2) open to, and 3) whatever is best for the message or messenger.
When #coaching others to develop a practice of hearing God, I recommend they practice being open to God speaking on the following cylinders:
Hearing (in the voices of the mind or audible - though the latter seems more rare)
Seeing (visions while awake or asleep)
Feeling (while awake or asleep)
Recalling (particularly useful if you've hidden God's Word in your heart)
Visitation (like Mary)
Reading (while reading the Bible)
Leadership (especially when seeking direction)
Discernment (which is similar to feeling, but more of a "knowing" or "highlighted")
All of the above are Biblical and examples can be found for each. So, unless God has changed (which, we know He has not and cannot, for He is immutable), then He must still be using the same ways to speak to us. There is no reason for God to change the way He has always communicated to the people who will listen.
Bad theology (such as dispensationalism) and lack of mentoring as well as lack of demand in these areas has left us unpracticed and immature in these areas as a church. Worse yet, I know quite a few people have fallen away from the faith because, in their words, "they were tired of having a one-way conversation." To get back to hearing God regularly, communing with Him, and living our lives in step with the Power of the Holy Spirit, we must practice hearing God.
#Faith (and all that it entails, which is a heck of a lot more than fire-insurance) comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the Word of the Lord, which opens the ear to become practiced in hearing.
Grace is available to enable you to become practiced in hearing God's voice.