“Oh, if souls would only be willing to listen, at least a little, to the voice of conscience and the voice – that is, the inspirations – of the Holy Spirit! I say “at least a little,” because once we open ourselves to the influence of the Holy Spirit, He Himself will fulfill what is lacking in us”. Divine Mercy in My Soul # 359
Throughout her Diary, St. Faustina records many instances in which the Lord Jesus came and spoke directly to her. But not everything she recorded the Lord saying came to her through an audible voice from without. Sometimes, she recorded what she discerned the Lord telling her in the silence of her heart.
You might be thinking to yourself, “Not me. For whatever reason, the Lord never seems to speak to me like that.”
You might be thinking to yourself, “Well, the Lord might be speaking, but I don’t know how to listen.” All of us, though, were made to have an intimate relationship with God the Father. He gives each and every one of us the capacity to hear His voice. Scripture says, “My sheep hear my voice” (Jn 10:27). So it’s not that the Lord isn’t speaking to us, and it’s not that we don’t know how to listen. It’s that many of us lack the faith to believe that the little voice inside of us is the voice of God. We just have to learn to tell the difference between the Lord’s voice and the voice of our own thoughts.
The soul can learn to recognize the voice of God just like we learn anything else – through practice.
For me, my most special time is that early morning, maybe pre-dawn. Especially when the weather is right and I can grab a cup of coffee, my Bible, my copy of Divine Mercy in My Soul, and go sit outside. The sense of quiet and lack of distraction makes a great time to hear God.
I discovered this special time during Covid when nothing was going on outside our apartment. God set aside a special retreat time for He and I. I’ve grown to love this time with God so much. I read His words and often He shares insight, sometimes in word but often within my heart. Many of my blog reflections come in these moments. I get so much from God in this time but mostly, I just get to sit with Him.
When do you find the time or place to sit and listen for God’s voice?
He is speaking, all the time. We just have to set aside time to shut out distractions and noise so we can hear His quiet whispers. Once you hear and recognize He is speaking in varied ways, it becomes much easier to Hear His Voice.
We just have to take the time to be with Him and get to know Him. We can start by asking Him simple questions: Do You love me? What is it about me that You love? What are You trying to tell me today? Any voice we hear in response filled with peace, goodness, and mercy, we can bet it’s the voice of God. Any voice that’s condemning or discouraging, we can bet that’s not Him.
Jesus says to us: Spend quiet time with Me every day. Ask Me questions and listen. Believe that I am speaking to you, and keep connecting with Me as often as you can. You will learn to better hear My voice. There’s so much I want to tell you.
My prayer: Thank you for speaking to me. Jesus, help me to learn to discern the sound and manner of Your voice within the silence of my heart. Tell me everything You wish for me to know, and help me to continually strive to grow closer to You.