Hearing God by Dallas Willard teaches us not only how to communicate with Him but how to hear His response too. When we speak to Him, we develop an intimate bond that brings us closer in our walk with Him.

God speaks to you frequently, but you need to learn how to hear His voice, which takes spiritual maturity. 

Speaking to God doesn’t have to be an elaborate event. We don’t have to be specially trained to do it. He speaks to ordinary people every day in all kinds of circumstances. The problem is that many of us don’t understand how to hear Him. We don’t take the time to listen for His still, small voice. He doesn’t typically speak to us through thunder and lightning. He approaches us in a gentle, peaceful, and respectful manner.

Each of us has the ability to develop a deep, lasting relationship with the Lord. But we can’t do it without speaking to Him on a daily basis. He talks to us in many ways, through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and through the situations we find ourselves in. He doesn’t speak to everyone in the same way. That wouldn’t work. Instead, He takes who we are as individuals into account. He knows the best way to communicate with each of us in His own special way.

In this summary, you will learn:

  • how to understand God’s message;
  • a plan for developing a personal, conversational relationship with Him; and
  • what it means when God is silent.

In order to establish a close relationship with God, we must communicate with Him.

When God speaks to us, it is a unique experience. Some claim to speak to Him, yet other devout Christians have a hard time experiencing Him in the same manner. Some don’t really understand how to relate to Him at all. They tend to believe that everything (even situations caused by human beings) happens because it’s His will. Some people get outright confused when they hear God speaking to them. They may be unsure if it’s Him at all. They may be tempted to follow their own whims, all the while believing it is God speaking to them.

The truth is that God speaks to us all the time, but many are afraid to admit it. They fear they’ll be singled out as strange or that people will think they are bragging about hearing from Him. But when we pray to Him, why shouldn’t we expect Him to answer us? After all, the Bible says, “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and He will say, Here I am … The Lord will guide you continually” (Isaiah 58:9, 11).

Historically speaking, the Lord has spoken to many of His people. He spoke to Moses in the burning bush. Likewise, Deuteronomy 4:33 describes how the Israelites “heard the voice of God speaking out of fire.” He’s spoken to many church leaders in different ways, whether through another person or in visions or dreams. We must not forget He also communicates to us through the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us.

Jesus tells us He is our Friend (John 15:15), meaning we have a deep, intimate relationship with Him. He has promised us He will be with us forever. He actively pays attention to us and hears us when we speak to Him since He is also our Shepherd (Psalm 23:1-2). Even when we sing in church, He communes with our spirit.

We need to remember certain truths. First, God speaks to us in many ways. Next, at times we seek Him for the wrong reasons. For instance, we may want to hear Him tell us about what will happen to us in the future. Finally, we tend to get confused about the nature of God and His will for our lives. He isn’t there to give us step-by-step directions about how to run our lives. He wants us to become people of solid character who aren’t afraid to make our own decisions.

God wants an intimate connection with all of us, for no one person is more special than another.

God gave us free will, and we are expected to use it. He could have easily created us to obey Him like robots, but then we wouldn’t genuinely love Him and want to serve Him authentically. We’d have no meaningful prayers, creativity, or conversations with Him if we were robots. He wants us to become mature and loving toward Him.

We should follow certain guidelines in our relationship with God. The greatest commandment in the Bible is that we love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37). We should never think of Him as some harsh taskmaster whose only joy is in bossing us around. That’s an insult to Him. Secondly, God speaks to everybody. Many mistakenly assume that if someone is close to Him and does godly feats, then they should be looked at in awe or even offered sacrifices. But He interacts with all of us in our own unique way.

When reading the Bible, we should remember that those who had experiences with God were ordinary people just like we are. Our experiences with Him are similar to theirs. Knowing this fact prevents us from believing the Bible is unreal and unrelatable to us. He speaks to us all the same. We must never believe we are unimportant to Him. At the same time, we must not believe we are better than others when He communicates with us. It’s easier for God to speak to us when we are meek. The Bible says, “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way” (Psalm 25:9). Moses is a great example of a humble man before God and others, and he spoke to God all the time.

Finally, God doesn’t only speak to righteous people. As a matter of fact, when He does speak to us, it doesn’t even mean we’ll understand what He’s trying to tell us. Some believe when they say the Lord spoke to them, then the message is right. But there’s actually no guarantee of that. We must always speak to the Lord with humility and respect.

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