 "Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds." Psalm 71:17 Does this verse amaze you? It does me! To think that God has been teaching me all these years back further than I can remember. Wow. To think that He was there helping me perceive and learn... for years... there... with me... coaching, instructing, teaching. Just wow. To think that there is no event in my life that He wasn't right there actively helping me understand. Oh Lord, let this hit us. For a learner like me, this utterly blows my mind and brings me close to tears. And another awesome thing about Him being a Teacher is that it implies He speaks to us. I LOVE that about Him! I love that we can hear Him. I mean seriously, what kind of God is so incredibly awesome that He makes it possible for the finite to hear and understand the infinite. It is mind blowing that God says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3 Are you confident in knowing God's voice? Here are a few ways I grew in confidence in hearing and knowing God's voice:3 Ways to Grow in Hearing God's Voice1. Saturate your mind with Scripture. It is God's words. If you want to know what He sounds like, go to the book He wrote. Only makes sense right. As you read, ask Him to help you understand and have a journal handy to write down the things that stand out and the insights you gain. The Holy Spirit is the One who illuminates our minds to Scripture. So if you have an ah-ha moment, recognize that as God's voice. It's like if you were to learn another language. The best way to learn it is to submerse yourself in the culture of people that speak it and it becomes natural. When we saturate our minds with Scripture, we are then able to recognize God's voice and heart. 2. Ask Him questions. When I was in college (and had much more free time than now) I would get up and walk 1/2 way down the block to my church and pray with the pastor and his wife for the church for an hour. Then I would go on a little walk down this beautiful road and pray for another hour. Then I would get home and do my Bible study. Everyday for almost two years I would spend at least three hours a day with the Lord. On my prayer walk I would get to this rock on the side of the road and sit there with my journal asking God questions. After I asked God a question, I would write down the thought that came to my mind and I would weigh it against Scripture. "Would God really say that?", "Does it contradict anything He said in His Word?", "Does that match up with what His Word shows me His heart and character are like?" If it didn't contradict Scripture or His character I would take it as though God has spoke to me. Looking back, that is the time I grew in confidence in hearing God's voice. 3. Memorize Scripture. A lot people feel like they have a bad memory and just can't memorize Scripture. But really, just because something is a little bit difficult or doesn't come naturally, doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. In fact we should be a people marked by doing hard things. And the reality is that God takes broken things and uses them to show Himself to be great. He wants to take you're bad memory to show Himself capable. Like how He took me, a girl who has a below average memory and can't remember names or faces or even my very own life events sometimes. God is so awesome that He took my not so great memory and enabled me to memorize the entire books of James, Philippians and half of 1 Thessalonians and hundreds of other verses. THAT is how capable God is! (I don't tell you this to brag-in fact I most often try to keep it secret. But then I miss the opportunity to brag on God. Because honestly it's not something I am capable of on my own!) So surely if you have a better memory than me (which I'm confident you probably do!), He can do MUCH more through you!  About Laura Laura's desire is to point to Jesus and lead people to be in awe of God. She is married and has six kids, two of whom are adopted. Her and her husband have been in full time ministry since 2002. She serves with Master Plan Ministries as the Director of Women's Ministries and has extensive experience leading Bible studies, discipling women and speaking to groups and is the Founder of the internationally popular blog MissionalWomen.com that helps women live on mission for the glory of God. She has written seven books/Bible studies, designed 2 popular ministry tools and has made journals for quiet times for many books of the Bible. You can find her on facebook, twitter, pinterest, youtube, and Instagram.
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