How a Quiet Heart May Not be the Key to Hearing God’s Voice

By: Tania Harris | God Conversations

Most often when I hear advice on the key to hearing God’s voice, it points to the need to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and find a place to “quieten your heart”. The idea is that this will help you sort through all the voices in your head and discern God’s voice amongst them.

While the idea of getting alone with your thoughts is an emotionally healthy thing to do and an important discipline for prayer (Jesus himself did this, Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35-36), I don’t believe it is the key to hearing God’s voice. In my PhD research, in conversation with people all over the world and in my own personal life, God’s voice is often heard when it’s least expected! In fact, some of the clearest times I’ve heard God speak have been in the busiest periods of my day – when I’m brushing my teeth, driving through the traffic or waking up from sleep. In those times, the Holy Spirit has interrupted my thoughts. It hasn’t been difficult to discern his voice because the Spirit spoke precisely the opposite of what I was thinking. This was similar in my PhD study, where people often talked about how the Spirit’s voice was “random” and how it came from “left field”.

This understanding of hearing from God is important because it places less emphasis on our efforts to hear from God and more on his willingness to speak. It removes the idea of striving to hear from God. Remember, the most common way God spoke in biblical times was when people were completely passive – when they were asleep!

So what is the key to hearing God’s voice if not a “quiet heart”? I believe the key is a hungry heart. It is a posture of seeking and attending to what God is saying. It is the act of faith that says; “Lord I know you are a speaking God and that you gave us your spirit to communicate with us (Acts 2:16,17). But I can’t know you without two-way communication. Please speak to me. Show me what is on your heart so I can follow (John 10:27)”. Jesus said, that those who seek will find, those that ask will receive, and for those who knock, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8). A seeking heart will position us to tune in to the Spirit’s voice and to discern it from our own. Of course, this will often express itself in taking time out to wait on God in a quiet place, but it is not reliant on it. That means the parent with screaming toddlers who can’t get more than two minutes to themselves can still hear from God. It means that the businessperson in the midst of a chaotic time at work can still hear from God. It means anyone who asks can hear from God in whatever season of life they are in.

This idea also takes the pressure off those of us whose personalities do not lend themselves to hours of quiet introspection. Many of the writings that advise us to retreat to a quiet place in order to hear from God were written by the mystics who lived their entire lives in convents and monasteries. Their very purpose was to pray and spend time with God in solitude. Hours of the day were reserved for times of quiet contemplation. Many of them also had introverted personalities that were well-suited to this lifestyle. 

We know there’s value in being still and quietening your heart. it’s important to take time out to pray. However, God’s voice can get through whether you can take time out of not. If you’re hungry to hear, his Spirit can speak to you at any time. The key is to cultivate a hungry heart. And when we do, we will have “ears to hear what the Spirit is saying”. (Mark 4:23, Rev. 2:29)

Article supplied with thanks to God Conversations.

About the Author: Tania Harris is a pastor, speaker, author and the founder of God Conversations.