How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People

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Pete Greig: Oh, thanks so much. And I must just say, if they want to get the app, Christin, anyone can get it. Lectio365, that will really help you to put the book into practice. Pete Greig: Yes. But I don’t think I’ve always recognized the voice of God. Right? This is less about theology than psychology. See, the theology is open and shut. God speaks. Like Genesis 1: He speaks, boom, creation happens. John 1: God comes as Jesus, the Living Word. The primary mark of true discipleship (especially perhaps in a bewilderingtime such as this) is a posture of attentiveness towards his word. The word translated as “listen” in the passage from John about sheep and shepherds comes from the Greek akouó, from which we get words like ‘acoustic’ today. We may feel as dumb and defenceless as mere sheep, but our Good Shepherd has promised to lead us through this dangerous terrain if we will listen carefully for the acoustics; the nuance and tone of his voice.

Trying to hear God can seem like a mysterious quest, and we can feel a bit lost and discouraged. At those times, we need some help, and Pete has given us some great guidance. Rooted in Scripture and filled with the experiences of many who have gone before us, this book shows that God really does speak to us and gives us some clear paths to hear him when he does.' psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Henry Cloud Desiring a deeper faith, we need God to say something, anything, to turn the monologue we call prayer into a genuine conversation. He preaches and teaches around the world and co-hosts two British festivals: Wildfires and the Big Church Day Out which attracts 30,000 people each year. Pete Greig: Well, that’s a great question, because it is. That’s right. It’s the most astonishing superpower any of us have, the ability to hear God. Just stop and think about the fact that, if you believe that he made the universe with a few words, what might happen if you hear him say something to you? So this is the key to guidance. This is the key to growing spiritually. Jesus says, “Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father.”

Christin Thieme: So you’ve divided the book into two parts, God’s Word and God’s Whisper. Why did you separate it in that way? Find the 24-7 Prayer Lectio 365 app, a free daily devotional resource that helps you pray the Bible every day. We have spent over twenty years teaching young people how to hear the voice of God. We wish we would have had this book the whole time—it would have made our jobs much easier! This is the most inspiring, empowering, and exhaustive book we have read on hearing God's voice. This book doesn't just fill your head with information but also will cause your heart to burn with inspiration. You could give this book to a brand-new believer, and they would be immediately empowered to hear God's voice. Or you could give it to a believer who has walked with God for many years, and they would be inspired and challenged to hear him in an even deeper way. The body of Christ has needed this book for very long time.' recording artists Jonathan and Melissa Helser

The Lectio Course focuses primarily on learning to hear God’s voice through lectio divina, an ancient way of reading the Bible. Pete explores this practice in greater detail in his book, How to Hear God, which is a rich supplementary resource if you want to go deeper. The book comes in two parts: Part 1; vox eterna; Hearing God through God’s Word and Part 2: vox interna; Hearing God through God’s whisper. Part 1: God’s Word As Liz Truss takes up the reins during a period predicted to be beset with crises and complaints, Christians should start as we mean to go on - by praying for our leaders - says Christians in Politics’ Andy FlannaganAnd it is exactly like that in our relationship with the Lord. We learn. You know, when I said John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice,” the Greek word, there is akouo, from which we get the word acoustic. So it’s like, as we get to know the acoustics of God’s voice, the nuance, the tone of God’s voice, we’re like sheep that follow him and then obey, and we grow in our relationship with him. It’s a beautiful thing.

Learning to recognise the voice of God is one of the most astounding yet confusing things a human being can learn to do John Mark Comer points out in the forward of this book, that Pete and the book have been able to bridge, or gone beyond the boundaries of the “Christian tribalism of our day – charismatic/noncharismatic/Reformed/Weslyan/Angelican/Anabaptist/conservative/progressive/etc, etc.” I’d agree with that comment from Comer, and I agree with Comer that Pete – through this book - is deeply rooting us in “something far more ancient.” This book certainly covers the need for deepened spiritual formation, how to hear God, and it empowers the reader with practices and disciplines that will create a “real, conversational relationship with God.” Christin Thieme: Yep. And your new book, “How to Hear God: a Simple Guide for Normal People,” is brilliant. Thank you for giving this gift to all of us. And we’re going to talk more about how God does speak, because you said it’s not always audibly. But one interesting thing about the book that is kind of a thread throughout the whole thing is Jesus’ encounter with a couple on the road to Emmaus, which you said in the book is a masterclass for anyone seeking to learn to hear his voice. Can you share a little bit more about that encounter? Learning to hear God’s voice – his word and his whisper – is the single most important thing you will ever learn to do.”Christin Thieme: And you write that it can all be condensed into four words, listen and follow Jesus. So, finally, question for you, what happens when we learn to live in this way? There is no aspect of God’s creation through which he cannot and does not speak. We must learn to discern the voice of God in the whole of life, not just in religious contexts. We must learn to listen more carefully to those people our culture ignores, because God speaks most consistently from the margins – through children, through the poor, through those who suffer. How do we move from studying scripture objectively and hearing its message generally to receiving God’s word personally in our own lives? The most powerful tool I have ever discovered, one that has revolutionised my own personal relationship with the Bible and has become the model for the devotional I help to write, record and release each day, is the ancient tradition of lectio divina – the slow, prayerful reading of scripture which harnesses the power of imagination and meditation (see 24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365). 3. Prophecy