Week: How to Hear God
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Father God, we’re listening. We look forward to what You want to say to us today, through the Bible, through other people, through what we see and hear around us, even through our hearts. Help us to hear You.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Vera Lynn
John 10:27
[Jesus said] ‘My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me.’
John 10:27 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
John the Baptist had been baptising people in the River Jordan, just outside Jerusalem, but he’d also been telling them that God was going to send someone far more important than him. John knew that he was simply preparing the way for God’s Son to arrive. Today, we’re REFLECTING on what happened when Jesus showed up.
Read by Vera Lynn
John 1:15,17
John [said] ‘This is the One I told you about: The One who comes after me is greater than I am, because he was living before me.’
The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But God the only Son is very close to the Father, and he has shown us what God is like.
John 1:15,17 (NCV)
Over the last three weeks, we have explored many of the different ways that God speaks; through the Bible, through the world around us, through other people, even through dreams and visions. Now, as we come to the end of this series, John reminds us that God speaks to us more clearly and more completely through his Son, Jesus. Everything that Jesus said and did is like God speaking. Everything Jesus said and did shows us something about what God is like and what God does.
As we reflect on all that we’ve learned about how God speaks, let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: How would we like to hear God speak to us? Maybe we’d like God to speak to us in a dream, or we’d like to hear God more through the Bible – let’s tell each other about it.
Let’s think about how we can practice listening for God’s voice? If we’d like to hear God speaking more through the Bible, maybe we could read a bit each day. If we’d like to hear God speaking through our dreams, maybe we could keep a notepad beside our bed to start writing them down. If we’d like to hear God speaking through nature, maybe we could go for a short walk each day just to look and listen. Let’s practice listening and see what happens.
Lord Jesus, we simply ASK you to speak with us.
And Jesus, we also ASK you to speak to our families and our friends too. Everyone needs to hear your voice more clearly and more regularly. If there’s anything that you want to say to us for one of our friends and family this weekend, we’re listening.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
John 1:15,17
John [said] ‘This is the One I told you about: The One who comes after me is greater than I am, because he was living before me.’
The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But God the only Son is very close to the Father, and he has shown us what God is like.
John 1:15,17 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, we love the sound of your voice. You have opened our ears to hear Your voice in so many different ways. We say YES, we want to hear from you, we are listening!
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
John 10:27
[Jesus said] ‘My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me.’
John 10:27 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
* To find out more about Pete Greig’s book go to https://www.24-7prayer.com/how-to-hear-god/
Chris lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two boys. He works for 24-7 Prayer Australia and Red Church and is also a professional musician. When he’s not working or drumming Chris enjoys going on long hikes in the mountains with his boys and playing table tennis.
Vera Lynn is 10 years old and lives in Phoenix, Arizona, USA with her parents, sister, and dog Max. Her favourite hobbies include reading, knitting, sewing, and embroidery. She is very creative. Her favourite book is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in the Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis.
