Creating Space to Hear from God by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

I thought I was distracted.

A detailed plan for a unique television program interrupted my thoughts during my morning quiet time. I kept pushing what I thought was an interruption away, but the download wouldn’t stop. Then it hit me. Maybe the Holy Spirit was trying to speak, and wanted me to record what He was saying. It was at that point I began writing this plan down. I always know when something comes from God because it’s often bigger than what I could accomplish in my own power, and like Peter, I begin to sink when I take my eyes off Jesus. In this case, both happened.

This directive from God came during my time of prayer where I had also created space to listen. I am trying to do better with listening because it is a desire of my heart to hear the voice of God. What about you?

Through my studies this semester, I’ve learned a lot about the importance of creating space to hear the voice of God, so at our Level-Up Conference I provided a formula for doing so, using the acronym SPACE. I thought I’d share.

S- Set aside a time of solitude to just listen and hear God’s voice. A voice can be an impression on your spirit, it could be a thought that you know is not yours. That’s how I often know that it’s God’s voice because I would have never come up with the idea myself. It’s rarely an audible voice.

P- Put away your to-do list, or any thoughts that might interfere with hearing from God. For myself, the best time to stop and listen is after I’ve worshipped, read the word and prayed. At that point, I am in the presence of God.  I shouldn’t get up and get busy. I need to just “be.”

A-Ask God what he wants to say to you. When the prophet Samuel was a little boy training under the guidance of the Priest Eli, God spoke to him while he was in his bed, and he didn’t know who it was at first. He thought Eli was calling him, but he wasn’t. Eli, who figured it out, told Samuel to say: “Speak for your servant is listening.” We can do that as well.

C- Come empty. Don’t come into God’s presence with any agenda. When we pray, we are seeking direction for specific things, but the Bible says God’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. Be open to whatever He has to say. The download I received for a television show was clearly not my idea. I thought, More work! I am in ministry today because I was open to His leading. I am in school again studying about my Jewish roots, because I listened to the voice of God.

E- Expect to hear from God. I am not saying you are going to hear from him every time, but if you create space in His presence, you are going to receive more divine messages. That’s exactly what I do when I blog. Often, I will sit at my computer without an idea for a blog, and I just wait for the Holy Spirit to speak into my soul and provide a topic. He always does.

Creating space to hear from God could potentially change the course of your life. I know it has mine. God loves you all so much, but He doesn’t want a one-way conversation, and He desires to share some exciting things with you. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

I want to know what’s on God’s mind! What about you? Let’s do this together. Let’s start creating space.