How Can I Hear God? 7 Ways He Speaks to Us

In my introduction post, I mentioned that we would try to go deeper and see God in our daily lives. Before diving into weekly reflections, I want to get practical by answering the question, “How can I hear God?”

I have come up with a list of 7 ways. Let me know if you can think of more!

7 Ways We Can Hear God

When you first year someone say “I heard God say…”, what is your initial reaction?

A little weird, right?

I think that might be due to the fact that very few of us have the lived experience of hearing a clear, audible voice in our ears that we know to be the Voice of God. Therefore, it’s fairly reasonable to react that way.

However, what if I told you that there are 7 ways, you have a good chance of hearing God today? Here they are:

1. Liturgy: the Mass

As Catholics, we are lucky to have the Mass.

Not only is the same Mass available almost anywhere in the world, with the same presence of God, but it is often offered daily!

There are a number of ways God makes himself present at Mass. The sacrament of the Eucharist is the most prominent. Jesus, fully present, body and blood, soul and divinity, humbled for our sake into what appears to be bread and wine… it is amazing, and probably the best reason to be Catholic.

The Eucharist is Jesus’ physical presence through the sense of sight and touch. But, how can I hear God at Mass?

The liturgy.

Pope Benedict XVI had this to say after discussing Sacred Scripture at the Vatican in 2012:

…there is yet another precious “place”, another precious “source” for developing in prayer, a source of living water that is very closely related to the previous one [scripture]. I am referring to the liturgy, which is a privileged context in which God speaks to each one of us, here and now, and awaits our answer.

– Pope Benedict XVI (General Audience, September 26, 2012)

The Gospel and the readings are not the only words of God we hear at Mass. The entire liturgy is God’s words given to his family, the Church – everything from the opening antiphon to the final dismissal.

Later in the same General Audience, the Pope talks about how normally, we have a thought and put the thought into words. It can be odd to have words first and try to form our thoughts to the words, but this is how we conform ourselves to God.

Next time you go to Mass, try to find a word or phrase from the liturgy that jumps out at you, and put your mind to it, because God is speaking!

To find out how you can hear God in a Mass near you, check out Masstimes.org.

2. Liturgy Again: The Hours

In addition to Mass, we have the Liturgy of the Hours.

The Liturgy of the Hours takes the liturgy, like you experience at Mass, and spreads it throughout the day. It is a set of prayers, psalms, and readings said throughout the day by the Church worldwide – Pope, bishops, priests and religious. Everyday Catholics are invited to pray them as well, but don’t have to.

The Divine Office “is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father.” (SC 84)

USCCB – Liturgy of the Hours, quoting Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) 84

When you pray the hours, you are praying along with the whole church around the world on any given day.

Again, this is liturgy, so the words are given to us by God. Then we try to let our thoughts follow.

To learn how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, check out DivineOffice.org.

3. Scripture

Okay, so Sacred Scripture, a.k.a. the Bible, is included in the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours; however, I list this separately because you have access to your Bible any time. There is nothing stopping you from reading the Bible. You can even listen to it, or read it on your phone!

4. Contemplation

From my experience, contemplation isn’t always a guaranteed clear “voice” in the way that scripture is clearly God’s words. However, it is a true gift when you receive some peace.

Contemplation can go hand-in-hand with scripture too, especially though Lectio Devina. While the Bible is arguably the best source of material for contemplation, other spiritual books or even moments in your day can feed a conversation with God too. Just pause and ask “what about this, God?”

5. Repetition

I feel like God speaks to me through repetition.

Maybe it is because I can be oblivious at times, and God has to make things very clear for me. Like iron being formed on an anvil, I need to be hit repeatedly to react.

When this happens, I will see the same word, phrase, or theme show up in multiple unconnected places until I finally take notice.

Eventually, I come to the conclusion it is beyond coincidence, and maybe I should talk to God because He might be trying to make a point! (maybe I need to read my Bible more, as Scripture has been in all of these so far…)

This might be why we repeat the decades and mysteries of the Rosary too. With repetition, the message sticks.

6. Nature

I don’t know where it originated, but this line sums it up: “Nature is the fingerprint of God”.

While we may not get words from nature, we can let it be another source of contemplation and reflection.

7. Other People

God is in us, but we are also not alone. We were placed on Earth and baptized into a family, the Church.

Have you ever received wise counsel from a friend who you know is a deep person and has a relationship with Jesus?

I had this experience very clearly in my senior year of college. I was deciding whether to accept a job as an Engineer or a Catholic Missionary. After wrestling over the decision and even being convinced that I knew the “logical” answer, I had several conversations back to back where someone struck me with a unique personal piece of wisdom that could only apply to me.

Surround yourself with people who are striving to be close to God, and you will be closer to Him too! (This could include those people who have gone before us – the Saints.)

How Else Can You Hear God?

Each of these topics could be covered in depth by themselves, they are so rich. Conversing with God is the greatest thing a human can do, and I don’t do it enough. Even when I do, I don’t listen. So thanks for helping me dive into this list.

Seven is a nice number to end on, but I am sure there are infinite ways you can hear God in this world that He created.

Are there any major ones I missed? Let me know!