Spiritual Disciplines 2: LISTENING

WEEKLY: As Christians, we all want to grow closer to Jesus, but it doesn’t happen without some intentional training. Spiritual disciplines, according to Bishop Manny Carlos, are “habits or practices that are intended to help you grow in your relationship with God…and in Christlikeness.” Over the summer, we are going to cover one Spiritual Discipline a week as we attempt to use them in our lives to grow closer to Jesus and closer in likeness to the life He lived.

Listening to God is a lost art in our culture yet we see constant example of it in the Bible. We are also aware that God has place the Holy Spirit in us for a reason. Yet, very few of us act like the Holy Spirit is involved in our lives, minds, hearts and actions. What do the scriptures say about this and how do we listen to the voice of God (and act on what we hear) in a responsible manner?

READ: John 3:8; John 10:1-21; John 16:12-14; Acts 1-2; Acts 10; Acts 16:6-10

MORE RESOURCES:

REFLECT:

  1. What does the Bible says about hearing from God? Read the verses above and reflect on them with this concept in mind.

  2. experiences have you had while listening to the voice of God?

  3. How do you know when you are hearing from God? Do you have filters or tools that you use to discern this?

  4. If listening to God is like a muscle, how are you exercising it? What actions do you take at the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

  5. When was the last time you did it? What is stopping you, your house church, or your family from letting the “wind blow“ in your lives?

** While we may not agree with everything the authors/speakers say in our resources, diversity in perspectives is beneficial to growth, and we encourage an open and Spirit discerning posture while studying the Scripture and while reviewing any resource. **

Erik Thien