In today’s Gospel, our Lord says: “My sheep hear my voice. And I know them: and they follow me.” Jn 10:27. So how can we accustom ourselves to hear God’s voice and follow Him? How do we differentiate God’s voice from ours or the demon’s?
First, we must make time for God to speak to us and to learn his voice. This is done primarily through daily prayer. Every day for a minimum of 15 minutes, we must meditate with the Bible/some other spiritual book. Set a timer, ask God to enlighten you and guide you during this time of prayer. Slowly read 5-10 verses and see what sticks out to you. Ask God why it sticks out to you, what He desires you to see. Meditate on how the verses impact your own life, etc. Let what comes out of this meditation help you to make acts of love, contrition, praise, etc. (Lord, I love you, Lord thank you, Lord I’m sorry, etc). Repeat this cycle of reading, meditating, and making acts until the time is over. Doing this type of prayer – what the Church has traditionally called “mental prayer,” – is so important in learning God’s voice. If you are not making time for God, you will not learn His voice. Spending a few minutes journaling at the end of your prayer is also very important. Often, God works and reveals Himself slowly over time and you will see it most clearly when looking back at your journal over the past weeks/month.
Quiet
Second, we must incorporate periods of silence/quiet during our day. This doesn’t mean you’re doing nothing, but consider driving without a podcast on. Doing the dishes not listening to anything. Have periods in your day where while you are working, your ears are open to the Holy Spirit.
Next, how do we know whether it is God’s voice or not? There are a few ways you can test your discernment of this. First, is what you think God is saying a good thing? Or is it sinful/bad? If it is a sin, you know clearly it is not from God. Second, does whatever you think God is saying to you increase faith, hope, and charity? Or does it make you despair, hopeless, desire to not be around God? Third, do you feel peace or anxiety? Fourth, is what you are being called to in accord with your state of life? Or will it prevent you from your family obligations as father/mother/husband/wife/etc?
Lastly, pray about it for a few days and see if there’s a pattern. If you are discerning moving to a new state, take it to prayer for 4 days. For 2 days, pray about moving and for 2 days pray about not moving. See if there’s a clear pattern of peace and clarity.
Here are a few helpful books about this topic: Discernment of Spirits by Fr. Timothy Gallagher is helpful to learn about discerning God’s voice. Practice of the Presence of God by Br. Lawrence is helpful to learn about making time for God in your daily life and hearing His voice throughout your daily tasks.
