https://odb.org/2026/09/29/listening-to-god-2026
Ecclesiastes 5:1–5 (NIV): 5 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.
In a TED Talk, Celeste Headlee outlines “10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation.” One of those might appear to be counterintuitive: In order to have good conversation, we need to listen. Often when the other person is talking, we aren’t really listening to them but forming in our minds what we next want to say. Headlee quotes author Stephen Covey: “Most of us don’t listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply.”
Scripture has much to say about listening, especially when it comes to God. Ecclesiastes is rather blunt: “Keep your ears open and your mouth shut” (Ecclesiastes 5:1 nlt). It reminds us that God knows a whole lot more than we do—“God is in heaven” (v. 2)—so it’s wise for us to listen to Him. A verse in Proverbs seems to resonate with the quotes from Headlee and Covey: “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions” (18:2). (Kenneth Petersen, Our Daily Bread 29th September 2026)
Having the posture of a listening and responsive heart is an important part of prayer. We often hear from God as His Spirit nudges us to the Scriptures (John 14:26), which challenge us to listen to and obey His words and enlighten us to wisdom for the challenges of life. This may explain why obey and listen are the same word (shema) in Hebrew. To hear God and not obey Him is the greatest of follies. In 1 Samuel 15:22, Saul is chastened by Samuel’s words: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice.” (Bill Crowder, Insight, Our Daily Bread 29th September 2026)
It is interesting to note that Scripture actually teaches us to listen to God when we pray as I think most of us just want to shoot away our various requests and supplications, whether it is for ourselves, our loved ones or our friends and brethren. The tendency when we pray is to voice out our thoughts to God our Father. Because God is a spirit and unseen, it is difficult for us to have an ongoing conversation with Him like we do with another fellow human being.
However, we do know that in our quiet time, as we pray we also ask the Lord to speak to us. The easiest way for God to speak to us is through Scriptures and that is why in our quiet time, prayer should go hand in hand with bible reading and worship. As we pray, we read the Bible and also worship – worship ushers in the presence of God and prepares our heart and spirit to receive of Him, His Word for us.
Practically, to hear His voice speaking to our hearts needs practice. It is not something that will come naturally although a sheep will always recognise the voice of the Shepherd. We will not be sure at first but after some time and in faith, we will recognise His voice and will know as He speaks. This is because our spirit is already awakened (born-again) and thus we have the capacity and capability to hear the voice of God the Father, Jesus Christ our Lord and the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Just a final thought for the day – listening goes beyond just hearing. As Bill Crowder says in today’s Insight, listening is obeying. In fact in Hebrew, the same word – shema – is used for both. To listen to God is to obey Him and I can guarantee you that in every instance that we take heed of His voice, we will not be shortchanged or lose out. Banish the idea that obeying God limits our freedom or choices. Instead it is wisdom from the heaven from the One who is omniscient (all knowing). He sees the past, the present and the future and has seen human behaviour and psychology since ancient times. Most importantly, He is still guiding and nudging us to fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives that He had prepared for us before the foundations of the world. Listening to God leads us closer to His destiny for us in this world!
