Spiritual Discernment Toolkit:

How to hear from God

We can hear from God in many ways—the Bible, the Holy Spirit, in nature, through a trusted friend, family member, or counselor, for example. God doesn’t necessarily speak as a human would, so you might wonder how to know if you’re really hearing from God. The resources in this toolkit are intended as an aid to help you hear from God and discern the will of God as you seek to live in faith and obedience.

The process of discernment—hearing from God—is a spiritual practice, a means by which we grow in our faith and relationship with God. Here are a few ways that you might step into, or “try on,” discernment.

Related: Obeying what you hear from God can be really hard, but also worth it

Listening prayer: how to hear from God more clearly

“This is really important because as followers of Jesus, we all desire to do the right thing and make the wisest choices. Yet we are constantly being bombarded with the noise of the world all around us. There are lots of voices telling us very different messages, and too often we find ourselves challenged and confused about what we should do in a given situation or what is really the best way ahead. These are times when we can seek God’s guidance through listening prayer.” –Rev. Jim Harrison

This popular, personal, and practical resource outlines what the Bible says about listening to God in prayer and provides a guide for practicing listening prayer in a small group setting.

Practice listening prayer

Discerning the will of God by tuning into the work of the Holy Spirit

“The Holy Spirit is an advocate, present to help us discover our place in God’s unfolding narrative. … Has the Holy Spirit ever gotten your attention in an extraordinary manner or after a time of extended prayer and stillness? When have you slowed down long enough to hear the Holy Spirit inquire about your life? What stirrings within nature have caused you to solely seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance?” –Rev. Jill Sweet

Three biblical figures—Moses, Elijah, and Mary—model postures that may help us tune into the work of the Holy Spirit today.

Tune into the work of the Holy Spirit

Declutter your spiritual life to help with spiritual discernment

“[We are called] to tell the truth, to root out whatever is harming or hindering our walk with God, and to continually revisit the spaces of our hearts and lives so that we don’t get cluttered up and lose the way again. These passages call us to listen for the sacred pulse, for God’s holy rhythms, and to return to those rhythms again and again so that we can dance with joy and freedom.” –Rev. April Fiet

This sermon walks through two Bible passages (Luke 15:1-10 and Exodus 32:7-14) to help us “look honestly at where we are and where God is calling us to be, and then making changes to get back on track.”

Declutter your spiritual life

Training ourselves to listen well so we can hear from God

“Listening more directly to God often involves the practices of prayer and engaging Scripture, but it can also involve other disciplines such as silence and solitude. The guiding posture that shapes listening as a faith practice is an expectant longing that God, who spoke creation into existence, will continue to speak with us today in ways that we can receive and comprehend.” –Rev. Chris Schoon

As part of the Christian Reformed Church in North America’s Faith Practices Project, this section on listening well includes points to ponder, Scripture passages on listening, a resource list, and guides to listening well individually, with a group, or as a family.

Listen well

Explore related spiritual practices

These spiritual practices intersect well with a posture of listening and may help with discerning the will of God.

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

–Romans 12:2

Group Discernment

Seeking guidance from God is not just an individual process. In fact, it rarely happens in isolation! Spiritual discernment happens in community, too, whether it’s related to a personal or collective step forward. These resources give pointers for discerning God’s will in a group context.

Pursuing God’s Will Together by Ruth Haley Barton offers a new approach to decision-making and hearing from God, both for individual and communal settings. This guide to a transformational discernment practice is also available through season 3 of the “Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership” podcast.
Practicing Listening With a Group: the Christian Reformed Church in North America offers tips and resources to practice listening—to one another and to God—in a variety of group settings.
The Clearness Committee: a Quaker method of group discernment highlighted by Parker Palmer, in which committee members help the focus person “remove the interference so that they can discover their own wisdom from the inside out.”
Spiritual retreats: intentional time to pray and discern. Spiritual retreats take on many forms. Explore this list of retreat centers (primarily in the U.S.) to discover some opportunities or spark ideas. This list is curated by the RCA’s Board of Benefits Services and originally offered to those in ministry in need of revitalization.