Maybe I Need to Let God Talk More

I curled up in the corner of our couch with my Bible and my journal.  I had just a few small moments before the kids woke up and I needed time with Jesus. 

I began my time with prayers of thanksgiving and started to pour out my requests to Him fervently.  Speak to me Lord.  Let me hear a word from you this morning.  I waited.  Then waited some more.  A few minutes pass by as I sit in the silence.  So I began to pray some more.  Soon after, the girls woke up and we began our day together.

Later that morning, I had a few moments to myself in my car before heading into the office.  I hopped on my First 5 App and read through the day’s devotion.  Come on Lord, I need a word.  So I began to pray again.  More requests, more questions.

That night in the shower, I found myself needing more time with Him.  The day had been long, my heart heavy with so many things.  Lord, please talk to me.  I know you hear me.  I need to hear from you. 

Have you ever had time with Jesus in your shower?  It’s one of my favorite places to go to be with Him.  That probably sounds super weird, but let me tell you why.  I know I will have at least 5-8 minutes uninterrupted time with Him.  Since having the girls, it’s quickly become one of my sweet spots to actually be able to pray and reboot.  Although I can’t read my Bible while I’m in there. (unless you know of a waterproof Bible.  If so, please tell me!)

All day I had been petitioning for God to speak to my heart.  I struggled to understand why He wasn’t speaking to me.  But in the last few moments of my uninterrupted shower, I finally got my answer. 

You aren’t letting me speak.

I love how God often speaks a gentle whisper to our heart, but other times, like this one, He just comes out and says it like it is.  You need to stop talking so much and start listening more.

I was so preoccupied with presenting my requests and asking Him over and over to speak to me, that I didn’t leave much room for Him to do any actual talking.  Which led me to a revelation about my quiet time.

Maybe I need to let God talk more.

During my prayer time I'll pause for a few minutes here and there and ask God to speak to me.  After a few minutes of waiting I just keep moving on with my prayers or my thoughts start running together and I start rambling.  Oh my goodness, I thought.  I really do cut God off a lot. Why don't I let Him talk more?


I've come up with a few reasons why I think I do this.  I hope it will give you some encouragement if you find yourself doing the same thing.

I don’t like the silence.  I know in order to hear Him, I need to let my heart and mind be still.  This often requires silence and distractions to be low or preferably non-existent.  This is hard for my on-the-go brain.  But sometimes what my heart needs most is to simply sit in the stillness with God. 

So many things can preoccupy our time.  And even when we’re not physically doing something, our minds are thinking about doing something.  The stillness is good for our hearts.  It can help us refocus on The One we need most to keep the chaos at bay.  I have to learn to be content in the stillness and silence. It doesn't mean that God isn't trying to talk to me.

I get frustrated when I don’t receive an answer right away.  This is a big one for me.  I can be so impatient.  You too?  I can sit and pour my heart out to Him, only to become disappointed when He doesn’t answer me right away. 

But God is not a Magic 8 Ball.

We cannot pray about something, shake Him up, and expect to see “it is certain” or “outlook good.”  I will admit, sometimes that would be nice.  But it isn’t the way God works.  He molds us in seasons of waiting.  He draws us closer and calls us to further trust Him.

Just because I may not receive an answer right away, doesn’t mean God has not heard my heart.  He may not choose to answer me at that time and I must trust that He will in His timing.  

Sometimes God doesn't answer us during our quiet time with Him but He does speak to us in various ways throughout the day.  There have been many times when God has given me a word through someone I encounter during my day, a blog post I read, or a song that comes on the radio.  


It is the same for you friend.  God hears your prayers.  He knows your need.  Look for those special and creative ways He tries to connect with you. 

During this discovery I've also realized I need to ask myself a hard question:

Am I only hearing what I want to hear?  Because I can be so guilty of doing this too.  Maybe God is speaking certain things to my heart but I pick out bits and pieces of what I want to hear and leave the hard faith stuff for another season. 

Recently I’ve been seeking guidance on a few big things I’ve been struggling with.  To help me discern God’s voice in my decisions, I’ve been asking Him to confirm things to me in various ways.  Confirm it through Your Word {scripture}, confirm it through others, and confirm it by giving me peace about the decision.  

I have even asked Him to confirm it in such a unique way that it could only be Him speaking to me. 

Are you only hearing what YOU want to hear?  Or are you letting God speak into the hard places of your life?

When I actually take the time to let God talk to me, I receive such a blessing from it.  It doesn’t always look like I thought it would and sometimes I get a very different answer than originally expected, but it is always worth the time spent with Him. 

God wants to talk to us!  Like He really wants to.  So much so that He gave His Son, Jesus, to die for us.  So we can have that personal relationship with Him. 

And when I think about that and His plan for my life, His eternal love, I can’t help but think that I need to stop talking so much and start listening more. 

Maybe you struggle with some of the things I do.  Maybe today you quiet your own inner voice and the lies from the enemy so that God can speak to YOU.  Let’s encourage one another.  Let's become less so He can become more. 

Do you struggle with letting God speak to you?

How do you discern God’s voice?