I think about the number of times I’ve journaled and switched the font to red to capture what I thought God was saying to me. And I’ll be honest with you, I’ve missed him a few times. There’s even parts of my journal where I’ve taken the red letter words and turned them into strikethru red letters words.
Even then, I’m sure there are times that I didn’t realize that I missed him. But with God, I enjoy taking that risk. I’d rather hear God a few times and miss him a few times than not hear him at all.
One of the hardest things about hearing God is removing all of your emotions and just listening, no matter what God wants to say. I have found that it becomes very easy to miss God when your emotions are involved. Remember, his thoughts sound exactly like your thoughts, and so learning to discern is essential.
So, how do you do that? How do you remove all of your emotions before asking God to show you something? It is hard. And, it takes practice.
For example, you want to take a quick vacation, and you ask, “Lord, should we go to the beach this weekend?” Everything in you is screaming “TAKE A VACATION TO THE BEACH!” because it’s something you really want to do. Your emotions are in high gear. Can you get to a place where you can pray this way, “Lord, I want to go, but I will do whatever you say. I will stay if you say stay, and I will go if you say go.” And, when you pray that way, can you come to a place where you are happy with God’s answer because you know it’s the best thing to do? That’s removing your emotions.
Beware. Your emotions will speak much louder than God’s thoughts.
