Why can't I hear God?

7 distractions and possible solutions so we can better listen for His direction

Do you ever feel like you’re begging God to speak to you? Maybe you’re facing something and feeling uncertain, longing for His clear direction. Anytime I touch on this subject of hearing from God, it’s clear that no matter how deep our prayer life is, we yearn to hear God speak more into our lives.

We have crossed that hurdle of faith and know that God’s plan is best, but how do you know what God’s plan is?

And for so many of us, we feel like we’re really trying, don’t we? I mean, hello! This whole Substack challenges us to make listening to God a consistent habit in our lives.

So why is it so quiet?

Why does it feel like our prayers are ricocheting off the ceiling right back to us the same way they went out? No clarity. No answer. No tidy bow in sight.

If you’ll indulge me, I’d love to share about the time God really spoke to me about how much He was speaking to me. ;)

It was the mid-00s. Monroe, Louisiana. Dead of summer. I met a fellow leader named Matt while helping out a a middle school work trip for our church’s youth group. I mean, how else did a Christian girl meet a Christian boy in those days?

We decided to date, which was entirely practical, seeing as how he lived in Pennsylvania and I lived in Louisiana, and we’d known each other one week.

It wasn’t long (maybe hours?) after that fateful decision before I physically got nauseous. This continued for days to the point I wondered if I should be dating him. I decided to pray about it. A day late, but a victory! Plus, nonstop nausea will open you up to the Lord’s point of view real quick.

I prayed and prayed, seeking God’s answer. Lord, should we be dating?

Nothing.