DIGGING DEEPER

Hear & Obey:

Hearing God

Ways people have described closeness with God:

Jesus = “abiding”

Paul = “union” and “praying without ceasing”

Saint John of the Cross = “silent love”

Pete Scazzero = “slowed down spirituality”

Quakers = “centering down”

Jean-Pierre de Caussade = “the sacrament of the present moment”

A. W. Tozer = “habitual, conscious communion”

Dallas Willard = “the with-God life.”

Madame Guyon = “continuous act of inner abiding”

Brother Lawrence = “practicing the presence of God”

Click HERE to view the Hear and Obey Series Resources

How has this sermons series impacted you?

The goal of listening to God is the same for everyone (closeness with Jesus), but the means by which he speaks may be different. Discuss some different ways God can speak to us.

Read I Kings 19.1-13.

• What does this teach us about the character of God and how he speaks
• Discuss what role silence may play as we listen to God today
• What might the gentle, small voice sound like to us today?

We discussed how God passed by Moses (Ex. 33), Elijah (I Kings 19), and how Jesus passed by his disciples on the boat and on the road to Emmaus (Mark 6; Luke 24). What do you think about the idea that God can speak through spectacular means, but that he most often speaks through ordinary, everyday events and experiences?

How might God want to speak to us through our unpleasant emotions?

Spend some time in listening prayer. Consider taking a week to ask God for a word or words for someone in your group. Quietly listen to God, and share about your experience

What is one next step you want to take to grow in learning to hear God?

Looking for questions based on a past sermon?