Scribd
Upload
234 views3 pages

How To Listen To God

The document provides instructions for how to listen to God through prayer. It outlines 10 steps: 1) take time alone and be quiet, 2) relax, 3) tune in and request guidance, 4) listen for thoughts and impressions, 5) write everything down without editing, 6) test the thoughts against scripture and conscience, 7) check thoughts with others, 8) obey guidance received, 9) address any blocks like unresolved issues, and 10) accept mistakes and keep trying with sincerity. The overall message is that anyone can communicate with God through prayer if they are willing to honestly follow these steps.

Uploaded by

Mike Ryan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
234 views3 pages

How To Listen To God

The document provides instructions for how to listen to God through prayer. It outlines 10 steps: 1) take time alone and be quiet, 2) relax, 3) tune in and request guidance, 4) listen for thoughts and impressions, 5) write everything down without editing, 6) test the thoughts against scripture and conscience, 7) check thoughts with others, 8) obey guidance received, 9) address any blocks like unresolved issues, and 10) accept mistakes and keep trying with sincerity. The overall message is that anyone can communicate with God through prayer if they are willing to honestly follow these steps.

Uploaded by

Mike Ryan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

1

How To Listen to God (John E Batterson)


Oxford Group Pamphlet

God will tell you all that you need to know.


He will not always tell you all that you want to know.
These are a few simple suggestions for people who are willing to make an
experiment. You can discover for yourself the most important and practical
thing any human being can ever learn-how to be in touch with God.
All that is needed is the willingness to try it honestly. Every person who
has done this consistently and sincerely has found that it really works.
Before you begin, look over these fundamental points. They are true and
are based on the experience of thousands of people.

1. God is alive. He always has been and He always will be.

2. God knows everything.

3. God can do anything.

4. God can be everywhere-all at the same time. (These are the


important differences between God and us human beings.)

5. God is invisible-we can't see Him or touch Him-but God is here.


He is with you now. He is beside you. He surrounds you. He fills
the room or the whole place where you are right now. He is in you
now. He is in your heart.

6. God cares very much for you. He is interested in you. He has a plan
for your life. He has an answer for every need and problem you face.

8. God will help you do anything that He asks you to do.

9. Anyone can be in touch with God, anywhere and at any time, if


conditions are obeyed

These are the conditions:


- To be quiet and still
- To listen
- To be honest about every thought that comes
- To test the thoughts to be sure that they come from God
- To obey

So, with these basic elements as a background, here are specific


suggestions on how to listen to God:
I . Take Time
Find some place and time where you can be alone, quiet and undisturbed.
Most people have found that the early morning is the best time. Have with
you some paper and pen or pencil.
2. Relax
Sit in a comfortable position. Consciously relax all your muscles. Be
loose. There is no hurry. There needs to be no strain during these minutes.
God cannot get through to us if we are tense and anxious about later
responsibilities.
3. Tune In
Open your heart to God. Either silently or aloud, just say to God in a
natural way that you would Re to find His plan for your life-you want
Printed from http://www.aabibliography.com [email protected]
2
His answer to the problem or situation that you are facing just now. Be
definite and specific in your request.
4. Listen
Just be still, quiet, relaxed and open. Let your mind go "loose." Let God
do the talking. Thoughts, ideas, and impressions will begin to come into
your mind and heart. Be alert and aware and open to every one.
5. write!
Here is the important key to the whole process. Write down everything
that comes into your mind. Everything . Writing is simply a means of
recording so that you can remember later. Don't sort out or edit your
thoughts at this point.

Don't say to yourself-


This thought isn't important;
This is just an ordinary thought;
This can't be guidance;
This isn't nice;
This can't be from God-,
This is just me thinking, etc.
Write down everything that passes through your mind.
Names of people;
Things to do;
Things to say;
Things that are wrong and need to be made right.

Write down everything.


Good thoughts-bad thoughts;
Comfortable thoughts-uncomfortable thoughts;
"Holy" thoughts--"unholy' thoughts;
Sensible thoughts--"crazy" thoughts.
Be Honest! Write down everything-. A thought comes quickly, and it
escapes even more quickly unless it is captured and put down.

6. Test
When the flow of thoughts slows down, stop. Take a good look at what
you have written. Not every thought we have comes from God So we
need to test our thoughts. Here is where the written record helps us to be
able to look at them.

a) Are these thoughts completely honest, pure, unselfish and loving?


b) Are these thoughts in line with our duties to our family, to our
country?
c) Are these thoughts in line with our understanding of the teachings
found in our spiritual literature?

7. Check
When in doubt and when it is important, what does another person who is
living two- way prayer think about this thought or actio n? More light
comes in through two windows than one. someone else who also wants
God's plan for our lives may help us to see more clearly.

Talk over together what you have written. Many people do this. They tell
each other what guidance has come. This is the secret of unity. There are
always three sides to every question-your side, my side, and the right
side. Guidance shows us which is the right side-not who is right, but
what is right.

Printed from http://www.aabibliography.com [email protected]


3
8. Obey
Carry out the thoughts that have come. You will only be sure of guidance
as you go through with it. A rudder will not guide a boat until the boat is
moving. As you obey, very often the results "I convince you that you are
on the right track.

9. Blocks?
What if I don't seem to get any definite thoughts? God's guidance is as
freely available as the air we breathe. If I am not receiving thoughts when
I listen the fault is not Gods.

Usually it is because there is something I will not do:


something wrong in my life that I will not face and make right;
a habit or indulgence I will not give up;
a person I will not forgive;
a wrong relationship in my life I will not give up;
a restitution I will not make;
something God has already told me to do that I will not obey.
Check these points and be honest. Then try listening again.

10. mistakes
Suppose I make a mistake and do something in the name of God that isn't
right? Of course we make mistakes. We are humans with many faults.
However, God will always honor our sincerity.

He will work around and through every honest mistake we make. He will
help us make it right. But remember this- sometimes when we do obey
God, someone else may not like it or agree with it. So when there is
opposition, it doesn't always mean you have made a mistake. It can mean
that the other person doesn't want to know or to do what is right.
Suppose I fail to do something that I have been told and the opportunity to
do it passes? There is only one thing to do. Put it right with God. Tell
Him you're sorry. Ask Him to forgive you, then accept His forgiveness
and begin again. God is our Father-He is not an impersonal calculator.
He understand us far better than we do.

11. Results
We never know what swimming is like until we get down into the water
and try. We will never know what this is like until we sincerely try it.
Every person who has tried this honestly finds that a wisdom, not their
own, comes into their minds and that Power greater than human power
begins to operate in their lives. It is an endless adventure.
There is a way of life, for everyone, everywhere. Anyone can be in touch
with the living God, anywhere, anytime, if we fulfill His conditions.

When man listens, God Speaks.


When man obeys, God Acts.

This is the law of Prayer,

God's plan for this world goes forward through the lives of ordinary people
who are willing to be governed by Him. John E. Batterson

Printed from http://www.aabibliography.com [email protected]

You might also like