The first step to hearing from God is setting a time and place to meet with God on a daily basis. The second step to hear from God is having a daily plan for Bible reading. The third step to hearing from God is entering into the Lord’s presence through prayer.

Prayer is undoubtedly the most important of spiritual exercises, because it connects us to the presence and power of God. A person could be in a jail cell today and have no Bible to read, no Christian to fellowship with and no Church service to attend, but they could still meet with, hear from and experience the power of God through prayer.

The importance of prayer can be seen in the life of Jesus. He is the Son of God, and Jesus was constantly praying to the Heavenly Father. He also said in that “men should be constantly praying” (Luke 18:1), and He taught us the “Model Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:1-4).

Jesus actually taught the “Model Prayer” in response to a request from His disciples. They had observed Him preaching great sermons, showing great compassion to the hurting, and performing great miracles. But sensing that the secret to His supernatural power was His unique communication with the Heavenly Father, they asked Him primarily to teach them how to pray. The disciples wanted to have the same connection with the Heavenly Father that Jesus had, and they realized that that kind of supernatural connection was a result of prayer.

So, how do we “hear from the Lord” in the midst of our prayer times, or in response to our prayers? First, we have to set aside a time and place for prayer on a daily basis. Although we can pray while we’re driving or walking or at other times and in other ways, to hear from the Lord regularly we need to have a place where we meet with God regularly. Daniel met with God three times a day for prayer in his upper room (Daniel 6:10). The Gospels tell us that Jesus got up early in the morning to meet with and pray to His Heavenly Father. I like to get up early in the mornings to pray because there are fewer distractions at that time of day, and because I’ve discovered that when I pray early in the morning it sets a powerful tone for the entire day.

Second, we need to have a plan or strategy for prayer. If we don’t have a prayer plan, we will lose focus during our prayer time not really accomplish much. I believe in entering prayer time through a regular pattern. Some people like to use the “ACTS Formula” for prayer. They begin their prayer time by “Adoring the Lord,” and then move to “Confessing their sins.” Next, they spend time in prayer “Thanking the Lord” for His blessings, and they conclude their prayer time with “Supplications” – asking the Lord for help for others and for themselves. This is a good approach, because the Bible says that “we enter the Lord’s ‘gates’ through thanksgiving, and we enter His ‘courts’ through praise” (Psalm 100:4). And the Bible also says that we can’t expect the Lord to hear our prayers if there is un-confessed sin in our hearts and lives (Psalm 66:18). There are other approaches to prayer.

My favorite way of praying is to simply pray through the “Model Prayer” that Jesus taught in response to His disciple’s request (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:1-4). Now, Jesus didn’t expect us to simply recite the words that He gave to His disciples, like some people are prone to do. He gave us the “Model Prayer” as a pattern for prayer. As I pray through the “Model Prayer,” I: 1) Praise the Lord for who He is (our Father in Heaven), 2) Pray for His kingdom to come in my life, my home and our world, 3) Pray for His will to be known and done in my life, my family, my church and my world, 4) Pray for others needs and my needs (our daily bread), 5) Ask the Lord to forgive my sins and to help me forgive others, 6) Pray for victory over temptation, and 7) Pray for victory over the Devil (deliver us from the Evil one). When I spend that time focusing on the Lord and praying through those steps, I am ready to hear from the Lord.

Third, we can then hear from the Lord by sitting or kneeling quietly, and listening to the Lord speak to us in our inner being by the voice of His Spirit. Long before there was a Bible or Bible teachers, the Lord spoke to Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and many others and gave them specific instructions for their lives. How did He do that? He spoke to these godly men in their minds or inner beings by the voice of His Spirit.

We often don’t hear from the Lord during our prayer times because we rush through prayer telling the Lord what we need or want. Eli said to Samuel, “When the Lord speaks to you again, say, ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening.’” Too often we rush into prayer saying “Listen Lord, your servant is speaking,” rather than “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

And when we learn how to wait to hear the voice of God after we pray, He will speak to us in our inner being (Acts 13:2), we will be able to discern His voice from amidst the other voices that are speaking to us (our spouse or friends, the world or the devil), and we will be able to discern God’s will for our lives. There are many specific needs in regards to our lives that the Bible doesn’t cover. The Bible doesn’t tell us what school to attend, what career to pursue, what person to date and marry, what church to attend, what job to take, what ministry to get involved in, etc. But if we will pray and then listen, the Lord will give us succinct direction for our lives (Psalm 37:23, Proverbs 3:5-6), and also direction for others lives. Thank you Lord!!!