Take a moment and time yourself. Sit quietly for 3 minutes, eyes closed, center yourself trusting God will place some word or phrase on your heart. God does interact with us all the time. We many times do not take the time to listen. How do you create space to hear from God? How packed is your day with extra items? When have you intentionally created margin in your day to hear from God?

James, the half-brother of Jesus, says in James 4:2, “You want but you don’t have, so you scheme to get it. You are jealous of others but you can’t get it. You don’t have what you want BECAUSE you don’t ask God for it.” And if you’re in dialogue with God, he’s going to answer you in some way.

As disciples of Christ, you and I are called to create the conditions on our end to hear God’s voice in our life. So, what are some ways I do that? Even though I’m a pastor and am constantly working on the “next sermon”, I have my own personal Bible study to hear God’s voice through scripture. I have a persistent prayer life, almost never saying “amen” because as I think, drive, walk, I’m praying. I keep a journal and write down spiritual and life thoughts as the week rolls on. I do my best to surround myself with positive, spiritual-led people so that I stay focused and encouraged. I create space for silence meaning no radio, no podcasts, no talking, no social media…just empty space to hear God speaking to me.

Paul calls us to be “transformed” (Romans 12:1-2). Stop putting it off. It’s time to create the space to be transformed into the beautiful creation you were meant to be in Jesus Christ. May God bless you as you start this journey toward a life with margin to hear God’s voice speak into your life.

Jesus calls us to love him with all our soul or Spirit in Mark 12:30-31. You and I have to create margins in our lives so we can hear the voice of God calling us into our purpose. In 2001, I had questions about whether or not I was truly following my calling. At a church camp in New Mexico that summer, I asked the difficult question of God to reveal to me explicitly that I was hearing him correctly. Was I following my calling to work with teens and parents in the local church? In fervent prayer and Bible study that week at camp, God revealed twice that I had heard him correctly. But I had to be intentional to hear.

In order to hear, we have to make room or margin in our calendars and days. How do you take time to allow yourself to hear God speak? When do you create margin in your day to listen to God’s voice washing over you? If you are having difficulty answering this question, give yourself some moments this week to reflect. You and I are called to make Jesus the most important thing in our lives. Give yourself permission to stop and create the space needed to hear the voice of God in your life.

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