I found an old writing from years ago. I can not say that I still do this everyday, but I used to, and I probably need to start again. I do not presume this way of prayer is for everyone, and I offer this only as a description of my own experience and understanding at that time.

Hearing God.

At various times and places and in various ways I have heard God speak to me. Sometimes are more obvious than others. Some times I long to hear once more and it seems like there is no communication at all.

What I have learned over the years is to take every thought captive. My thoughts that start with, “I think” or “I will” or “I should” are my own thoughts from me and no one else. The thoughts that start with, “You should” or “do this” or “don’t do this” with the implied “you” are from someone else. Sometimes the else is God sometimes not.

We are so used to hearing these thoughts all of our lives from our childhood we do not realize they are coming from anyone other than our selves. It is not our nature to take every thought captive and to analyze its source. It is our nature to have an internal dialog and debate within our own minds of what we should and should not be doing.

It seems like I most often hear from God when I do not expect to or when I am doing something I planned on my own and don’t really want to hear from God. Even as a believer, sometimes my flesh takes over and I don’t want to hear from God. That is our daily struggle. We must discipline ourselves to seek God everyday.

The best way I have found to seek God, is to start my day with prayer and reading. I lay my Bible, pencil and paper on my couch, then I get on my knees in front of the couch. I start with complete silence in the house and just listen. Then I begin my prayer to God confessing my sin, casting out all negative thoughts, praying for deliverance and for God to prepare my mind and my spirit for instruction. Then I read the prayers of David in Psalms, writing down the verses that stand out to me. After a Psalm or two, I continue to pray for health and whatever else I need and then I pray for my friends and family.

When praying for others I pray in the plural as the Lord’s Prayer is in the plural. I don’t just blurt out what I think they need, I read each name from a list then I listen. It is at this time that I hear God. I pray as He leads me to pray for each person.

In praying in this manner, we pray God’s will in our lives and in our friends lives. These are the prayers that God answers. God also repays us with Joy for the time we spend praying for others. Prayer is our weapon of mass destruction against the kingdom of darkness.

Prayer is what God desires from us. We ought to pray without ceasing. Our enemy does not want us to pray because prayer destroys his kingdom. I love to destroy darkness more than anything else. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and we can too by prayer. If you hate the devil and you hate darkness pray as often and as much as you can. Satan will fight you on this everyday in every way he can. We must fight back because we are at war, and prayer is our greatest offensive weapon.

2 Chr 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

By humble, this means to get down on our knees. By pray, this means to pray aloud. David wrote over and over again how his voice would be heard in the morning, not his thoughts. We hear God in our thoughts, but God wants to hear our voice.

This is how I have experienced hearing God: through attentive listening in prayer.

Ps 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

Disclaimer: Prayer is our participation in Christ’s victory over darkness; He alone conquers, and we cooperate through prayer by calling upon God and His angels to act.

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.