God’s Word has many examples of prayer as speaking to God as well as listening for His response. To the prophets God’s response was sometimes in an audible voice. We have this prophetic Word confirmed, so the Bible should always be believed as God’s authoritative, inspired, written revelation (2 Peter 1:16-21).
“Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’
And Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears.’ (1 Sam. 3:10).
Yet sometimes God replies in other ways…such as a whisper: “Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice….” (1 Kings 19:11,12).
The whisper to Elijah was still external, but often the a “still small voice” is sensed in one’s heart. Kenneth N Taylor observed that “Prayer should be a two-way communication. Since there is no voice of God speaking in the room, you need to learn how He speaks in the silence of your heart and mind. I believe this takes practice and experience. Ask God to help you to know His will. If a thought keeps returning to you, talk it over with others. Don’t act hastily. Not every thought that pops into your head while you’re praying is from God.” When an impression comes to the mind in listening prayer, discernment is needed.
Dallas Willard defended listening prayer is a valid aspect of the Christian’s spiritual life: “Hearing God? A daring idea, some would say–presumptuous and even dangerous. But what if we are made for it? What if the human system simply will not function properly without it? There are good reasons to think it will not. The fine texture as well as the grand movements of life show our need to hear God. Isn’t it more presumptuous and dangerous, in fact, to undertake human existence without hearing God?”
So let’s consider prayer as speaking with God but also listening, and looking for various ways He conveys His answers. W.E. Sangster noted, “Prayer, in its essence, is fellowship with God; it is talking and listening to, and loving the Supreme Being who made, and maintains this universe.”
Books that explore listening prayer include:
- Dialogue with God, by Mark Virkler
- The Art of Listening Prayer, by Seth Barnes
- Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God, by Dallas Willard.
- Be Still and Know that I Am God, by A & J. Reinhold
- Hearing God’s Voice, by Vern Heidebrecht
- Listening Prayer: Learning to Hear God’s Voice and Keep a Prayer Journal, by Leanne Payne
Listening Prayer in the context of therapeutic personal ministry:
- Transformation Prayer Ministry: Principles, Purpose, Process, by Ed an Joshua Smith
- The Immanuel Approach: For Emotional Healing and For Life, by Karl Lehman
In John 10:27 Lord Jesus speaks to us as the Good Shepherd: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
JBW
Practical Prayer Helps 