for Christians that are struggling to hear from God.
The Lord has told me to write a short, simple guideline to Christians who goes to church on Sundays, or believe they are Christian, but do not have a personal relationship with Him, i.e. they are not hearing directly from God every day via reading of His Word, praying and more. You may even be reading and praying, but feel like God is not hearing you, or the words in the Bible makes little sense.
If this is not you, i.e. you are a spirit filled Christian, that do not need the pastor or church leader in order to hear from God, then this is not for you, keep doing what you are doing, please make time to connect to God directly and try to limit reading too many prophecies and “Words” by other people, unless God tells you to. We are now consumed by so many voices, deception is creeping in, make sure you ask the Lord what He is saying to YOU directly. Be blessed.
There is a protocol when hearing from God. This is not a 5 steps to success list. It is just a guide, to help you prepare your heart to connect to God. There are a few things that should be in place for your spirit to be open to hear from the Lord. I will try to keep it short and simple. There are scriptures for everything, and I will reference them, so please go and read them yourself, this may be a good place to start your reading.
1. Go into a quiet place if you can, away from others and other distractions (i.e. switch OFF your phone/TV etc.) Sit under a blanket if you must and that is your only alone place. You can put SOFT worship music in the background, but without the adverts etc that can distract you.
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matthew 6:6
2. When you pray or read the Word of God, do it audibly. That means so your ears can hear it. Even if your head gets filled with weird or negative thoughts, sinful thoughts, depression, anxiety, or fear – keep on speaking out loud while you do the steps below. Satan will try to distract you to stop praying and reading with these thoughts, but you can override them by speaking the truth in the Word and he will go away eventually.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
3. Repent. God needs you to be clean and purified before you can enter into His presence. We all have sin, but if you are born again (you believe and have accepted Jesus as your Savior) you are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. But you need to ask forgiveness.
What to do: Pray out loud. Ask God to through His Holy Spirit, show you what you need to repent from. Then start asking forgiveness for every sin you know of, and any new ones that come into your mind while you are praying. Ask Him to cleanse you through the blood of Jesus and to help you not to do that again.
Note: Being born again is essential, if you are not, stop reading now, and go and find a Christian to take you through that first. You can also message us, and we can help you.
I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Luke 13:3
4. Forgive. If you do not forgive those that sinned against you, God cannot forgive you. This is a scary thought. To forgive do not mean what happened was right, but you choose to forgive as it will make YOU free. Love and bless your enemies.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:25
What to do: Pray out loud. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you now anyone that you need to forgive (no matter how small or big). Whoever comes into your mind at this time, say you release them and forgive them now, and put them into the blood of Jesus.
5. Surrender: This is one of the superpowers of a born again believer. This means to willfully release control of EVERYTHING in your life to Jesus.
Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established. Prov 16:3
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:7-12
What to do: Pray out loud. Begin by surrendering everything that comes into your mind into the blood of Jesus. Say Lord I give you full control over my life, over my family, over my finances, over my business/work, over my relationships, over my decisions and my will. Anything that pops into your head now, say I surrender it into the blood of Jesus. If you have an illness/depression/ any problems you may have – surrender it into the blood of Jesus. Any worries, things that are bugging you that comes into your mind now, say “Lord I surrender this now to you, and give you all control. Please will you work it out for my good, and for Your glory.
6. Infilling: Ask God to fill you with His Spirit, more of Him, less of me. Believe in the Abundance of what God has for you. Any sickness or bad things that has happened is not from God, but He can still use it for your good in the end.
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30
Jesus is speaking: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Rom 8:28
7. Personal Requests + declarations: Pray for your own needs. Ask God for the things that you need in your own life. Ask Him to provide the finances that you need, the healing, any specific things that you are in need of. Please note, ask for something once, and thereafter start thanking God for providing it to you. As God is showing you scriptures for your life, write them down and declare them over yourself and your situation daily. i.e. if you need healing, out loud declare healing scriptures. Your spoken words have the power to change your circumstances, but the key is believing when you say them.
Examples: Healing – 1 Peter 2:24, Rom10:13, Prov 4:20-22 Finances – Matt 6:25-34, 2 Cor 9:10 Protection – Psalm 91 etc. Ask the Lord to give you the scripture you should declare if you are unsure.
8. Thanksgiving: Thank God for everything He has provided to you. Thank Him for things He has done for you in the past. Thank Him for the things you have asked for before, thank Him in advance for providing it to you. No matter how difficult your situation is, there will always be something to be thankful for.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
9. Praise God and Worship Him. You can do this by singing specific praise and worship songs, or exalting Jesus with your words. Worship and exalt the Lord. A starting point is to declare all the Hebrew names of God out loud – exalting Him for who He is.
See short list below, there are many more:
Say, Praise the Lord for He is Elohim – God the Creator, strong and mighty
El Elyon – the most High God
Adonai – possessor and ruler of all men
El Shaddai – great and all sufficient one
Jehovah Tsidkenu – the Lord my righteousness
Jehovah Shalom – The Lord our Peace
Jehovah Shammah – the Lord who is Present
Jehovah Rapha – the Lord our healer
Jehovah Jireh – the Lord our provider
Jehovah Rohi – the Lord my Shepherd etc.
Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Luke 19:37-38
Read Psalm 100
10. Wait and Listen: Wait on the Lord to speak to you. Sit still for a few minutes while you softly praise and worship Him, and open your spirit up to hear from Him. Ask the Lord which scripture He wants to show you. Read the Word of God out loud as He shows you. Ask the Holy Spirit to explain the meaning to you. Start a journal (written or electronic) where you jot down any scriptures / revelations He gives you aftewards. These are your puzzle pieces that you need to keep until you can piece them all together.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8
Note: This guide is to help you to come into the presence of the Holy Spirit, and once God starts to speak to you, or Holy Spirit leads you to do something else, you need to follow Him, and not this guide. This is meant only as a starting point, to connect to the Living God. You also need to read the Word of God, to hear what He wants to say to you specifically. I trust Hoy Spirit will open up to you scrolls and revelations that will blow your mind!
CLick here to DOWNLOAD this guide as a pdf to print.
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:19-23
Written by Mariana Engelbrecht
Please share, I have a deep compassion for cultural church goers in this trying time, as they will not stand without being able to hear directly from the Lord going forward. Please send to anyone you think may need to hear this. It is very important that we do not only minister to those that are saved, but also to those who are lost because of unforgiveness, or because they do not have a personal relationship with the living God.
Shalom