What hinders us from hearing God?
Discussion question for August 28, 2009.
As believers, it is our fond desire to grow in relationship with God. There are certain things that get in the way of our hearing from Him. What does the Bible say will get in the way? What have you found in your own life that interrupts the message? How do you stay on guard against such issues?
Here’s my summary of our discussion.
One of the biggest categories of hindrances would be distractions. They come in the form of TV, hobbies, worries, and sinful behavior. It can take some time to hear from God and time seems to be in short supply. Of course, that simply means that I’m allocating a short supply to hearing from God.
Desire is a big factor. First, I may have a hidden desire not to hear from God. This would be the case if I have an idea what God will demand and I don’t want to hear it. Alternatively, my desire might not be amplified enough. In other words, I’m willing for God to give me a shout out, but it’s not worth my effort to seek Him out to hear the “still small voice”.
James 1:5-6 promises that if I ask for wisdom (hearing from God) and do not doubt, then He will give generously, so doubt is a hindrance. What James calls being a double-minded man could also be described as being in mental conflict. On the one hand there is the mind of Christ, but my prayers are hindered if my own mind is based on an incompatible standard.
Oswald Chambers gives some other examples of things that hinder our prayers and ability to hear from God in his devotional for August 24. Relationships with our spouse and others, an unconfessed sin, unforgiving spirit, and generally not living as a “good child” of God.
There is another large category of hindrances related to our understanding of God. If our earthly father didn’t communicate with us, then we may not have an expectation that our heavenly Father will. Dysfunction in our family of origin may also contribute to our belief that we don’t want to hear from God – experience being that pain or fear accompanies communication.
Finally, if our mind and awareness is limited to the physical realm, we are unable to hear God speak to us in the spiritual realm.