Listening for God
A Reflection by Christine Jurisich
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Your Cry for Help
What do you hope for when you pray for God's guidance?
How do you cry out to God in your most frustrating or darkest moments? What words come out?
You may not know how to answer these questions, and that is okay. Perhaps when you are at your most frustrated or fearful point, you do not think to ask God for help. It might be that you forget. No judgment from me in any case. I have been there.
There have been plenty of stressful times when I have called out to God, "What am I supposed to do?" I have been angry if I did not get the answer I wanted; confused when I could not see any direction at all; and impatient while waiting for a clear vision. When I end up in that frustrated place, it is often because I want a clearly written life plan from God that shows me everything is going to be okay. Does any of this resonate with you? I am pulled out of that frustrated place by the reminder that I need to focus on listening to God in the here and now.
Listening for Signs of Hope
If you are listening for signs of hope, I invite you to begin by expanding your mind and heart to all the ways God is showing you them in the present moment.
When I use the word "listen," I am referring to a way of being attentive to the movement of God in each and every situation. Ask yourself, "Where is God's grace in the here and now?" Intentionally put your focus on noticing the details of life all around you. Ask yourself what God is showing you in this:
Offer of apology
Timing of events
Encounter with a beautiful rainbow
Surprising phone call
Comforting doctor
Closed door
Open door
This constant way of noticing something and reflecting on it in prayer is what I mean by “listening.” It involves a continuous conversation with God to help bring you both a sense of union with the Divine and sense of calm. It is as if God and you are in alignment, navigating this life journey together.
Listening for Guidance
If you are stressed about a decision, write down all the input around you that you may not have been noticing.
What kind of advice or observations are people telling you? This could be your doctor, friends, family, or even that stranger you chatted with on your walk last week.
What is your gut instinct?
In what ways is your body reacting?
How do you feel about this decision?
Is there missing information or point of view you still need to find and explore?
Journal your answers and take them to prayer. Sit with all of it and begin to “listen” (notice) where God’s love and guidance may be in those answers. If this is the first time you are hearing about “the movement of God” in this way, understand that it will take practice to begin to know and feel familiar with how God communicates with you.
The voice of God comes in all shapes, sizes, and volumes, and each of you will "hear" differently. The important thing is to slow down and be more attentive to the ways God communicates and to notice what gets in the way of listening.
This way of listening has made my life so much easier. I tend to want to control outcomes and rush to “fix it.” I have learned—and am still learning—how to slow down and allow time for listening to the signs God is showing me in the present moment. This has really helped me when dealing with a stressful conversation or difficult decision. The more I wait to respond, the more I notice what is going on inside of me and can begin to discern the difference between the voice of my fear and anxiety and the voice of the God of Love and Mercy.
A faith community can be a beautiful help to us as we listen to the voice of God within ourselves and the people with whom we share. Sacred Circle and our retreats provide that space.
If you are asking, How do I listen to God? (And what does that even mean?)
How do I trust I can know what God is saying to me?
In what ways does God speak?
And if you want to know what gets in the way of listening to God, join us for the online or in-person retreat, “Listening for the Still Voice of God.”
There are always signs of hope in the here and now, no matter what is going on in your life. Blessings on your journey of exploring, learning, and listening.
Discover More
If this reflection resonates with you, learn more about our upcoming retreats in October, “Listening for the Still Voice of God” and our new spiritual formation program coming in January of 2026, “Sacred Self, Sacred Community.”
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The second full week of the month, we offer a chance to share the month’s topic in Sacred Circles on Zoom and in-person. Come to one or come to all. New participants are always welcome.
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In what ways do you listen for the still voice of God?