“It is Christ himself, not the Bible, who is the true word of God” (C.S. Lewis)

When you want to hear God where do you start? You start with Jesus.

The book, How to Hear Jesus by Pete Greig, uses the story On the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) as an illustration of how Jesus communicates with us. Jesus speaks in at least 5 different ways:

• Conversationally
• Exegetically (all the Scriptures concerning himself)
• Sacra-mentally (took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them)
• Prophetically (when their eyes were opened)
• Inwardly (when He spoke directly to their heads, which were burning when He talked to them)

It is important to know how Jesus communicates because our purpose is to have a true relationship with Jesus, ” to enjoy a real, conversational relationship with an infinitely loving divinity, which is why you almost certainly hear him already more than you realize” (Greig).

But I know many, including myself, struggle to hear God. Why is that? The book highlights 3 areas which may hinder us from hearing Jesus:

• Psychological- feeling unworthy of any kind of special attention from God.
• Theological- questioning if God really speaks at all.
• Experiential- being unfamiliar with the voice of God.

This chapter gave me comfort in the reminder that Jesus speaks to everyone DIFFERENTLY. And it is true that different personality types may find it easier or harder to hear God. I know my personality type finds it hard to hear God! I find comfort knowing that I am not a lost cause- Jesus is speaking to me and I just need to find the way in which I hear Him best!

Putting it Into Practice

To put this chapter into practice, the book suggested listening more to worship music to draw nearer to Jesus. And that is is what I did! As I got ready in the morning and drove around in my car I was listening to worship music.

I didn’t really listen to a wide variety of songs because a few songs really spoke to me and I listened to them on repeat for hours! Maybe this is one of the ways in which Jesus speaks to me? Here are the songs that I had on repeat:

• Resurrecting by Elevation Worship
• Scars by I am They
• Gratefulness by Rend Collective
• Whom Shall I Fear by Chris Tomlin

As I reflect back on these songs it is no wonder that they spoke to me. If I had to summarize my testimony and my relationship with God is the need to surrender. I came to Jesus when I was in 7th grade because I was struggling with changes in friends and growing up. I had almost every Bible verse highlighted about stress in high school as I was trying to achieve the most and afraid of failure. I am in constant need of reminding that I can’t do it alone, I need to surrender to God. This will be a lifelong journey for me.

By listening to worship music throughout my day, it was a reminder of Jesus presence in my every day life. It was a constant reminder that Jesus is with me and a reminder of all the things He has done for me. I really felt like this exercise made me feel closer to Jesus.

I encourage you this week to listen to more worship music and take a note on how it changes you in the next week. Share in the comments what songs speak most to you!