7 Practical Bible Study Questions on Hearing the Voice of God

Inside: These 8 simple bible study questions on hearing the voice of God use Scripture to help you develop a more powerful relationship with Him. Don’t forget to download the cheat sheet to help you hear what God is saying to you.

You should have seen me—tucked away in my special prayer space, head bent over my newest prayer journal.

You’d have seen my hand rush over the page at times, pouring out what was on my troubled heart. At other times, you’d have seen it slow to a hesitant crawl as words struggled to come.

But at all times, you’d have seen me fill the lines of my prayer journal with my unhappiness.

That journal—and the others before it—bled with my urgent requests to God.

With mounting desperation, I begged Him for solace, escape, or rescue. All I got in return was confusion about why I wasn’t hearing back from Him.

And because I didn’t, I almost gave up on my relationship with God.

I’d have saved myself a ton of time and heartache if only I’d had a few simple, incisive bible study questions on hearing the voice of God.

Bonus: As a bonus for joining my weekly newsletter, get this free printable download—The Hearing God Cheat Sheet. It gives you 6 guaranteed signs He’s speaking to you, so you can stop missing it.

Why You Need a Hearing from God Bible Study

At some point in your life, you’ve cried out to God for help, desperate to hear His voice.

Maybe you’ve begged Him to cure your misery at work or deliver you from the well-paying job you hate. I sure did.

Or maybe you’re feeling unworthy in a relationship and you’re desperate to hear God’s voice delivering relief from it. I sure did.

Or perhaps, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get your life together. And now you’re exhausted and desperate to hear God’s voice of deliverance. I sure was.

Wherever you’re at, you’ve surely been in a season of needing God’s deliverance from your own personal wilderness.

So you did what all your church friends said. You cried out to God, expecting to hear His voice.

But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.

Psalm 18:6 (NLT)

Only, you kept your part of the deal and almost went hoarse crying to Him. But it seemed like you never heard the voice of God echo back to you.

Why?

7 Scriptures + Bible Study Questions on Hearing the Voice of God

It may seem like God is silent for any number of reasons.

Let’s explore 7 Scriptures and related bible study questions on hearing the voice of God to help you pinpoint why you in particular aren’t hearing Him.

Writing can help bring clarity. So linger over, go deep with, and journal through each question. This will help you zero in on why you’re not hearing from God.

Bible Study Q1—What are you asking for?

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

1 John 5:14-15 (NLT)

Think and journal about these bible study questions on hearing the voice of God.

• The things you’re begging God to do in your life—are they in keeping with His will?
• How can you know His will?

Bible Study Q2—How are you asking?

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 14:13-14 (ESV)

Think and journal about these bible study questions on hearing the voice of God.

• What do you think about the power of Jesus’ name?
• Are you asking God, in Jesus’ name? Not as part of a prayer formula, or as a way to force God to do what you want. But asking in Jesus’ name according to God’s will.

Bible Study Q3—Where do you abide?

If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

John 15:7 (AMPC)

Think and journal about these bible study questions on hearing the voice of God.

• Does God’s word live in your heart?
• Do you live in Jesus’ presence?
• Are you united to God through Jesus?

Bible Study Q4—What’s the state of your heart and life?

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Psalm 66:18 (ESV)

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Isaiah 59:1-2 (ESV)

Think and journal about these bible study questions on hearing the voice of God.

• Are you knowingly indulging in sin?
• Are you tuning out God’s gentle reproach over your deliberate actions and doing it anyway?
• Do you cling to your sin instead of to God because it feels good or because it’s what you think you need?

Bible Study Q5—What’s your motive for asking?

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

James 4:3 (ESV)

Think and journal about these bible study questions on hearing the voice of God.

• What are your motives for asking for what you want?
• Are you asking from a place of selfishness? Do you have a hidden agenda?
• Does what you’re asking for go against God’s word?

Bible Study Q6—What do you really believe?

I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

Mark 11:24 (NLT)

Think and journal about these bible study questions on hearing the voice of God.

• Do you genuinely believe God can give you the thing you’re praying about? Or are there seeds of doubt?
• Do you really want it?
• Are you begging God for it because you think it’s what you should ask for?
• Are you begging God for it because it’s what you know and what feels safe?

Bible Study Q7—Are you listening?

Let’s do a quick recap of some of the biblical reasons we’ve covered on why you may not be hearing God’s voice:

1. You’re not praying according to God’s will.
2. You’re not abiding in His word, which is how you know His will in order to pray it.
3. You aren’t asking for God’s will in your life in Jesus’ name.
4. You’re entertaining known sin in your life.
5. You’re asking with wrong motives.
6. You’re asking from a place of unbelief.

Now, only one big issue remains.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

Psalm 62: 5 (ESV)

Think and journal about these bible study questions on hearing the voice of God.

• Are you listening to and for God’s voice?
• Have you stopped talking long enough to hear what He has to say?

You see, my darling, you won’t hear God’s voice if you don’t stop talking and listen.

Communication is a two-way street. And God isn’t a genie in a bottle, waiting to zap you with a miraculous answer to your every request.

So how can you hear God’s voice?

Make your request then sit in silence and listen.

Even if He doesn’t answer immediately, He will answer. He loves you so He hears you, and He answers, always.

But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

Psalm 66:19-20 (NLT)

Get Your Free Printable Cheat Sheet for Hearing the Voice of God

Confusion, frustration, and lack of knowledge can make you miss hearing the voice of God. But you can get back in tune with Him.

Use this cheat sheet as a guide to help you recognize signs God is speaking to you. You’ll get 6 Scripture-based signs, plus related Bible verses for each sign.

1. Get the free guide. You’ll get the printable guide and join my weekly newsletter. Just click here to get it and subscribe.
2. Print. Any type of paper will do.
3. Keep your guide where you can easily grab it when you need it, like with your prayer journal.

Here’s a sneak peek of your free printable guide:

Your List of Bible Study Questions on Hearing the Voice of God

I could have moved into my special prayer place and spent all day, every day, pouring out my unhappiness to God.

I could have written a library full of prayers begging Him for rescue. But I had no hope of hearing God’s voice of deliverance. Not until I got honest with myself and with Him.

These practical, powerful bible study questions on hearing the voice of God would have helped me with that.

But you don’t have to wonder how to hear God’s voice. All you need to do is tell yourself the truth as you answer these questions:

1. What are you asking for? Are you praying according to God’s will?
2. How are you asking for it? Are you asking for God’s will in your life in Jesus’ name?
3. Are you abiding in God’s word?
4. What’s the state of your heart? Are you entertaining known sin in your life?
5. What are your motives for asking? Are they wrong or are they right?
6. Are you asking from a place of unbelief?
7. Have you stopped asking, gotten quiet, and listened for God’s voice?

Answer these questions and make corrections where you’ve gone astray. Then you may just find yourself hearing the voice of God again in no time.

Before you go, get your FREE printable download to help conquer your confusion—The Essential Guide to Finding Clarity.

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