56 | Hearing God in the Silence: 3 Simple Discernment Shifts That Bring Clarity

Speaker A: 00:00:00

Because you assume you're not hearing God so want to make sure that you're not expecting the wrong thing. Have you ever sat down to pray? You're ready to hear God and all you hear was silence.

You've been trying to hear him in your prayer time, your Bible study, your daily devotion, and it just feels quiet. You want to trust him, you want to follow him, but deep down you're wondering, why can't I hear Him Today? I'm going to simplify this for you.

I'm walking you through three simple shifts that can make hearing God's voice feel less frustrating and more doable. So start unloading that dishwasher and let's talk.

If you're tired of feeling unsure about your purpose because you don't know how to hear God clearly and you want simple faith rooted steps to discern his will and move forward with confidence, you're in the right place. I'm Michelle, a cradle Catholic mom of three and a discernment coach for Catholic women.

I learned how to move from confusion and overthinking to hearing God's voice clearly and moving forward with confidence and as well. So if you're ready to grow closer to God, begin discovering how God uniquely made you and experience that mindset transformation.

Grab that laundry, pop in those earbuds and let's go. You've been trying to figure out what God is asking of you and you're tired of overthinking it.

This is exactly what we do inside a discernment coaching session. We don't stay vague. We get specific about what's been on your heart, what feels confusing, and where you feel stuck.

I guide you through a simple It's a faith rooted framework so that you can see what's actually going on instead of guessing or spiraling in your own thoughts. We look at your desires, your current season of life, and what you've already explored and where God may be already opening or closing doors.

You'll leave with one clear prayerfully discern a next step instead of 10 options spinning in your head.

So if you're ready for clarity instead of confusion, visit michellebrannam.com coaching and book your session and the link is also in the episode description. All right, let's dive in. So let's talk about hearing God's voice.

It is possible, but I was one of those people who struggled and I never heard his voice. I really started taking it serious when I was trying to discover what my purpose was. I went on to what I call a search sprint.

I was trying to figure out just how to hear Him. I watched and I listened to priests and nuns and some well known Catholic theologians that were talking about how to hear God. And I journaled.

I sat in silence, I tried everything. And most of the time it was just silence. And that silence, it made me feel like something was wrong with me because why couldn't I hear Him?

Everyone else seemed to be able to hear him. What's wrong with me? Why I must be doing it wrong? So when I say I understand your frustration, I mean it. Because you want to hear God.

You're trying everything, but you're still not hearing Him. So instead of keeping this abstract of hearing God's voice, let's simplify it. Let's take one small, practical step together.

Now, I don't know exactly where you are in your prayer life or what you've already tried, so let's just kind of start here. When you sit down to spend time with God, I want to emphasize that the space matters more than you think.

For me, whether I'm reading scripture, I'm following the lecta noveno, I'm reading a devotional, spending time with a Bible study, or journaling with him in my morning routine, the one thing that has helped me hear him is creating that right space. I have a space that's free of distractions. I choose a time when I know my kids won't interrupt me.

As in, like right now, it's midnight and I'm recording this podcast now, so there is silence in the house so I can record this for better quality for you. So I'm working around. So again, that brings into case the point of creating the right space.

And another thing I like to do is I turn on my three flameless pink light candles that I have sitting on my computer desk here. It's helping my heart and mind to settle and to remind myself that this is a sacred time with God. I'm not rushing, I'm not multitasking.

I'm simply here with God. And that posture alone changes everything. And now here's something that also really helped me.

I realized I focus better when there's something soft playing in the background. Now I'm not talking the loud, not distracting, but just a soft, gentle sound.

And it can be a light instrumental piece of church music that we hear in mass, you know, simply playing on the piano. And that's actually one of my favorite things that I like to have in the background when I'm journaling and talking to God through my writing.

But most of the time in prayer Whether it's reflecting on the daily gospel that follows the Catholic church mass readings, or reflecting with the daily devotional, I listen to nature sounds and in particular, birds just in their natural habitat. And that's soothing to me. So here's a quick funny story though I have to share with you.

I wear my noise canceling earbuds during my morning prayer or even actually during my nighttime prayer. So anytime I do my prayers, I'm actually wearing my noise canceling earbuds when I'm saying my prayers to God.

So a few times my background noise would randomly stop when I was praying in the mornings and I thought, well, that's weird, and I thought nothing of it. And then I just hit play and I just resumed my prayer time.

And so after a couple of times of this happening, I mentioned it to my husband and at one point during our conversation, he said, you know, I want to hear birds chirping loudly when I was back in your vehicle. Out. And we both laugh because we realized what was happening. My phone was automatically connecting to my vehicle's Bluetooth, right?

This is my car, so that's what it's set to. The first priority is my phone.

So when he would start the car, it switched from my earbuds to the car speakers and suddenly he'd be listening to my nature sounds, backing my vehicle out of the garage. So just a little bonus tip.

If someone drives your car and you're close enough to be in that Bluetooth range, they might be hearing your prayer list or whatever playing on your phone. So just be a little leery of that. And I'm sure you're having a good laugh at me now, and you're welcome.

So hopefully that brought a little laughter into your day or a smile to your face today.

Truly, having something soft in that background really helps me to stay present because sometimes when it's completely quiet, my brain, it just fills with the silence, with all the many things to do. So instead of fighting that, I found a way to just help me stay focused. But playing that soft background noise may help you.

So if you find yourself getting distracted or you need help just to settle your brain so you focus on what matters, you can try listening to that background music as well or that background noise. So here are some other ideas for you to try and just experiment to see which works best for you.

I've kind of tried different ones, and like I mentioned earlier, there is like the soft piano playing, like the soft, soft instrumental piano, no vocals.

And then there's the Gregorian chant, which I Heard a Catholic exorcist say once, and I can't remember which one it is because I listened to a couple of them, but they were saying that if you play the Gregorian chant, this actually keeps Satan and the evil spirits away from you, but you. But he also cautioned that it has to be a Catholic one. So it's something about saying it the prayers in lad.

I can't remember the whole just of it, but it was basically if you say one of those and or not say, if you have that playing in, in your house even that'll help push those evil spirits away. So. Or if you feel like you're in a spiritual battle right now, you could even play that right now, even if you're not in your prayer list.

That's an excellent way to keep those ear, those evil spirits out of your house. And then again, there's nature sounds that you could choose, which is the ocean waves, the beach waves, the gentle rain, you know, the bricks, the.

The water streams, or even birds in their natural habitat that I actually prefer. You could listen to fireplace crackling, white noise, ambient noise, church bells, but the key is trying to figure out what actually works for you.

Would that background, that soft noise help you to eliminate those distractions and to help you to settle your brain from having all those mom to do lists that we have going on her head, trying to keep everything together and juggling everything.

And then this last shift that I have for you is important because you assume you're not hearing God, so want to make sure that you're not expecting the wrong thing. Because for me, for the longest time I thought hearing God, it meant I would hear a clear sentence in my mind.

Obvious, you know, audible, unmistakable, that neon sign. And when that didn't happen, I just assumed I was doing it wrong. But most of the time, hearing God, it isn't dramatic.

We can be reminded of this in the first kings, chapter 19, verses 11 through 12. And stand upon the mount before the Lord, and behold, the Lord passed by.

And a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire a still, small voice. Again, that is the first kings, chapter 19, verses 11 through 12.

And I'll also have that passage in the episode description, if you want to read that for yourself and pull out your Bible and reflect upon that. And as I go Back to what I was saying before reading the passages that most of the time, hearing God's voice, it isn't dramatic.

It can look like a thought that just lines up with scripture. A sense of peace about a decision, a nudge you just can't shake. Maybe a phrase that stands out during a Bible study.

So if you sit down and you're expecting thunder, you might miss the whisper. And when you create space, when you remove those distractions and when you slow down, you're more likely to notice what's already there.

And if you're listening and you're wondering, but what if I tried all this and I'm still stuck? That's where personalized help makes a difference.

Because one of my clients told me after her second session that even just the first session helped her so much. Because I have the tools, I have frameworks, I have questions that unlock things.

And if you want personalized guidance, take that first step and book a session@michellebrannam.com coaching the link is also in the episode description, but for today, these are a few things to get you started with without overwhelm. So to recap on those three things, you want to create the right space. You want to remove distractions with that gentle background sound.

And remember that God often speaks in whispers and not thunder. All right, let's take this to prayer. Let us pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God, teach us to know how to recognize your voice. Calm our distractions, quiet the noise in our minds and hearts. Help us to create space for you. If you are whispering, give us the grace to notice.

If you are nudging, give us the courage to respond. We want to hear you. We want to follow you. And we trust that you are closer than we think. Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Alright, let's take this from head to heart.

Because knowing that truth is powerful, but that real change happens when we act just one small step at a time.

So the next time you sit down for prayer, or your Bible study, or your daily devotion, try creating that sacred space and add in a soft background sound. Just try it. See what shifts. And if this helps you, I would love to hear about it.

So come share inside the Facebook community Finding your purpose, discernment and strategy for Catholic moths. And that link is also in the episode description as well. Remember, my beautiful sister in Christ, that God uniquely created you for a unique purpose.

You were made to do great things. God is within you and you will not fail. I look forward to continuing this journey with you. I'll meet you next Tuesday for another conversation.

Until then, may God bless you and give you peace. I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

If so, take 30 seconds to share it with a friend who special feeling unsure about her purpose and want simple faith filled steps to discern God's will. And if you've learned something today, please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts. It lights me up to know that this show is helping you.

Okay, time to tackle the laundry and unload the dishwasher. Gotta go. I'll see you next Tuesday for another conversation.