A Practical Guide To Making Decisions With God

“If God Speaks, How Am I Supposed to Hear Him?”

“I wish God would tell me exactly what to do.”

“I wish God would write the answer across the sky.”

“Is it even possible to hear the voice of God today?”

Maybe you’ve had a friend say things like this to you before. You know what they mean because you’ve likely said the same things before yourself. We want God to speak directly - in audible words, preferably - when we are facing a hard decision. “Just tell me what to do, God!”

So when a friend comes up to you asking how to hear God’s voice when trying to make a big decision, what do you say?

Maybe it’s a friend who is trying to decide whether to take a new job that would require a move. Some of the circumstances surrounding the opportunity seem like they could be from God, but he’s not sure. He goes through all the pros and all the cons. He wants to hear God speak into his decision, but he isn’t sure how to hear him.

He’s asking how to put himself in a spiritual posture to listen. He wonders how it works to hear the voice of Jesus in his life when Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

The good news is that hearing God speak into our actual lives and decisions doesn't have to be complicated. Especially when you use the Decision Making Quadrant. This tool breaks down how to hear God’s voice into 4 different categories. It helps you start to see what God may be saying across four different categories. Often, a pattern starts to emerge. Here’s how to draw out the Decision Making Quadrant with your friend who’s facing a big decision.

First, draw a quadrant on a piece of paper - one vertical line and one horizontal line to have four sections. On one section you write “Scripture,” on another, “People,” on another, “Circumstances,” and on the last one, “Still Small Voice.”

Then, you explain to your friend to take this Quadrant and set aside at least half an hour of solitude with their Bible. They will be working through the 4 categories on the quadrant. They should start with the Scripture quadrant, inviting the Holy Spirit to guide them as they prepare to read Scripture. They can choose a passage - it could be a Psalm or another part of Scripture - and read it slowly, several times. They should pay attention to any specific words or phrases that stand out in particular from Scripture and write them down in the Scripture section of the quadrant. They write down what they know about God’s character and ways from this Scripture.

Next, they go to the quadrant titled “People.” Here, they think about any trusted advisor or mentor who may have spoken into their situation recently. Have they received a particular word of encouragement or guidance? They should write it down in this quadrant. If they have not had conversations with a spiritual mentor, they could ask God to show them in the coming days and weeks someone they could talk to for spiritual counsel. God can offer his guidance through the voices of godly people.

Then, they go to the “Circumstances” part of the quadrant. They should think about the current circumstances regarding their decision. Sometimes actual circumstances - however human and earthly they may seem - can offer insight because God is in charge of our human circumstances. Is there some direction that God seems to be highlighting directly from the circumstances? Are there some practical things about the circumstances themselves that seem to offer direction? They should write these thoughts down here.

Finally, they go to the “Still, Small Voice” section of the quadrant. Here is where they depend on the Holy Spirit to guide their spirit. They can ask the Spirit again to speak and guide their thoughts. They try to be still and quiet as the voice of the Spirit is often discerned in the still and quiet. If they do not sense anything at this time, that is ok. They can repeat the steps of the quadrant in the coming weeks to continue the practice of hearing God’s voice.

As they consider what they’ve reflected on in Scripture, through People, through Circumstances, and in the Still Small voice of God, they should look to see if any patterns - any repeated senses of what God is saying and doing - begin to emerge. This is the posture of listening for God’s voice. Often, filling in the Decision Making Quadrant offers some aha moments that, though simple, are encouraging steps as we develop the practice of hearing the voice of God in our lives. It’s simple to remember, replicate, and pass along.

We are all on this journey of learning how to hear God together.