God's Voice

[Annie12]

I know I have made a topic like this before but I don't think it answered my question so I'll ask it again. How is one supposed to know Gods voice in discerning a vocation? I feel like I know exactly where God is leading me and it may be that this is completely true and I am just impatient but often times I doubt this voice and just assume its my own imagination creating what I want my life to be... besides a spiritual director what would y'all suggest?

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Annie12' timestamp='1353263158' post='2512380']
I know I have made a topic like this before but I don't think it answered my question so I'll ask it again. How is one supposed to know Gods voice in discerning a vocation? I feel like I know exactly where God is leading me and it may be that this is completely true and I am just impatient but often times I doubt this voice and just assume its my own imagination creating what I want my life to be... besides a spiritual director what would y'all suggest?
[/quote]

Besides having a spiritual director, you really need to spend time with God alone in the silence. The best place to do that is in Adoration, but it can be done anywhere. Most of the time, we are so busy with our own agenda, we don't take the time out to just listen -- not ask a bunch of questions -- and see what God is trying to say. My pastor said that our main purpose of prayer is to discover God's will, but we get so bogged down in what we think is His will that we are blind to the truth. Also, it has been said by a few people that praying the Liturgy of the Hours -- the universal prayer of the Church -- is a great way to grow closer to God. It puts you in the right situation to open yourself up to Him and allow Him to penetrate your heart. If you want a good prayer, say, "God, I ask you to enlighten my mind and heart. Open the eyes and ears of my heart to hear and see your will. Quiet my mind and remove any distractions that are cluttering my thoughts. Wipe them all away. Speak to me and let me hear you."

Spending time at Church is excellent, as well. Any participation in the Sacraments helps.

[carmenchristi]

Well said MM... It is a process learning to recognize God's voice... A life long process that advances through prayer. I often find myself recognizing him in ways I never imagined, but that makes me wonder about what I have yet to discover. I can't help but consider the scripture "My sheep know my voice..." We learn to recognize that voice by loving him and abandoning ourselves to him.

[Annie12]

so my doubts may be erroneous? I should just trust that God is speaking to me. I feel too skeptical a lot of the time.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Annie12' timestamp='1353270159' post='2512417']
so my doubts may be erroneous? I should just trust that God is speaking to me. I feel too skeptical a lot of the time.
[/quote]

If what you think God's will is brings you peace, you can usually trust that it's the right path. If what you are feeling is doubt and confusion, then you need to spend more time listening. Jesus said that He wants our peace. The enemy tries to darken your mind with doubts and confusion. Discernment is lifelong. It never stops until our life is over.

[StClare_OraProNobis]

I really recommend the book by Fr. Timothy Gallagher "Discerning the Will of God." Very, very solid and practical! It would help you tremendously to know what the Lord is saying to you!

[Gabriela]

[quote name='StClare_OraProNobis' timestamp='1353274626' post='2512447']
I really recommend the book by Fr. Timothy Gallagher "Discerning the Will of God." Very, very solid and practical! It would help you tremendously to know what the Lord is saying to you!
[/quote]

I was just going to suggest that, right before I read your post. I actually have it sitting at my feet. I also highly recommend it.

St. John of the Cross' "Ascent to Mount Carmel" may also help. I have not read this yet (will start tomorrow), but many Passionist sisters I interviewed suggested it to me.

Best of luck to you, Annie12!

Edited November 19, 2012 by curiousing

[nikita92]

Fr. Timothy Gallagher rocks!

[carmenchristi]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1353273471' post='2512438']


If what you think God's will is brings you peace, you can usually trust that it's the right path. If what you are feeling is doubt and confusion, then you need to spend more time listening. Jesus said that He wants our peace. The enemy tries to darken your mind with doubts and confusion. Discernment is lifelong. It never stops until our life is over.
[/quote]

THIS

[maximillion]

I never heard God's voice, not inside my head or anywhere else.......

I think God is able to use our own will, our imagination, our feelings, our own thoughts, and anything about us and about our situation in order to intimate to us what He wants.

The above poster has it.... to listen in silence is very useful, because His silences are by no means empty nor is there an absence. When you become aware of Him as Silence, you can be sure you are on the right track.
Yes, pray, but I think if you want to know His Will, it comes by knowing Him, and He will be there in the silence when all else falls away..............

[TheresaThoma]

One of the best quotes about this was told to me by a fellow retreatant, "If you want to know if it is from God just ask him." Basically this means take it back to prayer. If over time you still experience consolation you know are onto something.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='StClare_OraProNobis' timestamp='1353274626' post='2512447']
I really recommend the book by Fr. Timothy Gallagher "Discerning the Will of God." Very, very solid and practical! It would help you tremendously to know what the Lord is saying to you!
[/quote]

Ah, another fan. A number of Phatmassers know that I'm a fan -- and sometimes I sound like his PR person for the number of times I've recommended his series.

BTW -- be on the lookout for two new video series, one on his Examen book and one on Meditation and Contemplation. They were recently filmed in the same place as the EWTN series (Living the Discerning Life) was filmed (I didn't go because I had just gotten home from class, it was the weekend after my class).

And re: hearing God's voice. One other option (in the case of not having a spiritual director) is using your confessor as a bouncing board. He should be able to help you discern whether you are hearing His voice or not. Fr. Gallagher/St. Ignatius of Loyola talk about how important it is to discuss things with a spiritual director:

"13. The enemy acts like a false lover, who wants to keep all of his temptations secret. When we reveal the enemy's work to a trusted spiritual person, they lose their hold on us."

So if anything is going on, if there is a question as to whether or not God is speaking to the heart, then the best thing is to bring what is going on out in the open so that if it is a lie/tempation of the enemy it can be revealed. Revealing that to a confessor would work. Even discussing it with a wise person (someone who has significant experience in prayer) would help. I wouldn't suggest however speaking with a peer about it since you do need someone who has years of experience and growth in prayer.

Hope this help.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='curiousing' timestamp='1353290512' post='2512652']
St. John of the Cross' "Ascent to Mount Carmel" may also help. I have not read this yet (will start tomorrow), but many Passionist sisters I interviewed suggested it to me.
[/quote]

That's a hard read. Just a warning -- I ended up getting two books (from Susan Muto) that explains passages in both of St. John's works.

[carmenchristi]

[quote name='cmariadiaz' timestamp='1353351310' post='2513044']
That's a hard read. Just a warning -- I ended up getting two books (from Susan Muto) that explains passages in both of St. John's works.
[/quote]

I tend to agree.... I have also found that such dense spiritual works can often end up creating more problems than helping in solving them.

At a VERY dark point in my life, someone suggested that I read the Dark Night of the Soul. It threw me into even more confusion... also because what I was living wasn't a spiritual dark night but a concrete situation that needed changing.

I believe these sort of things should be read with the close guidance of a spiritual director.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='carmenchristi' timestamp='1353361104' post='2513133']
I tend to agree.... I have also found that such dense spiritual works can often end up creating more problems than helping in solving them.

At a VERY dark point in my life, someone suggested that I read the Dark Night of the Soul. It threw me into even more confusion... also because what I was living wasn't a spiritual dark night but a concrete situation that needed changing.

I believe these sort of things should be read with the close guidance of a spiritual director.
[/quote]

THIS. Dark Night and the Ascent on Mt. Carmel (sorry I forgot the name of the Dark Night -- silly me) are not works to be read by novices in the spiritual life. Even when I read them I was confused. It doesn't help that the Ascent is not complete (St. John was trying to outline/specify what the 4 stages were but never got around to finishing).