You Can Hear God - Free Indeed - Ep. 34

Summary

Barry Bennett teaches that believers can hear God, though this usually does not mean receiving an audible voice. He argues that people may miss God’s guidance not because God is silent, but because distraction and attention to worldly concerns can make them less receptive.

Main Ideas

• An audible voice does not guarantee understanding. Bennett points to John 12, where God speaks audibly, but some bystanders mistake the voice for thunder or an angel. He uses this to suggest that hearing God depends on spiritual receptivity, not simply on how God communicates.
• Believers are described as hearing Jesus’ voice. Referring to John 10:27, Bennett says that Jesus’ “sheep” hear Him and follow Him. A person may not recognize how God is communicating, he says, but that does not mean God is not speaking.
• Distraction can dull spiritual attention. Bennett applies the parable of the sower: worries and the pursuit of wealth can choke the word and make it unfruitful. He encourages listeners to consider where they direct their attention and what they value, since sustained focus can make them more attuned to those things than to God.
• Hearing God is often an inward spiritual experience. Drawing on Romans 8:16, Bennett describes the Holy Spirit as bearing witness with a person’s spirit. He calls this a spiritual “quickening”—something becoming clear, meaningful, or alive within a person.
• Faith, insight, and understanding can indicate that God’s word has come alive. Bennett identifies several signs of this experience:
  • Faith rising in the heart.
  • Scripture becoming clearer or newly meaningful.
  • A sense of direction, wisdom, or revelation.
  • A shift from seeing something as impossible to seeing a practical way forward.
  • A renewed willingness to forgive, reconcile, or encourage someone.
• He relates the teaching to personal experience. Bennett says he has received what he understood as warnings, guidance, and reassurance from God. During a serious illness, he recalls receiving a quiet inward assurance that he would not die, which strengthened his faith.
• Spiritual attentiveness should be cultivated regularly. Bennett compares hearing God to daily nourishment and encourages listeners to remain connected to God through Scripture, meditation, and attentiveness to the Spirit.

Practical Approach Bennett Recommends

• Stop framing yourself as unable to hear God. Bennett urges listeners to replace “I don’t hear God” with the expectation that God can guide and illuminate them.
• Reduce distractions. Give less attention to the cares of life and other competing interests, and make room to focus on God and Scripture.
• Read and meditate on the Bible. Look for passages to become clearer or more personally significant. Bennett regards such understanding and renewed faith as ways God may communicate.
• Notice what becomes “quickened.” Pay attention to faith, insight, conviction, or direction that arises inwardly, rather than expecting an audible or dramatic message.
• Look outward and serve others. Ask who could use encouragement, prayer, a message, a call, or practical help. Bennett says that attending to others’ needs can make a person more sensitive to the Spirit and can also bring fresh insight and encouragement.
• Act on appropriate guidance. If a need or action becomes clear, respond where possible. Bennett presents serving others as one way spiritual gifts and faith become active.

The episode ends with Bennett praying that listeners will become more attentive to God, then promoting the ministry’s resources, partnership opportunities, helpline, and his book Shaping Your Future.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Barry Bennett — Host and teacher; the only speaker in the subtitles.
• Biblical passages cited or referenced: John 12:27–30; John 10:27; Matthew 13:22 and 13:15; Romans 10:17 and 8:16; John 6:63; Psalm 119:130; Matthew 4:4; 1 Corinthians 2:12; and the account of the disciples’ hearts burning as Jesus opened the Scriptures (Luke 24:32). Bennett also refers generally to Jesus’ teaching about abiding in Him and His words abiding in believers.