In spite of man’s sinfulness, the human heart still has the ability to hear and respond to God’s voice but requires the help of God’s grace.
God’s voice constantly communicates with love to elicit a response from man but this communication is unlike human conversation and does not rely on audible sound but on spiritual awareness in prayer.
The Holy Spirit leads Catholics to pray and makes them more receptive to God’s voice. Regular spiritual communication with God through prayer builds a personal relationship with God and increases familiarity with his voice.
While prayer involves man talking to God, it should also allow God to speak to man. Removing distractions and spending time in silence allows God’s voice to be heard.
While some people struggle to hear God speaking, He does reveal Himself, speaking continually to all people. At the same time, He also speaks to each one personally.
Reading Sacred Scripture and becoming familiar with the practices and teachings of the Church helps Catholics recognize God’s voice and what He has planned for them.
God communicates differently:
Listening better in the spiritual life:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
John 10: 1-5
God’s voice matches the teachings of the Church:
The Lord calls us by name, He calls us because He loves us. However, the Gospel says, there are other voices, that are not to be followed: those of strangers, thieves and brigands who mean harm to the sheep. These different voices resonate within us. There is the voice of God, Who speaks kindly to the conscience, and there is the tempting voice that leads to evil. How can we recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd from that of the thief, how can we distinguish the inspiration of God from the suggestion of the evil one? One can learn to discern these two voices: they speak two different languages, that is, they have opposite ways of knocking on [the door of] our hearts. They speak different languages. Just as we know how to distinguish one language from another, we can also distinguish the voice of God from the voice of the evil one.
Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, 3 May 2020
Hearing and responding to the voice of God:
God means for man to hear Him:
Silence can be alive with communion with God:
God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer. In prayer, the faithful God’s initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals Himself and reveals man to Himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama. Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart. It unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2567
Transitioning from reading to conversing with God:
Allowing God to speak through Scripture:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
The fruit of Catholic missionary efforts:
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