Many Christians struggle with hearing God's voice because they don't take the time to stop and listen. Meditating on the word of God brings forth revelations. We hear three voices in our heads: the flesh's, the devil's (who uses "I" to make you think it's really you speaking), and God's. Here are some examples:
Flesh: (while looking at a doughnut shop) "I want a doughnut."
Devil: (while reading the word of God - out of the blue) "I want a doughnut."
God: (while walking down the street) "Pray for your sister in Colorado."
The devil's voice is the loudest of them all - obnoxious, loud, rude, and disgusting, and it's in the personal form (me, myslef, and I). God's is the quietest of them all, 1 Kings 19:12 because He is a Gentleman, calm, and peaceful. The flesh is not as obnoxious as the devil's, but it's still forceful "I'm hungry!" or "I'm tired!" It really takes practice to learn to distinguish between them, but now that you know, you'll quickly realize who it is generating that thought.
Part of the problem is that we're passive in our thinking. Like when you drive a route you take all the time, you're zoned out, on autopilot, and after your arrival, you wonder how you got there. That's passive. An active mind is focusing on the moment, not the past, nor the future. The here and now. Here are some practical verses:
"Be careful for nothing" means "don't worry." We like to think we're in control, but it's really God, not us. Prayer is like breathing to a Christian. Giving thanks always keeps your mind on the positive things of God, proving to yourself He is in control. When you have a need, He is the One that can fill it. Understanding this process gives us the "Peace of God that passes all understanding" and as a result, "keeps your hearts and minds" secure in Jesus. So when there's nothing to talk to Jesus about, think on things that are as the verse says: pure, just, lovely, virtue, praise, and good report, occupy your mind with them. Proof of this is to try this: the next time you begin to watch or read the news, notice your state of being. Take inventory of your feelings, thoughts, emotional state. After watching the news, do the same thing. Notice the difference?
The weapons of our warfare and not of the flesh, but of the mind and spirit. Every war begins with disinformation. The first salvo was in the garden, "...yea hath God said..." or in today's lingo, "Did God actually say...". Our minds are like gardens. Whatever seed is planted, that's the tree that grows. Neural science is really bearing this fact out. (See Dr. Carolina Leaf for more - she's a neural scientist and a Christian). The verses above show this battle and how to win. For each and every thought - yes, thought - we have to take control over it and if it's not in line with the word of God, dismiss it. When we give into those thoughts, we cut off the Spirit's help, the source of all truth (1 John 2:27). The Holy Spirit is our supply line. Take captive (prisoner) each thought that is against the truth. By doing this, we are ready to avenge all disobedience through our obedience! All sin begins with a thought. It's what we do with that thought that determines the outcome. Keeping your mind active (even paying attention to our thoughts) helps us overcome the old man (the sinful flesh) and take dominion over it to the glory of God.
Without much training and no degrees, I became the best technician at every job I ever had, bar none. That is NOT to my credit, but I learned to listen to the source of all truth, the Holy Spirit. He told me what to do and when I listened and obeyed, I'd discover the truth and fix the problem. When I'd explain to my bosses it's the Lord, they'd just dismiss this fact. But the facts speak for themselves.
When you focus on your whoas and ills, you will not entertain the truth. See, that's where faith comes in. Faith in Greek actually means "strong conviction" not the modern thought of accepting blind information as fact. Faith is what Isaiah 1:18a says, "'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord..." Reasoning is a conversation, processing information, learning to trust the Source. This is important for repentance which actually means, "change your mind" in the Greek. I don't like churchy buzzwords, no one seeking understands them. Having the true information on any subject will "change your mind" if it isn't in alignment with the truth - usually. Tradition is a hard thing to overcome, Proverbs 22:6. Those traditional teachings that are acually not scriptural.
Men make whole religions out of grains of truth, and Proverbs 23:7a bears this out, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." When we focus on the negative of our lives, they seem to grow. This is how our brains work. If you stub your toe and ignore it, the pain goes away soon. But if you focus intently on it, the pain remains and you start hobbling. Sports have really taken this truth to heart. Every coach will tell you the same thing: "See yourself crossing the finish line first." They put into practice Hebrews 11:1 much more than many Christians. Medicine calls it the placebo effect. This is how I receive a marksman medal. I saw all the bullets within the target's bullseye.
When we look at Hebrew 11:1 in the original and not the buzzwords, it becomes alive. In a nutshell, this is the meaning:
After all, this is how God speaks; of things that do not exist as though they do, Romans 4:17. Isn't that why many pray? To make things that are not to come into existence? No funds to pay the bills, God provides a way. No food to eat, God provides a way. This is how George Mueller ran 120 orphanages in the UK without marketing schemes, government help, or asking for money. He prayed and had a strong conviction that God would deliver - and He did. Did you know that word and thing in Hebrew are the same words!? Dabar (דּבר) from which we get the word, Deborah, meaning "bee." A bee spreads around pollen, just like we spread the Good News, the Word. My last rabbit hole. Each letter in Hebrew has its own meaning. Dabar letters mean door (דּ), in (ב), man (ר). That is his mouth. Words come out of our mouths.
We are the hearers of our own lips. As such, when we speak ill of a situation rather than having a strong conviction of God's abilities, we lose out, Romans 10:14. Chaning our communications and thoughts allow us to shush the noise of life for the still small calming voice of God.
Just some thougths and a few rabbit holes.