How Can We Hear God's Voice?

This was offered in response to the question by a person known as'tis' on Jenn's blog, Idle Rambling Thoughts (an excellent piece of work in its own right..check it out; Idle Rambling Thoughts ).
'Tis' has provided one of the best descriptions of what it means to hear from God that I have ever read. I am officially proclaiming it as one of my favourite quotations. I hope you find it instructive and inspiring.


"This type of question is usually reserved for theological exams and covers several pages, if not volumes. So, here is a brief sketch of what I think.............................. God works through power with, not power over. So, in that sense it makes it hard for me to think of God as speaking directions of any sort.
So how to know when God is speaking?
I think that I never quite know when God is active, except only through hindsight. There are moments of syncronicity that cannot be explained; things that come together for unknown reasons at the same time, nudges to do something I would normally not do, feelings of being filled with warmth and love. I understand these as Holy Spirit moments, of being touched by the Spirit of the Divine moving in and through us. This is usually felt in relationship with others.
Usually, when I sense the presence of the Divine it is actions of mercy, kindness, and love (moving me to be more open) or in instances of feeling utter despair and saddness (a feeling of comfort).
I don't experience God in language....that is I don't hear or know what God says, rather I experience the Divine embodied in the world, through others around me, in events and in creation. And of course, there are many times when I cannot sense the Divine in my life. I think by and large most of our lives are lived unaware of the Divine presence. Even monks and mystics who spend their lives trying to commune with GOd will tell you there are moments when we cannot see or feel God in our lives. It is part of being human."

tis

(thank you for the great thoughts 'tis')