Family Devotional on Hearing God’s Voice

This is the final devotion excerpted from the 30 Days of Praise Devotional Journal. 30 Days of Praise is a churchwide emphasis on worship that include weekly family devotions on each of the 5 themes in 30 Days of Praise. To view all 5 of the family devotions, go to the Family Devotions category on this site.

We have heard from so many families who have enjoyed going through these devotions together. If you have used these with your family, please leave us a comment about how it went. Thanks so much! – Dwayne

Family Devotion

Week 5 – Hearing from God

Say this week’s memory verse together: He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. – Isaiah 50:4b (NIV)

Say: I want all of us to be very still and quiet for a few seconds. I want us to listen really closely for any little noises and sounds we can hear while we’re being quiet. Ready? 1, 2, 3, go! (Wait 15 –30 seconds in silence.)

Ask: What did you hear? (Let everyone describe something they heard while being silent.)

Say: You know, if we hadn’t have been quiet, we might never have heard that (or those) sound(s). God wants to speak to us, but sometimes we are so loud and noisy and busy that we don’t hear him trying to speak to us. That is because he speaks in a still, small voice—not out loud like I’m talking right now—but inside our minds and our hearts.

Ask: What are some ways God wants to speak to us? (Lead them to say reading the Bible, praying and through other Christians at church)

Say: We know he wants to speak to us, but we have to take time to read the Bible and to pray. That is why this week for 30 minutes every day, we’re going to turn off the TV, the CD player, the MP3 player and/or the video games. We’re going to be quiet. We can’t talk to each other or play with each other. We must be alone and quiet. *You don’t have to read your Bible and pray during those 30 minutes but I hope you will want to.

Ask: Are there any questions?

Say: Let’s stop right now and pray and ask God to speak to us this week while we’re being quiet and still each day.

Prayer: Lord, we know you want to talk to us through your Word, the Bible and as we pray to you and listen to you. Help us be quiet and make time to listen. Then help us to obey whatever you tell us to do.

(*Option for small children: Mom or Dad can take a few minutes each day to read to them from the Bible and/or sing praise choruses to them.)