How Do I Know If It’s God's Voice? ~ Norma Donovan Ep. 95

On social, and by email, you sent in so many great questions about hearing God's voice. You asked, "How do I know if it is God's voice or my own desires?" "What guardrails can we put in place to ensure we are not being deceived?" "How do we listen to God's voice?" In this episode, Norma and I will answer these questions and more in our final episode of this mini-series, Is that you, God?

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Transcript

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[00:00:00] Denisha: On social media and by email. You guys sent in so many great questions about hearing God's voice. You asked, how do I know if it's God's voice or my own desires? What guardrails can we put in place to ensure that we're not being deceived? Great questions. How do we listen to God's? In this episode, Norma and I will answer these questions and more in our final episode of this miniseries.

[00:00:29] Denisha: Is that you? God, thank you for participating and giving us your questions. We would love your thoughts and hopes for future episodes if you aren't subscribed to our weekly email. Be sure to do so @reclaimedstory.com. We would love to stay connected. Welcome to Living the Reclaim Life podcast. I'm Danisha.

[00:00:50] Denisha: We're glad you're here for conversations that revive hope, inspire healing, and encourage you to live a vibrant life with Christ. So grab a cup of coffee [00:01:00] as we chat with today's guest. If you have missed the last three episodes of this series, is that you? I wanna really encourage you to go back and catch week one, week two, week three of this series with Norma Donovan.

[00:01:17] Denisha: Norma. This has been a lot of fun. It has 

[00:01:21] Norma: for me. It's filled my cup to overflowing deisha . 

[00:01:25] Denisha: Me too, me too. If you guys could hear our offline conversations. It's been, it's been so fun. We could even have a bloopers reel. I think , 

[00:01:35] Norma: we, we could . 

[00:01:38] Denisha: Oh, well if you missed, if you do not know Norma yet, oh, you are in for a treat.

[00:01:43] Denisha: Norma is an author, a speaker, and the founder and president of Restoring Hearts Ministries. She has a master's degree in counseling, and you guys, she is so passionate about mentoring women. Being intimate with God and seeing others' hearts [00:02:00] restored. Norma and her husband John live in Kansas. They have two grown children and you can find Norma's book Restoring Your Heart to Deepen Intimacy on Amazon.

[00:02:10] Denisha: And I just wanna say, Go grab it because this has been so great. I shared last episode that I had our friend Sally's copy of your book and at first I thought, okay, you know, I'm gonna review it, kind of get to know Norma a little bit. Next thing I know, I'm sticking post-its on there and making sure I slap my hand and don't grab a highlighter to mess with Sally's book.

[00:02:33] Denisha: So I have my own copy and this month we have already given away. And we are gonna give away another copy of Norma's book. So if you would do us a huge favor and go on and follow this podcast, subscribe wherever you listen, and if there's a way to give us five stars and to write a little review, that means a whole lot to us.

[00:02:56] Denisha: And it actually tells all of the algorithms, Hey, this is [00:03:00] content that people need to hear. So would you help us to get this message out about hearing the voice of God from Norm? Incredible wisdom, experience and just holy Spirit led teaching. So we are excited. So go on and rate review, follow us and then screenshot that And if you send it to connect reclaim story.com, that screenshot, we will I you to win Norma's book and we'll be giving that away the end of this week, which is the end of February in 23.

[00:03:31] Denisha: So we are really excited, you know, The great thing about podcasts and anytime we do video or recordings or books, is that people 10, 15, 20 years from now can pick up on this information too. Mm-hmm. so they can share in this experience with us. It's not just for the last week of February in 2023, but it really is just a legacy.

[00:03:53] Denisha: So, I am excited to dive into this episode and I'm gonna recap the last three. So the [00:04:00] first week we talked about why does God speak to us? Oh, and you gave so much great information and biblical outlines of why does God speak to us? Why does he want to speak to his people? and the second week we covered how does God speak to us?

[00:04:15] Denisha: What are the ways that we hear God's voice? Last week we talked about preparing our hearts to hear there's a way that we can posture our heart, and there's some practical things that we can do to posture ourselves to hear God's voice. And so today, Norma as we do all of this, I think one of the biggest questions that we've had come up as we threw this out on Facebook and said, what are your questions about hearing God's voice?

[00:04:40] Denisha: And one of the biggest things is people wondering, is that really God? How do I know if that's God? So we're gonna dive into that today. How do we know Norma, that it is God? What are some practical tips? 

[00:04:54] Norma: Okay, well the first one might seem obvious, but it's to silence your phone. [00:05:00] Eliminate distractions. So if you need to, Denisha, you talked about your own little private prayer room under the stairs.

[00:05:07] Norma: If you need to go to a quiet room, go outside, wherever. It's more conducive to stillness. One of my favorite places to meet with God when the weather is good is just sitting out on the. Start small is another tip. Start with five minutes and then extend the length of time or the number of meetings alone with God each week.

[00:05:29] Norma: Make it a practice. Something that you do frequently and consistently. I do not do it every day. I think that's my desire, because I think that's God's desire. But I know I don't do it every day, and a lot of the times that I do do it, I don't hear anything. But he is just in that time, in those moments, he's centering my soul on.

[00:05:54] Norma: He's calming me down, giving me his peace, and I feel his presence. And [00:06:00] so even if I don't hear his words, he's still ministering to me in that moment. And then another tip would be to have a pad of paper and pen to jot things down that come to your mind that you wanna remember later, like, you know, to add to your grocery list so that they're removed from the bandwidth of your thought.

[00:06:21] Norma: And then another tip is to write what God says to you in a journal. Keep, I wanna encourage you, a pastor gave me this idea. Keep the first few pages of the journal empty. and use that as a table of contents. And so then I will number the pages of my journal. And if it's a significant word, you know, one that I either want to pray into or it's one that stands out, you know, God's highlighting it.

[00:06:49] Norma: It may give me a lot of encouragement. Or if it's an insight, I don't wanna forget, I will give it a brief. . And then in the table of contents [00:07:00] I will list the page number and the title of the entry so that if I wanna go back through and look for that, I can find it quicker. And then at the end of the year, I typically read through my journal, but you know, at the previous year, sometimes I get overwhelmed and I don.

[00:07:21] Norma: Finish that. I start off well and then I don't finish it, but this year he showed me to just read a month's worth of journal entries. one day at a time. I just included it as part of my time with him. So it took me 12 days to read through 12 months of journal entries. And this year, something he encouraged me to do, which I've never done before, is to make a section in my notes section on my phone, and I just title it Prophetic Words for 2022.

[00:07:53] Norma: And so as I'm reading through each day or each, you know, A day, I will [00:08:00] jot down the ones that I really don't wanna forget in this note section on my phone. And it's kinda like a Cliff Notes version of the words God spoke to me and what he taught me throughout the year. And then I wanna encourage the listeners to pray into those words.

[00:08:19] Norma: Pray into prophetic words. If someone gives you a word, whether it's the Lord or a friend, or it could even be a stranger for that matter, pray into those words. Hold them in your hands loosely. Ask God to confirm them. , but believe that this is from him and pray into them, you know, what has resonated within your heart.

[00:08:41] Norma: And then lastly, I wanna encourage the listeners to periodically review those words to encourage and strengthen yourself in the Lord. I read. Once that Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, he writes down on three by five cards, those [00:09:00] prophetic words that he receives, and he carries them with them in his pocket.

[00:09:05] Norma: And when he's waiting in line and he does a lot of traveling, or he's waiting at an office appointment at the doctor's office and he has time to kill, he just pulls out those cards and reminds himself of those promises from. So those are the practical tips. 

[00:09:23] Denisha: Uh, I think you just changed my journaling life.

[00:09:26] Denisha: I am a journaler. I know not everyone is. I am a journaler. I'm probably about 15, 20 pages about from starting a new journal and I'm so gonna give that some space for a table of contents. I love that I have all these little stick. I'm a sticky note person. I'm sticky notes everywhere, , so I have all these little flags in my journal.

[00:09:45] Denisha: Yes, exactly. That's how I do it too. But the idea of reading back through it intentionally. Yeah. Not just when I go, what was that dream? Or what was that that I felt like happened? But the idea of going intentionally and reading back through what the Lord [00:10:00] said. I love that. And I wanna add too, is there's no time or space when it comes to.

[00:10:07] Denisha: I have a word that I was given in 2009, um, that I just went back and reviewed the other day because I thought, isn't this that? Wow. And it just kind of gave me something to anchor on. And it was a time I was in a church service and there was a speaker who came and the whole way driving to the church that night, I was praying, God, I really want a word.

[00:10:29] Denisha: And then I was almost rebuking myself like correcting. Seek God, don't seek the speaker. And so I'm like correcting myself the entire like, hour drive. I picked up my friend, I even said, would you pray for me? I am seeking the speaker. Like I, I really want a word from the Lord, but I really want it from this guy who's coming from, you know, across the nation.

[00:10:50] Denisha: And I thought, Lord, you, I know how to hear your voice. Just speak to me. Well, when the service came to the part where he was gonna kind of pick people out of the audience, the first person he [00:11:00] pointed to was, Hmm. And so then I felt like the Lord was saying, I was trying to tell you this was gonna happen , but you kept, you kept correcting your mindset.

[00:11:09] Denisha: So it was actually God saying, I'm gonna give you what you're asking for. It was really funny, but that word was in 2009. and fast forward 2023, and I think I'm about to see part of that come to fruition. I'm definitely on the path, which I never would've even seen in 2009. So all that to say, hold on to those words, as Norma mentioned.

[00:11:30] Denisha: Hold on to those because we don't know if it's gonna be the next day. The next year or 20 years from then, or it might be even something for your children and it might be discouraging if you don't see it coming to fruition yet. But hold on to that cuz those are the Lord's promises that you can pray into and hold 

[00:11:47] Norma: Danisha the Lord saw your heart in all of that when you were rebuking yourself, , you know, I mean that just showed who you are.

[00:11:55] Norma: I mean, your heart that was so pleasing to. I'm [00:12:00]

[00:12:00] Denisha: kind of one of those like back row blend in people. Yeah. . I'm not a sit in the front row and like eagerly, you know, I'm just, that's not me and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just not who I am. So for him to point at me first, just that alone was like such a tender moment between the Lord.

[00:12:15] Denisha: And I could hear, I had been correcting my. My heart this whole time. So it was, it was pretty funny. My friend and I had a good giggle on the way home, but that was recorded, and then I went home and transcribed it and just held onto that and have kept it in my Bible for all these years, and I didn't really know, it didn't seem to fit.

[00:12:31] Denisha: In 2009, but it was a desire of my heart and fast forward all these years later. So you never know what God's gonna do. I tend to limit him a lot. We did throw it out on Facebook and wanted everyone's feedback. Just what are some questions you have about hearing the voice of God and Norma, one of the things that we had the most comments on is how do we know that it's God?

[00:12:53] Denisha: How do we know that it's not the enemy or ourselves or you know, how do we know that? So I would love to throw [00:13:00] out to you. , what guidelines or guardrails can help us discern if the word that we've heard is God's voice and not the enemies or even our own voice. There's really three strong voices, maybe even four.

[00:13:13] Denisha: If we say the world's voice, you know, of what culture tells us we should do that can speak to us. What can we do to prevent our hearts from being deceived? That was our number one question on social 

[00:13:24] Norma: media. I'm gonna start by sharing a story that one time many years ago, I just thought that the Lord wanted me to have a small group Bible study with women that were like 20 years younger than me, and he gave me specific names and I spoke to each person and no one could do it.

[00:13:47] Norma: Okay, so obviously that must have been my voice. I heard and not. , you know, that probably stemmed from a desire. So just, you [00:14:00] know, full disclosure, I don't always hear correctly still 20 years later, but I think what's important to God is that you want to hear and you want to obey his voice, even when you may miss it sometimes.

[00:14:16] Norma: One Samuel 16, seven says that, but the Lord said to Samuel. Do not consider his appearance or his height for I've rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord. Looks at the heart. So I think it's our heart attitude that's most important to the Lord.

[00:14:38] Norma: One of your listeners had written about what are some of the dangers that could exist in he seeking to hear God's voice, and one of them would be to hear a counterfeit voice or being deceived or misled by a particular word. Thinking you might miss it or misunderstand the word could be [00:15:00] another danger.

[00:15:01] Norma: or you might hear something that you don't want to obey. You know, it's kind of like Darrell Evans's old song many years ago that was, please don't send me to Africa. You know, we don't wanna hear these things, certain things. But fortunately, I believe God has provided us with guidelines or guardrails for us to discern God's voice, to protect us from those danger.

[00:15:26] Norma: And when you think about guardrails, they're for our protection. They're to keep us from going off the cliff. And likewise, these guardrails that I'm going to share with you help us better discern if it's God's voice or hearing. And the first one, and this is a real major one, is peace. . This is a huge beacon as to if what you're hearing is from God, especially when you're seeking his direction sometimes when trying to decide between two choices.

[00:15:58] Norma: I'll ask myself. [00:16:00] I'll pretend in my mind that I'm choosing this one way, and then I will discern based on how I'm feeling my body is there, peace or not. And if there's peace one way and not the other way, then I'm going to choose the way of peace. Peace is our compass. You know it, it guides us. Colossians three 15 says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.

[00:16:26] Norma: And when a word is truly from God, there will be peace in your heart. You may still be fearful to obey, but there's a knowing that it's from God. Last week I shared about when my husband and I were invited to go to Kabul, Afghanistan when the Taliban were bombing it for a short-term mission trip, and there.

[00:16:49] Norma: Such fear until the last week before we. , but there was an instant peace, or knowing that this is what God's asking us to do. Another time [00:17:00] was when it looked like we were needing to move at to another state, to Wichita, Kansas for John's job, and I was really hesitant. I was dragging my feet. , you know, that was the last thing I wanted to do, was leave Omaha and our kids.

[00:17:18] Norma: And the Lord showed me a picture during my quiet time, and he just showed me a picture of Johns and my backs and God's hands were on each of our backs, and I felt like he was pushing us out of Omaha and sending us to Wichita. So Priscilla Shire says that the green light of ease means. means go. Peace is a huge indicator of whether the word is from God.

[00:17:47] Norma: If you don't have peace and you have a check in your spirit, then either don't do it or wait and keep praying about it, and ask spiritual leaders that you're accountable to for their thoughts [00:18:00] on it. Be cautious to proceed if there's no peace. I can't stress that. Last year I read a wonderful book by Derek Prince, and it's called Hear God's Voice.

[00:18:12] Norma: And in it he writes this, if there is unrest and struggling within you, and particularly if you feel pressure to act hastily beyond your guard, caution is needed when it is apparent that God's peace has been withdrawn. So peace is the first guardrail we can listen to to help us discern if it's God's.

[00:18:34] Norma: Secondly is consistency. What we hear will align with the tenor of Scripture and the Holy Spirit's character. Last time we talked about knowing your daddy, you know, that was one way to position our hearts to hear God's voice. And when you know who God is, it's not gonna contradict his character at all.

[00:18:57] Norma: The God we serve is the God who [00:19:00] changes. You know, Hebrews 13, eight says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God's voice will never, ever contradict or go against the word of God, nor will it be inconsistent with God's character. And that's why it's critical to get to know your daddy by spending time in his.

[00:19:24] Norma: So peace, consistency. The third guardrail is agreement, and this one is really important if you're married. Okay? We not only need the words we hear to agree with scripture, but there also needs to be an agreement with your spouse. If you're married, if God is asking you to do something, then your spouse will also give you a green.

[00:19:49] Norma: It doesn't matter whether your spouse knows the Lord or is walking close to him. If the Lord is in this, then he can get your spouse's heart to be in agreement. [00:20:00] Proverbs 21, 1 says that the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. He directs it. like a water course, wherever he pleases. So relationships are one way.

[00:20:13] Norma: We receive confirmation of God's voice. And if God is leading you to do something, it's not too difficult for the Lord to lead your spouse in the same way. And then the fourth guardrail is clarity and confirmation. When in doubt, Don. or wait and keep praying for that discernment or confirmation. Again, if there's a check in your spirit, I encourage the listeners not to do it.

[00:20:43] Norma: Run it by others who are more mature in the faith. Get their take on the word. Ask God for confirmation. There's protection in accountability and submitting to that account. If you're in a small group, share the words you heard [00:21:00] and ask them to pray about it, to discern if it's from God. Priscilla Shire says that the yellow light of uneasiness and doubt means wait.

[00:21:09] Norma: Recently were in a small group and the leaders just submitted to us about whether or not they should go on a short-term mission trip. They. , you know, there to be agreement and to make sure they were hearing correctly. Another time recently, someone who's like the head of a ministry was asking for discernment in regards to something from those that are part of the ministry.

[00:21:35] Norma: And even though he was the leader, both these instances, they were leaders, but they were submitting what they thought they were hearing from. to those that have their backs, so to speak. And I think one of the hardest things for me, Danisha, is to discern the timing of the word. Just like you had mentioned that word you received in [00:22:00] 2009 and now.

[00:22:02] Norma: You know, years later you're starting to see part of that be fulfilled. So often when I receive a word from the Lord, I assume it's a now word, it's one that he wants me to fulfill today. But just like the names God gives to us that speak identity of who we really are, but we need to be transformed into that person.

[00:22:24] Norma: So to some of those prophetic promises from God are words that we need to grow. to mature emotionally and like godly character wise. You don't want to give the keys of your car to a 10 year old. You want them to be spiritually mature, to be able to handle the assignment, the responsibility, the entrustment that he's given to you.

[00:22:50] Norma: And so sometimes it takes time to build that character. The timing of a particular word may be delayed and not for today. So waiting [00:23:00] patiently, quite frankly, is not my strong suit yet. I am slowly but surely, not completely there yet, but uh, have been learning that it pays away as God prepares us in the waiting to become the woman who is ready then to fulfill that word.

[00:23:19] Norma: So when we utilize these guardrails, a peace, consistency agreement, clarity and confirmation, then we'll be able to discern God's. , how have any of those helped you in the past, Deni, Denise Danisha? Well, I think 

[00:23:36] Denisha: the consistency piece to me has helped me. I'll share something that's helped me and then something that I'm really working on.

[00:23:43] Denisha: Okay. Uh, the consistency piece has really helped me. I do joke that I'm, I'm a little slow. One of the ladies on our Facebook page kind of spoke to that too, and she said, I know it's God when I fight it and I keep getting nudge. , yes. And I thought, yes, that's me. Like I'm a little slow, like, you know, okay, God, [00:24:00] you gotta keep telling me.

[00:24:00] Denisha: So consistency has been a big thing for me. Not only in repetition, but making sure it's consistent, like you said with his word, with you know who he is, his character, and it doesn't contradict what I know the word to say about him. Something that I'm really working on that you just put words to is the timing.

[00:24:19] Denisha: I have a, an accountability partner and she was saying, Danisha, stay on your tile cuz I'm a visionary so God will give me something that's not coming for 10 years and I just don't know it. So I'm ready to, you know, just pull the flag and go running. And, and that's not always the case that, you know, sometimes it's, here's where I'm taking you, but it's not now.

[00:24:40] Denisha: And I'm not good at discerning that. So my friend said, imagine a tile on the. , this is your tile. Put your feet in the middle of it. If God gives you this big thing, you know, like here's this big dream, big vision. Don't get off your tile and go run after it. Mm-hmm. , pray it into your space. And I just [00:25:00] thought, oh, that's so good.

[00:25:02] Denisha: Yes, because I will, I'm like, and I'm off to the races, you know, , and so staying in the middle of that tile has been helpful for me. The thought just 

[00:25:09] Norma: came to me is stay close to him. Sometimes I think of myself as the Lord has me on a leash. I don't want to run ahead of him. I don't wanna lag behind him.

[00:25:22] Norma: And quite frankly, I have asked him at times, keep the leash. . I want to be close to him. 

[00:25:31] Denisha: That's so good. We have a puppy right now and we're tricking her. Oh. Oh gosh. She wants to pull or stop. She kind of has two speeds and it's either stop and sniff or run as fast as you can and drag the humans . And so we're trying to get her to do that loose leash walking, or the leash can be loose and she'll still walk by your side.

[00:25:50] Denisha: So that's a great picture. . Yes. , there are so many benefits from hearing his voice, and I wanna share with you, one of the [00:26:00] ladies on our Facebook page sent us in a picture of a moment in time where she heard from the Lord and it was such a gentle guiding and leading that. I wanna share it because I think it gives us some good perspective of when we talk about the Lord being gentle and loving and he wants relationship with.

[00:26:19] Denisha: And I'm gonna go ahead and just read her words cuz I don't wanna take away or add to her story. But she shared that she had been reading and learning from a book about listening prayer and that is kind of a lost art. This is my adding, but that is kind of a lost art like we've been talking about in this series of listening back to the Lord, not just speaking at him, but waiting for him to.

[00:26:40] Denisha: So she said, I've been reading and learning from a book about listening prayer. I'd been moody lately, not so nice. Really kind of critical of people, and that consequently had me a pretty unhappy version of myself. Around that time, I decided to go for a walk and I asked God which way I should go. Of course, the way I felt led [00:27:00] was not the way I thought I was going to go.

[00:27:03] Denisha: I kept feeling like he wanted me to veer, right? I like to walk the trails out in the state land, and I reached the top of a hill. It looked like an ordinary hill out there except for the barbed wire fence that separated the place I was standing from the state park land. So I asked the Lord, where do you want me to sit?

[00:27:20] Denisha: There was no big rock to sit on. The sand and sharp prickly bushes were everywhere. I looked around and saw the spot right between a bush and the barbed wire. The spot was maybe three feet by three feet or so. I kept looking around and somehow I knew that was the. . There wasn't a whole lot of room there, but okay.

[00:27:41] Denisha: I sat down my back to the bush, my body facing the beautiful mountains. It was a beautiful day with a beautiful view. The only thing was there was this barbed wire fence, not 12 inches from my face, and that's when I heard from him, he said, You have such a beautiful life, so much to [00:28:00] be thankful for, but just like this barbed wire in front of this beautiful view, you are not thankful because you put those negative thoughts and criticism before what I am trying to give you.

[00:28:11] Denisha: Boom. She said, I received that. I talked to the Lord a little more. I apologize for my bad attitude, and I thanked him for the word picture. I turned back home with a whole different attitude and a smile on my face when he talks to me. It is not harsh, even when I deserve it. It's gentle and loving, but very clear.

[00:28:32] Denisha: Wow. And Norma, I think that her story really just pulls all of what we've been talking about this month. You know, she took a chance, Lord, show me which way to go. She could have just gone on where she wanted to go, but she would've missed that moment. So when you talked earlier about Obed, I think that is so important in just being open to where God is gonna lead, how he's gonna lead, because her word picture.

[00:28:59] Denisha: [00:29:00] Now, I wanna just say this last week I've been a little critical, a little complaining. I think the word is in the Bible about complaining. Um, and so I have been doing that. This last week, we're all gonna be honest cuz we're living the reclaimed life. I am in the process of being rescued and restored and when I read this story, I thought, oh, that is me this week and I've been holding onto that.

[00:29:25] Denisha: Am I focused on the barbed wire or am I focused on what's beyond it? So the word that the Lord gives you, is applicable to your life. It's deeply intimate and personal, but as you share that with other people, other people can grab hold of that and benefit from his leading you as well. 

[00:29:42] Norma: I've learned that.

[00:29:44] Norma: I know it's probably God's voice when it takes me by surprise, and it's out there and left filled. , but I still need to ask for clarity and confirmation. I know it's his voice. If it's bigger than me and I have to step out in faith [00:30:00] to accomplish it, you know, I know I can't do it in my own willpower, then it's most likely his voice, such as when he called me to mentor the masses.

[00:30:10] Norma: I know it's probably his voice when it's out of my comfort zone. Yeah, God likes to put us in those uncomfortable positions so that he can show us his faithfulness. By flexing his muscles on our behalf. He wants to prove to us how powerful he really is. And when we're out of our comfort zones, we're forced to depend upon God.

[00:30:32] Norma: Remember, one of the primary reasons he speaks is to deepen our relationship with him. And when we lean upon him to come through for us and we see him do what only God can do, our trust grows and so does our intimacy with. And when he speaks, he frequently asks me to do something. I would never. Think of doing on my own.

[00:30:55] Norma: Never, you know, consider it. And along those same lines, [00:31:00] just like you had said earlier, when you keep fighting it, then you're probably, you know, that's probably the Lord nudging you. And so I want to encourage the listeners to spend a few minutes with God each day or as often as they can to sit still and listen to his voice.

[00:31:16] Norma: And even if he doesn't say anything, sitting still and just being with him speaks volume. Of your love for him. It gives him great pleasure. Don't be discouraged. Instead be desperate to hear his voice. Sometimes God will say to me, can we just sit quietly together and not say anything? I remember one time, Danisha, I went on a short-term mission trip to Mozambique and it was, we came back, I think on the 18th of December.

[00:31:45] Norma: My husband picked me up at the airport and we came home and we had all the lights out in the living room except for those on the Christmas tree. And we sat there, he had his arm around me and we just sat in [00:32:00] silence and that was one of the most intimate. and so likewise sitting still with our Heavenly Father can be intimate as well, even if there's no communication going on.

[00:32:15] Norma: You know, I don't hear God's voice accurately a hundred percent of the time. That is for sure, and sometimes I think he said something, but it's really just my desire, talking what I wanted to hear at times. My unhealed wounds are withholding forgiveness gets in the way also of my hearing, and it causes deception.

[00:32:37] Norma: But again, I think what matters most to God is that our hearts genuinely want to hear his voice and obey him. He wants us, you know, it matters to him for us to pursue a more intimate relationship with him by sitting still to listen. He wants our ears to be cock, to hear. Even the slightest whisper for us are for words to speak to.

[00:32:59] Norma: [00:33:00] And so I want to encourage the audience to always be in a listening mode throughout the day. Make it your lifestyle and a habit to obey God's voice. You won't be disappointed. Remember, hearing God's voice is the place where real life intersects with the real God. Eight years ago, I think it was, we went on a truck travel bike tour in.

[00:33:22] Norma: Alberta, Canada, and one of the days, instead of cycling, they decided to take a hike, and this was a. uphill. It wasn't much flattening out. And the first few steps, we were probably the oldest. My husband had just turned 60, I think we were the oldest in that group. So we were at the end of the pack, and the first few uphill steps.

[00:33:46] Norma: You know, I was just huffing and puffing and thinking, oh my goodness, how in the world am I gonna make it all the way up there? I thought it was too hard for me, and I toyed with the idea of just telling the guide, Hey, we're gonna [00:34:00] head back, or I'm gonna head back to the hotel. But instead, I took it slowly and I took numerous breaks to slow my heart rate down after.

[00:34:10] Norma: Over an hour of an uphill hike. We finally made it above the tree line and let me tell you, in the end, the view was so worth any difficulty I had had. I was so glad I persevered and didn't give up. , max Ludo wrote that God never said that the journey would be easy, but he did say that the arrival will be worthwhile.

[00:34:37] Norma: Hearing God's voice and making it a priority to spend time sitting still with him may be difficult at first and require a small sacrifice on our part, but let me tell you, the view is always worth the work to get up there, to hear his voice and have your intimacy with him. A year and a half ago, the Lord spoke [00:35:00] these words to me.

[00:35:02] Norma: You keep showing up each day to hear my voice, and even though I may not choose to speak during those moments, they speak to me of your seriousness and your commitment to behold me. Then when you least expect it while you go about your daily life and routine, I will take you by surprise and speak to you.

[00:35:21] Norma: Make it a daily priority to sit still before me to listen, and I will show myself to. When you're not expecting it, put in your time, your discipline of being before me to listen to me speak, and I will make my presence known to you in the ordinary of life. And so in closing, Danisha, I pray that we can become women who are able to say the words in Joe 2312.

[00:35:50] Norma: I have not departed from the commands of his lips. I have treasured the words of his. More than my daily bread. 

[00:35:58] Denisha: Amen. [00:36:00] Norma, this has been such a rich time together. Just so much that you have poured out and prepared for us to learn from and just grow from. So I thank you. Thank you for your time and all of your walk with the Lord.

[00:36:13] Denisha: The many journals that I'm sure fill your shelves of your experience, cuz it does take practice, but it really is a lifestyle that we can embrace of intimacy 

[00:36:23] Norma: with. Oh, you're welcome, Danisha. It has been such a joy to be with you these last four weeks. Hmm. 

[00:36:30] Denisha: So, Norma, I know that we are gonna want more of your wisdom.

[00:36:33] Denisha: How can we find you? You have a lot of free resources out there. How can we find 

[00:36:38] Norma: you? Yes, if they go to the website, www.restoring-hearts.com, they can click on that and they'll, whatever's there is free . Lots of good. 

[00:36:53] Denisha: Yes, and you can also pick up Norma's book, restoring Your Heart to Deepen Intimacy on [00:37:00] Amazon.

[00:37:00] Denisha: And so good luck. Don't forget to pop us your God stories. We'd love to hear what God has said to you. So put those in our Facebook or Instagram pages and we will have you in a drawing if it is in the month of February for one of Norma's books as well. So, but if you read it, you're gonna want another copy.

[00:37:20] Denisha: Like I had to, so . Just grab it now. Well, Norma, thank you so much, and friends, we will see you same time, same place next week. Thanks for listening. I pray you found hope in today's conversation and maybe even feel a little less alone in your story. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram at Reclaimed Story.

[00:37:44] Denisha: Wanna learn more about living a reclaimed life and how you can be a part of our growing community of re. Check out our website@reclaimedstory.com. All of those links and more will be in the show notes. And if you enjoy this inspirational [00:38:00] podcast, be sure to subscribe, rate and review. Not only will you be the first one to know when new content comes out, but it is also a huge help in helping us reach more people to live the reclaimed life.