A Prophetic Ear
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” - John 10:27
Many people think spiritual maturity is measured by how well you speak for God. You see bold voices, strong opinions, and confident declarations, and it is easy to assume that influence comes first. Scripture offers a different starting point. Before God ever calls someone to speak publicly, He invites them to listen privately. Hearing God personally is not a lesser gift. It is the foundation of everything that follows.
From the beginning, God has desired relationship more than performance. He does not start with platforms or crowds. He starts with proximity. Throughout the Bible, God spoke to people in quiet moments long before He ever spoke through them in public ones. Moses listened at a burning bush before he ever stood before Pharaoh. Samuel learned to recognize God’s voice as a child before leading a nation. Jesus Himself often withdrew to quiet places to pray before teaching crowds and healing the sick. Intimacy always came before influence.
Listening requires humility. It means slowing down enough to notice God’s presence and trusting that He still speaks today. Many believers rush past this part because it feels less productive. Silence feels uncomfortable. Waiting feels inefficient. Yet spiritual clarity grows in those quiet spaces. When you learn to hear God for yourself, your faith deepens. Obedience becomes clearer. Confidence grows from relationship, not recognition.
A prophetic ear changes the way you live even when no one is watching. God guides your decisions, corrects your heart, and shapes your character long before He ever uses your words. When listening comes first, speaking carries weight. Words flow from truth rather than ambition. Influence becomes a byproduct of faithfulness instead of a goal to chase.
Some people long to be heard by others but have not learned to hear God. That order leads to frustration and burnout. God’s design is different. He invites you to draw close, to listen, and to respond. He desires conversation more than commentary. He wants your attention before your announcement.
If you want your life to reflect God’s voice, start by cultivating a listening heart. Create space for prayer. Sit with Scripture. Pay attention to His gentle leading throughout your day. You do not need a public platform to walk closely with God. When you learn to hear Him personally, everything else finds its place. God always builds intimacy before influence, and a prophetic ear will shape your life far more deeply than a prophetic voice ever could.
Many people think spiritual maturity is measured by how well you speak for God. You see bold voices, strong opinions, and confident declarations, and it is easy to assume that influence comes first. Scripture offers a different starting point. Before God ever calls someone to speak publicly, He invites them to listen privately. Hearing God personally is not a lesser gift. It is the foundation of everything that follows.
From the beginning, God has desired relationship more than performance. He does not start with platforms or crowds. He starts with proximity. Throughout the Bible, God spoke to people in quiet moments long before He ever spoke through them in public ones. Moses listened at a burning bush before he ever stood before Pharaoh. Samuel learned to recognize God’s voice as a child before leading a nation. Jesus Himself often withdrew to quiet places to pray before teaching crowds and healing the sick. Intimacy always came before influence.
Listening requires humility. It means slowing down enough to notice God’s presence and trusting that He still speaks today. Many believers rush past this part because it feels less productive. Silence feels uncomfortable. Waiting feels inefficient. Yet spiritual clarity grows in those quiet spaces. When you learn to hear God for yourself, your faith deepens. Obedience becomes clearer. Confidence grows from relationship, not recognition.
A prophetic ear changes the way you live even when no one is watching. God guides your decisions, corrects your heart, and shapes your character long before He ever uses your words. When listening comes first, speaking carries weight. Words flow from truth rather than ambition. Influence becomes a byproduct of faithfulness instead of a goal to chase.
Some people long to be heard by others but have not learned to hear God. That order leads to frustration and burnout. God’s design is different. He invites you to draw close, to listen, and to respond. He desires conversation more than commentary. He wants your attention before your announcement.
If you want your life to reflect God’s voice, start by cultivating a listening heart. Create space for prayer. Sit with Scripture. Pay attention to His gentle leading throughout your day. You do not need a public platform to walk closely with God. When you learn to hear Him personally, everything else finds its place. God always builds intimacy before influence, and a prophetic ear will shape your life far more deeply than a prophetic voice ever could.
Free Email Devotional - Sign Up Now
Recent
Archive
2026
January
When Prayer Feels Like Bad ReceptionTeach Us to Pray AgainRelationship Over RequestsPulled Toward HeavenWhen God Says No, Slow, Grow, or GoPray Bigger PrayersPray Without Ceasing in Real LifeWhen Persistence Feels PointlessWhen Darkness Reacts to LightWorship as WarfareChains Fall in His PresenceNot Who I Used to BeWhen God Reveals the BattleNo Fear in the Presence of PowerSet Free to WorshipVictory Is NowWhat You Love, You ShareGod Has a Brag Book, and You’re in ItThe Moment You Missed and the Mercy That RemainsBetter Today Than YesterdayAvailability Over AbilityThe Search for SignificanceWhen God Sets Up the MomentExplain the Hope Within YouThe Gospel Starts Where People AreSalt Has to Leave the ShakerWhat Defines You Determines YouYou’re Richer Than You RealizeThe Quiet Sin No One ConfessesYou Can’t Serve Two MastersThe Token That Stopped Spending
February
A Prophetic EarLearning the Voice You Hear Every DayAdopted, Not ToleratedThe Same Spirit Lives in YouWhy Jesus Chose DependenceExisting Versus Truly LivingWhen God Interrupts Your RoutineConviction Calls You Up, Not OutHe Who Gets the Son Gets It AllLet the Word Get in YouThe Book You Never FinishWhen You Finally Taste What’s BetterGod Is Speaking Every Time You Open the BibleFreedom Comes from Knowing the TruthThe Holy Spirit Works with What You StoreYou Might Be the Only Bible They ReadThe Word You Read Today Might Be for Someone Else TomorrowA Love Letter, Not a Rule BookFaith That Moves Without ProofWhen Desperation Strips Away DignityTrusting God in the Smoke
2025
January
Why Me?Ordinary but ChosenYour Past Prepares You for God's FutureWhy Not Me?The Burden of PreparationIt’s Bigger Than YouJust Show UpAnchored in PrayerBreakthrough Was Always God's PlanWaiting on Your BreakthroughTransformative Power of PrayerThe Art of PrayerThe God of BreakthroughKryptoniteLifelineThe Dare of DependenceWho Needs Your Prayers?Soaring in PrayerObedience Through PrayerThe Power of Prayer in Overcoming TemptationIs Your Heart Prepared for God's Mighty Work?The Joy of SimplicityPatient in Affliction, Faithful in PrayerBurning PrayersWhile You Wait...He WorksChoosing His Will with Free WillEquipped for Victory: Overcoming Sin from WithinEverydayThe Great I AMSaying Yes to GodOrdinary People, Extraordinary God
February
Freedom from LabelsFaithful Before the AppointmentLabels Don’t Define YouPut Off the ArmorRun Your Own RaceA Champion, Not a ContestantThe Story’s Not OverWhat Really MattersWinning the Battle WithinYou Are Positioned for a PurposeYour Worth Is SetYou Are EnoughTake Off the MaskOn Purpose, For a PurposeKnown. Loved. Enough.What Are You Afraid of Losing?What Are You Trying to Hide?

8 Comments
Amen
Amen &Amen!!!
I must allow myself, to sit and listen for God to speak to me.
I pray for stillness to hear you clearly ?
Amen and thank you Pastor Ed. My prayer is to grow more intimate in my relationship with our Lord. To abide in Him, and He in me. To draw even more closer to Him, so that He will draw closer to me♥️ I must decrease, and allow Him to increase in all areas of my life?
Amen brother!
Amen! Once this is achieved the Holy Spirit speaks fluently because of the relationship one has with him. My mother always had us to pray and read God’s Word she would say you’re talking to God and God is talking back to you. Amen
nThank you Pastor for reaching the nations in a positive way to spread the gospel! God Bless you and family and your ministry.
Thank you Pastor Ed. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my purpose. Those times when I feel like I’m spinning my wheels but the transmission is slipping. I stop. Wait a minute for God to speak or quietly ask Him Ok. Now what? I wish I didn’t have that happen so much but over the past few years since I have been trying this I have improved that area some and I gain a lot of peace from it. Oh the ego though. Wants to sneak its way back in there anyway it can. On another note I have so much to be grateful for. I mean wow. Look at our church. The impact to our community but really the impact on my and my family. Hard to be mad at God when I keep talking to Him all day. Love yall