How to Listen After Prayer: God Almighty at the Drive-In Devotional

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." - John 10:27

Recently, my wife and I were at the drive-in theater where I brought along my trusty, classic, battery-powered radio—the kind with a dial where you have to get it just right to pick up the desired station. I couldn't believe it because I've never had problems before, but I couldn't get the drive-in station to hear the movie. I was so obsessed with trying to tune it in that I walked all over the parking lot, adjusting the dial, moving the antenna. I was determined to find the signal! I came back to my car dejected and shut my radio off, ready to give up. All of a sudden, I heard the movie loud and clear. How? There were so many cars around me tuned in, playing it through their radios—if I would've stopped trying so hard and just listened, I could've heard the movie all along.

Last week we talked about how we often dominate our conversations with God like that person who never lets anyone else speak. This week, let's explore what it actually looks like to tune into God's voice after we've finished talking—and how sometimes our frantic efforts to "find" Him might be keeping us from hearing what He's already saying.

Learning How to Listen After Prayer to God's Gentle Voice

Here's the surprising truth: God's voice never will sound like Morgan Freeman, from the movies Bruce Almighty or Evan Almighty, narrating your life. Most of the time, His communication feels more like a gentle redirection of your thoughts, an unexpected sense of peace about a decision, or wisdom that jumps off the page when you're reading Scripture. Sometimes He speaks through a conversation with a friend or even through circumstances that seem too perfectly timed to be coincidence.

The prophet Elijah discovered this when he was hiding in a cave, expecting God to show up dramatically. "After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave" (1 Kings 19:12-13). God chose the whisper over the spectacle.

This is why stillness matters so much. The verse from last week bears repeating: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). When our minds are racing with worries and mental chatter, it's like trying to hear that whispered radio station while a jackhammer is going off next door. We need the discipline of mental quieting.

But here's what we need to understand about God's timing: His responses don't always come immediately. Unlike our instant-message culture, divine communication often unfolds over hours, days, or even weeks. Mary, the mother of Jesus, understood this rhythm. After the shepherds visited and told her about the angels' announcement, Scripture says she "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). She knew that understanding God's work in her life required patient reflection.

Learning to discern God's voice from our own thoughts takes practice. When we truly know how to listen after prayer, we recognize that His voice aligns with His character—it brings peace, not anxiety; clarity, not confusion; love, not condemnation. When Jesus promised that His sheep would recognize His voice, He wasn't talking about audio recognition. He meant we'd learn to distinguish His heart, His character, His gentle guidance from all the other voices competing for our attention.

The question isn't whether He's talking—it's whether we've learned how to listen.

Daily Practice: After your prayer time this week, practice "holy waiting" for two minutes. Don't try to force thoughts or expect dramatic revelations. Simply rest in the quiet, pay attention to any sense of peace or gentle redirection in your thoughts, and notice what Scripture passages or conversations from your day come to mind. You're learning to recognize the frequency of Heaven.

Always improve the present moment.