Maybe you’ve heard people say, “It’s not about religion for me. It’s about the relationship with God.” But what does that actually look like?

If you have a relationship with someone, you talk with them. And this is where things can get confusing with God. We know how to pray, read the Bible, and try to follow what it says. But when we ask God a question and something comes to mind, we wonder, “Was that God, or was that just me?”

That’s what this episode is about. Sara gets really practical about what it looks like to have a two-way conversation with God. She talks about what to do when your mind goes blank, how to handle thoughts that might be from God, and why knowing what the Bible says doesn’t always mean you know just how it applies to your situation.

And you won’t just hear about it, you’ll get to try it. You’ll discover:

• Why feeling disconnected does not mean you are disconnected from God

• How the Holy Spirit might be communicating through your ordinary thoughts

• Why knowing what the Bible says doesn’t always tell you how God wants you to apply it

• How to stop running both sides of the conversation

• A guided prayer-journaling exercise for writing and testing what comes to mind

If you’ve ever struggled to trust yourself to hear from God, even though you trust the Bible, this workshop will give you a scripturally grounded place to begin.

Next Steps:

Get our free "Hearing God Starter Kit" and learn the journaling process featured in this episode at:

Sophiculture.com/guide

Get personalized support to build a thriving friendship with Jesus at:

Sophiculture.com/illumination

You keep asking God for His plan. Why isn’t He telling you?

You’ve prayed about the decision. You’ve asked God what He wants you to do. Maybe you’ve even journaled about it more than once, but the pieces still aren’t coming together.

When that happens, it’s easy to wonder whether you’re missing His voice, or whether He’s answering you at all. But what if the uncertainty is actually part of how you and God are working out the answer together?

In this episode, Sara shares what she learned during a season when she needed God’s direction for her future but still had practical decisions to make about work, money, ministry, and where to live. She explains how God’s direction can become more clear as you gather the pieces you already have, talk through your options with Him, and allow experience to fill in what’s still missing.

You’ll also learn why asking for God’s plan can sometimes be connected to wanting reassurance that He sees and knows you. You'll see how Scripture, common sense and experience can help you discern what to do.

• Do I feel seen, known, and enjoyed by God right now?

• God, how do You feel about me right now? Here’s how I feel about You. What do You want me to know about Your heart?

• What is already obvious about this situation, even if I’m not sure it represents what God wants?

• What have other people recommended or pointed out that might give me more options, even if I don’t like their ideas?

• What biblical scenes or principles come to mind when I think about this situation, and what do they help me notice?

• What hangups or barriers might need to be overcome so the path forward becomes more clear?

• How do I feel? What does my gut say, and what does my heart desire?

• God, what do You want me to know about the thoughts and options in front of me?

• Does this thought sound like something the God of the Bible would say? Where do I see Him thinking this way, or not thinking this way, in Scripture?

If you keep asking God for the whole plan and still don’t have it, you may not be failing to hear Him. You may simply have more pieces to work out together.

Next Steps:

Get our free "Hearing God Starter Kit" and learn the Ask, Write, Test process featured in this episode at:

Sophiculture.com/guide

Get personal support to build a thriving friendship with Jesus at:

Sophiculture.com/illumination

Have you ever hesitated to talk to God because you thought you already knew what he was going to say?

Sometimes an atmosphere of constant Christian improvement can come right along with us into our prayer journals. We know the biblical ideals, we know where we’re not measuring up, and before long, we’re supplying God’s correction before we’ve given him a chance to tell us what he actually thinks.

In this episode, I’m sharing a recent prayer journaling conversation that challenged what I thought God was doing in one area of my life. We’ll look at what Revelation 3 reveals about correction, fellowship, and hearing Jesus’ voice, and then we’ll practice a simple process together for bringing one barrier to God, asking what he wants us to know, and testing what we hear.

Because the things that make us want to hold back from God may be the very things we need to lay out on the table with him.

Next Steps:

Get our free "Hearing God Starter Kit" and learn the journaling process featured in this episode at:

Sophiculture.com/guide

Get personalized support to build a thriving friendship with Jesus at:

Sophiculture.com/illumination