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

Why do some situations leave you feeling discouraged every time you pray about them?

If you’ve ever felt weighed down by a problem and wondered where your thoughts were leading you, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Sara explains why spiritual warfare doesn’t require us to identify every attack. Instead, awareness helps us recognize when painful experiences and the enemy’s lies have become mixed into the way we see a situation.

Using a personal story that began with an unexpected image during prayer, Sara shares how years of disappointment in friendships shaped what she expected for her daughter. She explains how God brought that hidden interpretation to the surface, reminded her of truth He had already been teaching her, and showed her how it applied to the conflict she was facing.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why the hardest lies to recognize contain real history and partial truth

• How the enemy’s influence can raise doubts about God’s character and His relationship with you

• Three questions for testing what a thought leads you to believe about your Father

• How awareness differs from spiritual hypervigilance

• A simple Ask, Write, Test practice for bringing a situation into partnership with the Holy Spirit

If you've ever found yourself assuming the worst, wondering why hope feels so difficult, or questioning whether God has anything meaningful to say about your situation, this conversation will help you notice what's happening beneath the surface and take the next step toward hearing his voice with greater confidence.

Journal prompts from this episode:

Questions for testing your own thoughts:

• What is this thought leading me to believe about the way God treats me?

• Does this agree with what Scripture shows us about Him?

• Does this way of thinking draw me to enjoy our relationship, or move me away from it?

The basic Ask, Write, Test process for listening to God’s voice:

Ask God what He wants you to know and write down any thoughts that come to mind, whether they seem important or not.

Then test those thoughts by what you know of God from Scripture.

Ask yourself whether this is something He would say to you, if he were sitting next to you.

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

How do you know if a thought is from God or just from you?

If you've ever asked yourself that question in the middle of an ordinary day, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Sara shares a simple, practical way to test your thoughts by remembering God's presence, asking Him what He wants you to know, and noticing whether the thoughts that come to mind reinforce the biblical principles He's been teaching you.

Using a personal story about losing her job, Sara explains how God brings fresh reassurance by reminding her of truths He's already been building into her life. She also shares the questions she uses to untwist anxious thinking and reconnect with God's perspective in everyday situations.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why forgetting about God's presence keeps us from recognizing His thoughts.

• Three simple questions to help you test your thoughts in real time.

• How to recognize when a thought reinforces what God has already been teaching you.

• A practical way to create a personal battle plan for recurring frustration and anxious thought patterns.

• How to use reminders to help you return to God's perspective during stressful moments.

If you've ever wondered whether a thought is from God or just from you, this episode will help you develop a simple, biblically grounded way to test your thoughts and reconnect with what God has already been showing you.

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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

Have you ever wondered whether God's really speaking to you or whether you’re just making things up? You may be waiting for His voice to feel more clear while overlooking the ordinary ways He's already communicating.

In this episode, we’ll explore how your past relationships can shape what you recognize as love, correction, and safety from God. You’ll also learn a practical way to discern God’s voice by writing down what comes to mind, and comparing it with what you know about Him in Scripture.

You’ll discover:

• Why God’s voice may feel less obvious than you expected

• How your personal history can affect the way you receive God’s love

• Why knowing God helps you recognize when He is speaking

• How to evaluate thoughts, Scriptures, convictions, and promptings

• A simple practice for everyday prayer conversations

Next Steps:

Get our free "Hearing God Starter Kit" and learn the 4-step 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've prayed. You've searched scripture. You've applied biblical principles. You've asked for wisdom.

So why does God still feel distant?

In this episode, Sara explores a subtle misunderstanding that keeps many sincere Christians stuck. Sometimes we're looking for more clarity when what our hearts are really longing for is deeper interaction with God himself.

You'll discover why biblical principles alone can't replace an ongoing relationship with your Father, how self reliance can gradually replace real intimacy, and a simple journaling practice that can help you begin a genuine, two-way conversation with God.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why knowing God's truth and experiencing God's presence aren't the same thing

• How biblical principles lead to interaction, and interaction creates intimacy

• A practical framework for beginning a two way prayer journal with God

• Why God's affection, not just his guidance, brings lasting peace

Remember, intimacy grows through repeated interaction over time. You don't have to measure up in order to feel God's enjoyment. You can begin experiencing it today.

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

Wondering how to pray from the heart, hear God's voice, and stay focused during prayer?

Do you start talking to God, only to get lost in your own thoughts a few minutes later?

In this episode, I'm sharing a simple prayer journaling routine that helps you stay connected with God, hear his voice through scripture, and avoid the distraction, overthinking, and confusion that often make prayer feel difficult.

You'll learn why prayer can be hard to sustain when everything stays inside your head, how visualization, scripture, and journaling work together to create meaningful conversations with God, and the three common prayer approaches that often leave believers feeling disconnected.

I'll also share the story of how I first learned to recognize God's voice as a child, the discernment lessons that shaped my prayer life, and the 4-step prayer journaling shortcut I still use today to help women experience a more personal, biblically grounded connection with Jesus.

If you've ever thought, "Prayer should come from the heart, but I don't know where to start," this episode will give you a simple place to begin.

Get our free "Hearing God Starter Kit" at:

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

Sophiculture.com/illumination