Welcome to the Determined to Dance podcast with your host, Jennifer Hallmark. The world would have us march to its chaotic beat but God invites us to dance in His will and His way. Let’s take a moment to be energized, refreshed, and motivated to face the day, one spin and twirl at a time.
Today’s episode, "Hearing Vs. Listening," looks at the difference between hearing God and listening to Him.

When we dance with God, we listen for His voice. Listening is an action, a conscious choice. When we really listen to God and His words, we move into a flow that is both beautiful and practical.

Show notes: Hearing Vs. Listening

As I prepared to launch my podcast on March 2nd of this year, I made a list of possible future topics that fit in with the theme, Determined to Dance. I mean, if I couldn’t think of much to say on topic, I would need to rethink my strategy. But the ideas flowed and I ended up with a long list of topics and subtopics.

I realized one of the first things I would need to discuss would be hearing God. I jotted this down on my notepad. How could we dance with God if we didn’t hear what he was saying? I then added the word listen. I stared at my sheet of paper. Wasn’t hearing and listening the same thing?

I looked it up. Guess what the dictionary said? Hearing is an event. Listening is an action. As long as there is no impairment, we naturally hear. A dog barking. A door slamming. Someone speaking.

But listening is different. It’s a conscious choice. Whose dog is barking? Which door is slamming? Who is speaking?

It makes all the difference whether we hear or whether we listen. Because the road to the dance starts with the ability to listen. How can I know what I’m hearing?  If I take my time and train my senses, I’ll soon be able to tell which dog barks, the door that slams, the person who speaks.

And when God communicates with my heart, I’ll also know. His voice can be distinguished from my own thoughts, voices of the world, even murmurings of the evil one. How?

I find five ways that are helpful to me when it comes to really listening to God.

I seek to listen when I read His word. God gave us 66 books within the Bible, books that voice who He is, why He sought us, and his plans and purposes for us. A quick way to distinguish his voice from others is to see if it matches His words in the Bible. Does it line up with scripture or follow a different road?
I seek to listen when I pray. I take time to commune with God, sharing my needs, desires, praises of Him, and everyday life. Listening to what He says back to me becomes a natural action as I pray. Picture a two-way conversation with a close friend.
I seek to listen in reflective moments. At the beginning and end of a day is a good time to pause and reflect on what has been, what is, and what is to come. Often, I hear Him speaking during these quiet moments. I love to reflect while music plays softly in the background. Music calms anxiety within and makes it easier to listen to Him instead of the cares of the world that try to break my focus.
I seek to listen through others. When the world is noisy and my heart unsettled, I often seek wise counsel from people I know to be faithful, friends who I trust to speak truth into my life. At times, I find wise counsel while listening to others through the form of sermons, podcasts, television, and radio.
I seek to listen through everyday life. A sunset, a walk in the park, and time spent playing with children speak to me. God has created a wonderful world and often reaches out through his creation. Romans 1, verse 20a in the NLT says, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature…”

If we plan to dance in God’s will and way, we need to know his voice. Our feet easily become tangled as we try to watch all the other dancers and focus on their...