“In our day heaven and earth are on tiptoe waiting for the emergence of a Spirit-led, Spirit-intoxicated, Spirit-empowered people. All of creation watches expectantly for the springing up of a disciplined, freely gathered, martyr people who know in this life the life and power of the kingdom of God. It has happened before. It can happen again.”

So begins the chapter on Guidance in Celebration of Discipline. A key mark of such a people is listening to God both individually and corporately. 

Thankfully, Jesus is our present teacher, alive and speaking today through his Spirit abiding in us. The names given to the Holy Spirit are revealing: the Helper, the Comforter, the Counselor, the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth. Note he’s not the Micromanager, nor the Accuser (we’d do well to remember that voice belongs to someone else.) God’s desire isn’t to control us or condemn us but to transform us into people of character and virtue, to make us the kind of people who naturally want the things he wants. 

How do we listen to God? Little is better on the subject of corporate listening than the aforementioned chapter from Celebration. And for individual guidance, Dallas Willard’s book Hearing God is one of the best on the subject, where Dallas covers among other things common barriers to hearing God.

May our hearts be still enough to listen,