Summary
While in the desert, Jesus defeated the temptations of the devil because He was in tune with the voice of the Father. In this talk you’ll receive practical tips to help you attune your heart and mind to the voice of God, especially during moments of temptation.
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Reflective Study Guide Questions
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
John 10:27-28
1. Are you able to hear the voice of God easily in your life? What about in moments of temptation? After listening to this talk, what do you think is holding you back from being in-tune with the Father in this way?
2. Fr. Patrick Gonyeau suggests three ways to practice hearing the voice of God–to read Scripture daily, converse with God, reading the Catechism and other Church teachings. How often do you do these three things? How have these practices affected your ability to hear God’s voice in your everyday life?
3. In what ways can you more intentionally grow in your ability to hear God’s voice? What practice do you think would help you the most that you might consider taking on this Lenten season?
4. What temptations do you face the most often? Which of Fr. Patrick’s tips for overcoming these did you find the most useful?
Text: Listening Well to the Voice of the Lord
Hello friends! Father Patrick back again with my friend John Stockwell in the renewal of the Mind Daily devotional and radio studios. John runs all the shop here and I just love it. He’s got a lot of wisdom. So I said, John, jump in and start these clips with me. So I want to ask you, John, in this session, it’s titled Listen Well, about listening to the voice of the Lord.
What Helps You Listen to the Voice of God?
Right. So what helps you to listen to the voice of God in your life? What helps me to listen to the voice of God is to find somewhere where it’s quiet. Come on. You know, and really, especially in the world we live in today, it’s hard to find any time, you know, to find silence. So you could be at Eucharistic adoration, or you could just have a room at home where you just go and take 10 or 15 minutes and just try to find some quiet time.
And if you don’t hear anything audible, like God speaking to you, that’s okay. But just realize in those quiet moments, God, God can work through you. So try to find the silence and really. Embrace it. I just think right now, like, silence. A highway into the heart of God. Yeah, that’s it. Yeah, it was yours. I just repackaged it.
Silence a highway into the heart of God. Well, I better go hit record. Thanks for kicking us out. All right, praise God. Listen, well this title it refers to really about being able to listen to the voice of the Lord on our Lenten journey. We know this is big with how Jesus overcame the temptations and the devil.
Uh, the temptations of the devil in the desert. So, we want to go back one more time to paragraph 540 in the Catechism. By the solemn forty days of Lent, the church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert. So, in the desert, we remember, Jesus defeated the temptations of the devil by staying in union with the Father.
He could hear, he was listening. And he responded with the word of God to the temptations of the devil. Jesus was in lockstep with the Father. And in this talk, we want to look at how to listen well for the voice of God in our lives. Especially in times of temptation. If you have a pulse, you most likely have times of temptation.
And that’s part of the journey. With, you know, living in a fallen world and still having some concupiscence. We have in our nature the gift of the Holy Spirit in us, but we’re still human. And we do have this gift. This flesh and the concupiscence, the strange desire towards sin and the devil and fallen angels.
They don’t have any hobbies, they try to come after God’s kids. So temptation is part of our journey. I know you know so well. So this is, I believe, an important session I love them all. They’re all important. The whole Pray More Novena’s Lenten retreat. Every speaker, i’m so glad. Thanks John- Paul and Annie for doing these, these retreats.
John Chapter 10
All right, let’s get into it. Starting with Jesus in John chapter 10. He says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them. And they follow me.” That’s so good. One more time. “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” So, Jesus speaks about faith. That faith the size of the mustard seed is going to move a mountain.
To the centurion, what we say before we receive communion, you know, when he said, The centurion, I’m not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and it’ll be done. And Jesus said, Nowhere in Israel have I found such faith. It’s faith, that helps us to really hear the voice of God, to believe what Jesus said.
He said, my sheep know me and they hear my voice. I believe him. I believe that I can hear his voice. He’s my good shepherd. Let’s do faith, hope and love for just a moment. The theological virtues that were infused with during our baptism. Faith helps us to truly believe in God. Everything God teaches us in scripture, tradition, through the teachings of the church guided by the magisterium.
Hope, oh, this is big for temptation. Hope helps us to believe that in every situation we’re in God is in it with us. Therefore, we have hope which is gigantic when a temptation comes. I’m not alone God’s not going to make me he’ll let me choose but he’s not going to make me fight a battle myself God is always with us. That’s the promise of Jesus behold I’m with you always even to the end of the age Matthew 28: 20.
Love as a Motivation
Now, Love. Oh, golly. May that be our motivation. Remember when Paul, when he said, we are impelled, the love of Christ impels us. I just want to love you back, God. This is why I want to seek your voice in time of temptation so I can choose to love you and respond to you and give you, give you my life in a time of temptation that you can see not that I need to impress God, but it means something when I jump into the arms of God, when I’m in the middle of a temptation and he says, you chose me way to go.
He’s there to help us do just that. So love the theological virtue of love, helps us really to love God back with the very love God gives us and to love others with that love as well. Now, through the gift of faith, believing we can hear God helps us have faith to listen, and tune in, and know that he’s going to speak to us, faith is key.
And we’re created for a relationship with God. Listen to this beautiful paragraph, number one in the Catechism, that “we read, God infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness, freely created man, to make him share in his own blessed life.” Awesome! We are freely created by God to share in God’s own blessed life.
And that means intimacy with God, communication with God. It’s wonderful being in this relationship of divine love. Being able to communicate with God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, is a gift that God gives us and wants us to enjoy. And it’s key. for us to keep growing in so that we, by listening to God’s voice, every word God speaks is full of grace. By listening to God, we’re receiving grace, helping us grow in holiness.
Never Operating On Our Own
Chapter 4, let’s visit it for just a moment. It’s so clear when the enemy’s coming after Jesus that he is not operating on his own. He’s there. He’s weak in the flesh. He’s been fasting for 40 days. The conditions are rough, but Jesus isn’t operating on his own.
Later in John chapter 12, we read, Jesus says this in John 12 verse 49. “I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.” That’s so good. He’s revealing his inner life. I didn’t speak on my own. The Father who sent me, commanded me what to stay, say and speak. So, he’s listening to the Father.
And he’s, he’s locked in. What happened right before the temptation in Luke chapter 4? You remember, it’s the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. That the heavens are open, the Spirit descends in what looks like the form of a dove. The Father is heard speaking, this is my beloved Son. And His baptism, I mean, it’s different than ours, of course, because Jesus never sinned.
And yet, you know, His baptism was a ceremonial washing to show His solidarity with sinners. Our baptism is giving us this infusion of the Holy Spirit into our, into our very being. This sacrament, our baptism is sharing in his death and in his resurrection. Paul writes it like this, We’ve been baptized into death with Jesus so that just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might live a new life in God’s presence being raised. So our baptism gives us this risen life in the Holy spirit.
The baptism of Jesus is a revelation. The, of our baptism, the heavens are open. The Father says, this is my beloved son, this is for all of us, beloved sons and beloved daughters. The Spirit comes and anoints Jesus Christ, Christos, the anointed one.
We too are filled and anointed with the Spirit. And so, we have this intimate union with God. As Jesus was listening with the Father, as he’s not operating on his own in the temptations, as he’s anointed by the Spirit, listening to the Father. We too are anointed with the Spirit, get to listen to the Father, get to listen to Jesus, and be in intimate union with the Blessed Trinity.
Catechism 2565 again. The grace of the kingdom, this was mentioned in the first clip John and I were blessed to put together. The grace of the kingdom is the union of the entire Holy and Royal Trinity with the whole human spirit. Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice holy God, in communion with Him.
This is how we’re going to overcome temptation. To finish with Luke 4 for a second, when the devil tries to get Jesus to turn stone into bread. Jesus, he’s in union with the Father and the Spirit, and he says not. One does not live by bread alone. When the devil tries to get Jesus to worship him in exchange for worldly power and glory, again, Jesus, he’s listening. He’s in union with the Father and the power of the Spirit. He’s in that intimate union, and he’s able to respond. It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him alone shall you serve.
Remember John 14, John chapter 12 verse 49, when Jesus said, I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And so once more, when the devil tries to pull out Psalm 91 and get Jesus to jump off the top of the parapet of the temple to prove that Psalm 91 is true, the angels will protect him. Jesus is listening. He’s in the power of the Spirit, intimate union with the Father and the Spirit. And the Son, Jesus says.
It also says you shall not put the Lord your God to the test at each pass. Jesus is ready and operating in union with the Father and the Spirit. He’s operating in his intimate identity as the beloved son of God. And that’s for all of us to operate to live in the intimacy of our identities. A beloved son, a beloved daughter.
Tips on How To Hear God’s Voice
So now let’s get super practical for our Lenten journey and our lives in general. First, let’s talk. about how to hear God’s voice. And then we’re going to talk about hearing God’s voice in times of temptation. I got five quick tips for you there. But first the three best ways I know to hear the voice of God.
First is to practice hearing the voice of God. The first is to read scripture daily, to read scripture daily. And Paul writes in second Timothy chapter three, All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refute, refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness. What is so cool is if you look up the Greek for all scripture is inspired by God, it is also translated legitimately from the Greek.
God breathed. God breathed. As you read scripture, you’re opening yourself up to have God breathe life into you. Now, it’s so important that we can trust that God speaks through our thoughts. Listen to catechism number 1776. His conscience is man’s most secret core and sanctuary. There, he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in the depths.
Your conscience, your inner voice, where your thoughts are flowing, there, that’s a secret core and sanctuary where God, there, there, he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in his depths. So God will speak, he’ll breathe inspired thoughts into you. And my three favorite ways to practice listening to the voice of God, letting God breathe.
Inspired thoughts into me, into my conscience, knowing that’s the voice of God speaking through inspired thoughts. Bear with me for a second. One more time. His conscience is man’s most secret core in his sanctuary. There, he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in the depths. That’s the great question of like, well, how do I know if it’s me or if it’s God?
You’re going to prayer. God is not too busy to come and meet you there. God is looking forward to meeting you in prayer. And there, in the depths of your conscience, that ability to hear thought, your interior voice, God is there. And God is gonna speak, inspiring your thoughts, to hear His voice through your inspired thoughts.
They’ll be inspired by him, God breathed. So these three ways to practice listening to the voice of God through your inspired thoughts in the union of prayer, where God is there first, read scripture daily. And when you, something touches your heart, pause, underline it, pray, ask God some questions about it and pay attention to him speaking back through those inspired thoughts.
The more we practice, the more familiar we get with. The breath of God, the voice of God, inspiring our thoughts and speaking to our hearts.
So, the three. Read scripture every day, okay? Second, practice conversation with God. Sit down. I love to do this in front of the Blessed Sacrament. You don’t have to be in front of the Blessed Sacrament, but all day, every day, John and I are going to advocate for being in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
So, somebody say Eucharistic Revival! It’s working! Okay, so, you can, you can practice this while you’re driving. Turn the radio off, but just Converse with him, begin to talk to him. Matthew 7, 7. Jesus said, ask, seek, and knock. Ask him questions. Listen, talk to the Father. Ask him questions. I like to do this out loud when I’m driving. I like to sit in the morning before the blessed sacrament and just talk with him and pause and listen back. So reading scripture every day and then practicing conversation.
Number three is reading the catechism and other church teaching. The catechism and other church teachings are so anointed. It is God speaking through his bride, the church.
That’s another great way to practice listening to the voice of God. So one more time, reading scripture daily and then also practicing conversation with God. And the third is reading the catechism and other church teachings. And again, like scripture, pausing and taking time to reflect on what you’re hearing and asking and speaking, quite speaking with him, asking questions. Okay. Those are three tips for practicing listening to the voice of the Lord.
Now pay off pitch five tips for listening to the voice of God in times of temptation. I hope this really helps you. I’ve used this in my own life. I want to be up front and say, I don’t always use it perfectly, I’m working on it. And there have been plenty of times though, where it’s worked like not, it’s worked perfectly because you’ll see the key here in just a moment, but okay. Here’s the five tips. All right. You’re not going to see me looking at notes. I love to look at the notes. I got, I got notes. Uh, but um, but this one’s from my heart.
I mean, this is something, I mean, we’re all, I’ve been, I’m in my 12th year as a priest and you know, uh, we all go through times of temptation. I’m very fascinated with like, how do we win the spiritual battle? It feels good. You know what I mean? How do you, it’s just coming. Those temptations come and it’s so good to, to stay with the Lord.
And okay, here we go. Five tips for listening to the Lord. In times of temptation, tip number one, don’t be surprised. Stay calm and don’t be surprised that you’re in temptation. Stay calm and don’t be surprised that you’re in temptation. St. Philip, and here he famously once said, Lord, keep your hand on Philip or Philip will betray you.
We all have times of temptation. So stay calm, very clearly, stay calm and don’t be surprised that you’re in times of temptation. That, okay. That’s key because we can get rattled and then make a decision a hasty decision and we’re not we’re not fully Really engaging in our in our reason in our heart with God because we’re just rattled So tip number one stay calm and don’t be surprised that you’re in temptation This is power for the course in our life Devil and the fallen angels don’t have hobbies and we still have concupiscence stay calm and don’t be surprised that you’re in temptation.
Second Holy family, please help me. Holy family, please help me. Five words. Holy family, please help me. If you want, you can say, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, please help me. I like to say, holy family, please help me. Because I know, I’m inviting Mary and Joseph. Absolutely. And also, The father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, of course, God, Holy family, please help me.
He got a lot of firepower there. So Holy family, please help me. The third tip after you ask the Holy family, Holy family, please help me. Third tip, declare your place in God. I am in your presence, God. You love me. You’ve not left me. I am seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. God is with me. I am not alone.
It’s just so good to drop an anchor, speak the truth. Jesus said, if you remain in my word, you’ll know the truth and the truth will set you free. Sometimes you got to drop an anchor in a stormy sea before you’re able to look at the storm and say stop in Jesus name. So that third one there is It is to declare your place in God because your identity and your intimacy is secure in God.
God’s not going to stiff arm you and be like, get out of here. Come, go figure that temptation out and get back here. No way. That’s like, John and I are both football fans and the stiff arm image is kind of good. I think like, you know, God’s not going to do that. No, it’s in his presence. We’re going to find the victory.
Come on, it’s in his presence. We’re going to find the victory. So declare your place in God.
Okay, one more time. Stay calm. Don’t be surprised you’re in temptation. Second, holy family. Please help me. Holy family. Please help me. Okay? And the third one is declare your place in god. You might feel awful You might be tempted to all get out, but you just take a moment If you remain in my word, you know, the truth and the truth will set you free.
I’m in your presence god I’m in your family. You are with me, i’m a temple of the Holy Spirit. Now number four, here’s where the battles won. This is what I find in my own life. Number four, Jesus, what do I do? You straight up ask him, Jesus, what do I do? And then listen, pay attention to your mind and in your heart. And when you get an inkling, and you will, he’s faithful, when you get an inspiration about what is good, what is true, what is right, what is just, go with it immediately. Be obedient and expedient, and say yes to that. His voice will always lead you through the storm. His voice will lead you out of the temptation. So step four is Jesus, what do I do?
And you might feel 90 percent I want this sin. But you hear, you get the ray of light, the 10 percent Jesus says. Put that there, go make a cup of tea, read a chapter of the gospel and go to bed. You say, I’ll do it. His voice will always lead you to freedom. So, step four, Jesus, what do I do?
Step five, and this is the final one. Don’t be surprised if the temptation shifts and returns. Don’t be surprised if it shifts and returns. Sometimes we find ourselves in a little bit of a battle. You’re, you’re, you’re not surprised. You go back to number one. Stay calm. Don’t be surprised. Holy family, please help me. Declare your place in God.
Jesus, what do I do? And you do it. If something happens and the temptation shifts or something else comes at you in a time of spiritual warfare, you’re not surprised. Step number five. Don’t be surprised if the temptation shifts. Which brings you right back to number one. You stay calm. You’re not surprised. Holy family, please help me. Declare your place in God. Jesus, what do I do? That’s the key. And then you listen, and you do it.
Okay? So those are the five tips. And I want to invite you for a little holy homework assignment. Write those down. Write them down. And maybe put it in your Bible, or put a card in your pocket that you remember.
Stay calm. Don’t be surprised. Holy family, please help me. Declare your place in God. Jesus, what do I do? Don’t be surprised if the temptation shifts, changes, and comes again. Don’t worry. So, write those down. And think about them, pray with them, and you’ll be ready to use them.
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Father, bless your sons and your daughters to keep growing and hearing your voice through reading scripture, practicing conversation, reading catechism and church teaching, and help them to really help us all to keep growing in your ability to hear our voice in times of temptation. And may Almighty God bless us to be victorious in times of temptation because Jesus has shown us how.
In the name of the Father of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Happy lenten, journey.
About Fr. Patrick Gonyeau
Fr. Patrick Gonyeau is a 45-year-old priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit currently living and serving with the U.S. Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood at the historic Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, Ohio. Fr. Patrick also serves extensively with Encounter Ministries, teaching and ministering at events across the country and internationally as well. His deepest passion in life is union with the Blessed Trinity. From there, he seeks to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teach, equip, and activate believers of Jesus into an ever-deepening lifestyle of Holy Spirit- driven intimacy and mission in everyday life. His Free Mustard Seeds podcast and Renewal of the Mind Daily Devotional on Facebook and YouTube are well-received proclamation of the Word ministries he runs in the online sphere. There is nothing Fr. Patrick wants more than to know and love The Blessed Trinity with his whole being to help others do so as Well.
You can listen to Fr. Patrick’s homilies, talks and testimonies here.
Additionally, here are other resources from Fr. Patrick:
Renewal of the Mind Daily Devotional, his radio program, Encounter Ministries, and Encounter School of Ministry.