At some point in life, we are all going to be faced with heartache, loss, failure, disappointment, conflict and other painful struggles. Sometimes we will experience these things personally, but other times, we will watch as people around us are faced with a crisis. It’s important to ask ourselves—what kind of friend am I when things get hard?

“And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers...” - Malachi 4:6

A very distinct memory I’ve carried with me since I was 15 years old is the day I got my driver’s license. It’s not the actual test that has lingered with me; it’s not holding my license for the first time or even finally being able to drive on my own.

"For I would say, my Children you are coming into a new season. So do not think it's strange, when a new thing is being birthed, that you are under tremendous pressure. For there is pressure when I do new things. For I know it's coming, but the enemy wants to stop and avert your destiny.

At some point in all of our relationships, we will hurt someone or end up hurt ourselves. This is not a fun fact, but it is the inevitable outcome of imperfect people interacting with each other in a broken world.

The idea of loving others and being loved sounds so good, so noble, so worthy. And it certainly is essential to life. But the reality of loving well looks far less glamorous than the romanticized notions we get in our head.

For the Lord would say, "There are many harassments coming against you. There are many things that my Word says are like little foxes that are coming to eat your vine, to cause you to feel unsettled, to cause you to feel like everything will not be ok.”

He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’” (Acts 13:22)

Of all the great men and women in the Bible, only David was said to have been a man after God’s own heart. We know David wasn’t perfect, and his relationships with others certainly weren’t perfect either.

When people hear the phrase “It’s not a religion; it’s a relationship,” they generally associate it with the idea of personal relationship with God. However, people can also approach their human relationships with a “religious” attitude that can suck the joy right out of those connections.

Do you realize that you have seen a glimpse of God today?

Every time you look into the face of another human being, you get a glimpse of God. It is one of the ways He chooses to reveal Himself.

And the Lord would say, "I am bringing new waves of grace. For haven't I said my grace is sufficient for you? Haven't I said that when you are weak, I am strong? So this day know that you need many answers, you don't know what to do, but I still have everlasting arms. They are still available for you, if you run into my arms, if you run to me rather than getting caught up in the problems you're facing, in the challenges you're facing.”

Over the past month, we have shared a lot of principles and truths about hearing God, recognizing His voice, and acting on what He says. God wants us to know His voice because He desires relationship with us—we can be close to Him.

But what about when you cannot hear Him? What about the times when He feels so far away and so silent?

One of the most effective ways to experience an increased sensitivity to the voice of God is to develop a lifestyle of fasting. Although it’s not a particularly enjoyable discipline, spending a period of time away from a certain pleasure of life (food in particular) allows us to purposefully deny ourselves to focus on the Lord.

In part one of this article, we considered that the gift of prophecy is something that has to be cultivated deliberately and intentionally if we want to see it at work in our lives. This gift is not something reserved for an elite or super-spiritual few; it is available to every believer who will pay attention to the nudges of the Holy Spirit around them.

Growing up in the church, I really wrestled with the idea of prophecy and being prophetic. In 1 Corinthians 14, I read Paul’s admonition to eagerly desire the gift of prophecy, yet something in me resisted with a quiet, but firm “no thank you.”

Through the prophetic, it’s being revealed that 2015 will be a season of grace. Grace is commonly associated with the number five, and five appears in the numbers for both the Gregorian (2015) and the Jewish (5775) new years.

Hearing God in our lives is one of the most critical factors in developing our spirituality and impacting others. Although it may seem difficult to hear His voice, I can assure you that it is not as hard as you may think!

Many years ago, the Lord took me on an unusual spiritual journey into stillness. My normal habit was to get up early in the morning for a time of devotion and prayer. I couldn’t really call this time with the Lord a “quiet time” because my spirit was anything but quiet as I poured out my problems and the problems of people I knew before the throne of God. I had learned a couple of methods of praying and diligently followed one or the other every day. When I finished the prescribed outline, I said “amen” and went on with my day.

Although I was saved at age 10, I spent most of my life not realizing that God still speaks to people. Up until the time I was filled with the Spirit at age 43, I had never heard the voice of the Lord.

Some of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Generals are, “How do I know if it’s God speaking to me?” and “How can I hear His voice more clearly?”

Bob McGee's lovely praise song often resonates in my spirit, particularly at Christmas time. The words “God with us, revealed in us” especially capture my heart and remind me of Paul’s words in Acts 17:28: “. . . for in Him we live and move and have our being.”