The short video captures a simple but meaningful response after a Kingdom Calling community gathering: Wes Bridel describes meeting with several men of God around the subject of hearing the voice of God and spending much of the time listening and learning.
That response offers a needed correction to the way spiritual guidance is often discussed. Hearing God is not presented as a performance, a shortcut to certainty, or a private badge of maturity. It is connected to humility, Scripture, practice, and the company of believers who can help one another discern faithfully.
Listening Begins With a Posture of Humility
Many people want immediate direction from God but have little appetite for patient attention. They want an answer without the quiet, a word without examination, and confidence without the possibility of correction. The biblical posture is different. Samuel’s response was an invitation: “Speak, for Your slave is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10, LSB).
Listening means making room to receive rather than arriving with every conclusion already fixed. It includes the willingness to hear something that challenges a preference, exposes an assumption, or requires obedience. The goal is not to manufacture an impression that sounds spiritual. The goal is to become more attentive to God while remaining anchored in what He has already revealed.
The Company We Keep Shapes Our Discernment
The gathering described in the video brought together people with different experiences and perspectives. That diversity matters. A mature Christian community can help a person see blind spots, distinguish conviction from anxiety, and test an idea that feels powerful in the moment.
Proverbs 11:14 says that in an abundance of counselors there is salvation. The principle does not mean every opinion is equally wise or that a group can replace personal responsibility before God. It means that isolation is a dangerous environment for discernment. People can mistake desire for direction, emotional intensity for clarity, or fear for warning. Trusted believers can ask questions that protect a person from acting too quickly.
Wise counsel also requires more than collecting agreement. The best counselors are not merely people who confirm what someone already wants. They know God, know the person asking, and are willing to speak truth with love. Their role is not to control the decision but to help bring it into the light.
Scripture Remains the Anchor
Any impression, thought, or sense of direction must be tested against the character of God and the teaching of Scripture. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27, LSB). That verse points to relationship and obedience, not curiosity alone.
God will not lead a person into what contradicts His revealed character or commands. Scripture is not one voice among many in a spiritual marketplace. It is the standard that exposes confusion and corrects wishful thinking. A claim of personal guidance cannot excuse dishonesty, pride, exploitation, sexual sin, cruelty, or disregard for responsibilities.
This is why spiritual listening should be paired with careful reading, prayer, and time. Write down what seems significant. Compare it with Scripture. Ask whether it produces the fruit of the Spirit rather than self-importance. Bring it to mature counsel. Wait when the matter is unclear.
Learning Often Looks Like Listening More Than Speaking
The speaker’s admission that much of the gathering was spent listening is more than a comment about one meeting. It is a picture of discipleship. People who are always trying to teach may miss what God is doing through other members of the body of Christ.
Listening does not require passivity. It means receiving before responding. It means asking a question and allowing a thoughtful answer to shape the next question. It means honoring the experience of another believer without surrendering discernment. It also means recognizing that God may use a person’s testimony, wisdom, or correction to form someone who is still growing.
The course material associated with the video describes hearing God as something that matures through practice. Hebrews 5:14 speaks of those whose senses are trained by practice to discern good and evil. Training is slower than novelty. It includes repetition, mistakes, review, humility, and obedience.
A Simple Pattern for Discernment
When a thought or direction seems spiritually significant, a believer can work through four questions:
- Does it agree with Scripture? God’s guidance will not contradict God’s Word.
- What fruit does it produce? Does it move toward love, truth, holiness, courage, and service—or toward pride, panic, or self-exaltation?
- Who can help test it? Bring significant decisions to people who are spiritually mature, honest, and familiar with the situation.
- What obedient step is clear? Do not use uncertainty about the whole future as an excuse to ignore the next faithful action.
This pattern leaves room for mystery while refusing spiritual carelessness. It also protects people from treating every inner thought as a divine command.
Let Listening Become a Shared Practice
A household, small group, or church community can practice this kind of listening without becoming sensational. Read a passage of Scripture. Sit quietly. Ask what the passage reveals about God and what response it calls for. Allow people to share carefully. Test what is said. Pray for humility and wisdom.
The point is not to create a room full of people competing to sound prophetic. The point is to become a people who hear, test, obey, and encourage one another. That kind of community is useful for family culture, calling, work, and every other area where Christians need wisdom.
The next step may be as simple as choosing one trusted believer and asking for an honest conversation about a decision or spiritual question. Come ready to listen, not only to receive validation. God often forms His people through the truth they are willing to hear from one another.
Related Teachings on Scripture and Discernment
These related Kingdom Calling articles offer practical ways to hear, understand, and respond to God’s Word:
- Reading Scripture: Hearing the Word
- Reading Scripture: Understanding Context
- Reading Scripture: Taking Action
- Spiritual Growth and Maturity
For a practical tool to help organize the responsibilities God has entrusted to you, visit Kingdom Calling’s free stewardship checklist.
