Hearing God about your past unfulfilled dreams

Hearing God about your past unfulfilled dreams

Oct 25, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

When you were younger, did you have dreams and desires that you wanted to achieve? Did you feel God asking you to do something, but it never happened? Join us as we share our past unfulfilled dreams and some principles to keep in mind.

Episode Notes:

Background:

  • Jane – going to a closed country.
  • Gary – driving to country towns, visiting the Pastors and praying for them.
  • Episode 127 in ‘Contending with what we thought we heard God say’, I shared a dream I had when our kids were younger about their future life. Recently, God clarified it for me.
  • Explanation of prophetic acts.

First Principle: Revisit the unfulfilled dream

  • Is it still applicable, or have things changed?
  • Did God put that dream in your heart?
  • Is the desire still there?
  • Life happens, but if it is still something that you eagerly desire, a longing, do something about it. Talk about it with God.
  • Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

Second Principle: Look at what you do with it now.

  • Do you need to put it aside?
  • You may need to grieve disappointment.
  • Let every dream you currently have be purified by God’s will.
  • Although your dream may appear dead – your God is not!!
  • Augustine said (or commonly attributed to him): “God had one Son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.” The cross always precedes the resurrection. Do you need to press through?
  • Not every closed door means stop. Not every open door is from God to walk through.
  • Perhaps your unfulfilled dream/desire needs to be adapted?

Third Principle: Surrender your expectations to God

  • Ask God to either take it away, redirect, or reignite your passion.
  • Your identity is not in what you do. It’s in who you are.
  • Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
  • Live life to the full. We are made for more. John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” (Message version – a more and better life than you ever dreamed of)
  • I think of John the Baptist. In John 1:29:31, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry: “The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’ …… and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: Thisis the Son of God.”
  • A while later, we read in Matthew 11:2-3: “When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” – unfulfilled expectations of Jesus.
  • Imagine how John the Baptist then felt later in Matthew 14:1-12 when John, still in prison, had the guards fetch him to take him to have his head cut off and served up on a platter because Herod, the ruler, had a huge feast, got drunk, had his daughter dance before his guest so enticingly that he promised her anything. Her mother, Herod’s wife, wanted John the Baptist’s head on a plate – so the wish was granted. Jesus could have performed a miracle for him but wasn’t around.
  • Spend time with God. Make time to hear from God about your situation.
  • Pause and be still and listen to how God is trying to speak to you.

Summary: Today we have looked at hearing God about our past unfulfilled dreams.

  1. Revisit the unfulfilled dream.
  2. Look at what you do with it now.
  3. Surrender your expectations to God.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, if my life were a blank cheque, what would You write on it?”
  • “God, what are Your desires for me currently and in this next season?”

Time Stamps:

[0:44] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[6:39] – Introduction to our past unfulfilled dreams.

[11:14] – First Principle: Revisit the unfulfilled dream.

[13:23] – Second Principle: Look at what you do with it now.

[14:45] – Third Principle: Surrender your expectations to God.

[18:42] – Summary.

[19:12] – Prophetic activation.

[20:25] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[22:41] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Proverbs 13:12
  • Psalm 37:4
  • John 10:10
  • John 1:29-31
  • Matthew 11:2-3
  • Matthew 14:1-12

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 131: The simplicity of hearing God

Episode 131: The simplicity of hearing God

Oct 18, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Sometimes we make things harder than they need to be. This can happen with hearing God. We can believe that it is hard to hear God, or that we can’t hear Him. Join us as we share our thoughts and experiences, along with some principles to keep in mind.

Episode Notes:

First Principle: Fall in love with Jesus

  • Hearing God means recognising His voice and the ways He tries to get your attention.
  • Sometimes you may be in a relationship with someone, but not in love with them.
  • When you love someone, you want to spend time with them. You can recognise their voice across a room full of people, or if your eyes are blindfolded. You may not be able to see God physically, but you can still recognise His voice.
  • Episode 3 – the different voices we can hear.
  • Episode 4 – the different ways God talks to us.
  • How far away do you see God right now? Is He in the same room as you, behind you, beside you, in a different room, etc.?
  • Gary shares tips for falling in love with Jesus, namely, spend time with Him. Talk to God. Listen to Him. Read His Word. Look at God’s attributes and focus on the one most helpful to you now.

Second Principle: Pause

  • Take a breath. Relax. Pause and allow God to speak. Live in a rush with instant everything – food, gratification, etc.
  • Do we expect God to speak to us?
  • Do we allow God time and space to speak to us?
  • Gary shares what pausing looks like for him. He shares about disconnecting from his phone, people, business/work and allowing minimal distractions by closing his eyes and putting in EarPods while he tries to tune into God.

Third Principle: Quiet the noise externally and internally

  • To hear and recognise it is God, we need to be able to hear His voice.
  • Episode 123 – Quiet the noise externally and internally.
  • Block out/minimalise external and internal noise so we can hear God’s voice.
  • Gary shares practical examples of what he does to quiet the noise.

Summary:

  1. Fall in love with Jesus.
  2. Pause
  3. Quiet the noise externally and internally.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, what do You like the most about my daily life, and why?”

Time Stamps:

[0:37] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[5:35] – First Principle: Fall in love with Jesus.

[11:16] – Second Principle: Pause.

[13:35] – Third Principle: Quiet the noise externally and internally.

[16:34] – Summary.

[17:01] – Prophetic activation.

[17:51] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[20:08] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Psalm 46:10
  • Isaiah 61:1-3

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 130: Why do some people hear God and others don’t?

Episode 130: Why do some people hear God and others don’t?

Oct 11, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Have you ever heard God’s voice? If you haven’t, why do you think that is? Why do some people hear God and others don’t? Join us as we share our thoughts and experiences, along with some principles to keep in mind.

Episode Notes:

  • Gary shares why he believes some people hear God and others don’t. Sometimes we are so busy dealing with issues that we feel overwhelmed, and we don’t actually ask God. We can also be distracted. We may even think something is wrong with us.

First Principle: Our expectation that God wants to, and is, speaking to us.

  • Can I say upfront that if you haven’t heard God speaking to you, it is not because you are not good enough. Don’t let Satan trip you up with guilt, etc.
  • Relates to our identity in God.
  • Episode 70 “Can anyone hear God?” – Muslims in their dreams. Don’t have to be a Christian. A donkey in Numbers 22:21-34 heard God.
  • John 5:37-40 – you have never heard his voice for you or seen him because you don’t believe him, and then especially verses 39-40: “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.”
  • Sometimes it’s about perspective.
  • We have the right and the privilege of hearing God’s voice.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 – the Spirit of God in us helps us understand.
  • Ephesians 4:23 – to be made new in the spirit/attitude of our mind.

Second Principle: Recognising how God is speaking to us.

  • Often, we don’t realise that God wants to speak to us. We may have grown up in the church and faithfully have a Quiet Time, pray, serve, etc but don’t recognise God speaking to us.
  • Episode 112 – What if I don’t recognise it’s God?
  • Episode 4 – The Different ways God talks to us.
  • Episode 3 – The different voices we may hear.
  • Episodes 8 & 9 How can I grow in my ability to hear God?
  • Episode 11 What to do when I can’t hear God?
  • Episode 13 – Recognising how God speaks
  • Episode 16 – How else can God speak to me?
  • Episode 67 – What’s the best way to hear God?
  • Parable of the seeds and weeds Matt 13:1-9; Mark 4:2-9; and Luke 8:4-15. Four different places the ‘seed’ lands –
    • Hard ground/path – birds eat it. Closed to things of God.
    • Rocky ground – shallow roots, give up
    • Thorny ground – crowded out with weeds, things of this world.
    • Good soil – fertile ground, different amounts of crops
  • Ephesians 1:17-19 “I pray the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”
  • We don’t have to be special to hear God. The Pharisees knew all the rules but never heard God’s voice. It’s about our heart posture.
  • Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 – heard God say Leave your family and go to this land. Why didn’t other people around him hear God?
  • Moses saw physical evidence of God (Exodus 3), e.g., the burning bush – stopped and turned aside to watch the strange phenomenon – had time/margin in his life plus acknowledged something strange. Why didn’t others around that time hear and see God?

Third Principle: Our lifestyle to allow time to recognise God speaking to us

  • We may be unaware of how God can speak to us.
  • We may be living such a busy life or distracted that we don’t pay attention.
  • Romans 8:5. Is our attention on the flesh or the things of God?
  • Colossians 3:1-2 commands us to set our hearts on the things above and not to get absorbed in earthly things. Yes, there is a balance here – we need to live in this world but not let the world live in us. Don’t let competing voices take over our time and thought life.
  • Romans 12:2 – don’t conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
  • To guard the heart: Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Other translations, because it is the wellspring of life.
  • Look at how your brain is wired, how it works, your giftings and strengths.
  • Make time and space. Quiet the noise externally and internally.
  • Episode 123 “Which voice is louder?”
  • John 10:10 “I have come that you may have life and have life to the full.”
  • John 10:2-16: We can hear God clearly and know God’s voice. It’s all about intimacy and relationship.
  • Do we position ourselves?
  • Do we tune into the right channel? Dial into the right frequency?
  • Our desire and readiness play a huge part too.

Summary:

  1. Our expectation that God is speaking to us.
  2. Recognising how God is speaking to us.
  3. Our lifestyle to allow time to recognise God speaking to us.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, if I were an animal or a bird, what animal or bird would I be, and why?”

Time Stamps:

[0:40] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[4:19] – Introduction.

[5:28] – First Principle: Our expectation that God wants to, and is, speaking to us.

[8:33] – Second Principle: Recognising how God is speaking to us.

[14:09] – Third Principle: Our lifestyle to allow time to recognise God speaking to us.

[18:21] – Summary.

[18:51] – Prophetic activation.

[19:46] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[21:57] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Psalm 46:10
  • Numbers 22:21-34
  • John 5:37-40
  • 1 Corinthians 2:9-16
  • Ephesians 4:23
  • Matthew 13:1-9
  • Mark 4:2-9
  • Luke 8:4-15
  • Ephesians 1:17-19
  • Genesis 12:1-3
  • Exodus 3
  • Romans 8:5
  • Colossians 3:1-2
  • Romans 12:2
  • Proverbs 4:23
  • John 10:2-16

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 129: How do I know if I’ve prayed enough?

Episode 129: How do I know if I’ve prayed enough?

Oct 4, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

How do you know when you have prayed enough about a certain issue? How does hearing God relate to knowing if you’ve prayed enough about that issue? Join us as we share our experience and some principles to keep in mind.

Episode Notes:

Background:

  • Earlier this year, a friend asked me the question, “How do I know if I have prayed enough about this medical issue I have in relation to hearing from God? When do I just leave it to God?”
  • Luke 18:1-8: the parable of the persistent widow.
  • Episode 122 – God never answered my prayer. (Looked at disappointment with God)
  • Episode 127 – Contending for your situation with what you’ve heard God say.
  • A word of caution: We are not experts, just fellow travellers. Ultimately, it is a step of faith.
  • It’s a lie when we think, “If only I had prayed more, this ‘bad’ thing wouldn’t have happened. Eg Mum dying of cancer.

First Principle: When you have peace.

  • Philippians 4:6-7 “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
  • Message version: “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.”
  • Galatians 5:19-22: fruits of the Spirit and the flesh. Guilt and worry are from the enemy, NOT from God.
  • Gary shared what trusting God and God’s peace look like for him, especially in relation to hearing God.
  • Sometimes you need to do a prophetic act.
  • Gary shared about putting your prayers on a platter and giving the platter to God.

Second Principle: When you feel a shift and no longer feel a need to pray.

  • I felt God telling me to pray for a certain leader back in 2016. I did not enjoy praying for this person. Thankfully, after 3 months, the burden lifted. A shift occurred. It didn’t seem like anything in the external had changed. But 10 years later, there has suddenly been a massive change. I don’t know if my prayers made any difference, but the outcome has been what I was praying for.
  • My friend felt a shift in emotion regarding her medical issue. Initial frantic praying. Then a peace, but then frantic again whenever she had spare time on her hands. Then felt God say, “I’ve got it in my hands.”

Third Principle: Ask God

  • It’s about relationship, not rules.
  • Intimacy is the goal.
  • There are no formulas with God, but there are some methods that work more effectively, e.g., Josh hearing about the RAAF and the young guy hearing about the Police Force.
  • Traffic lights – no, not yet, or yes.
  • Are you a ‘random’ prayer?

Summary: Hearing God about how do I know when I have prayed enough?

  1. When you have peace.
  2. When you feel a shift and no longer feel the need to pray.
  3. Ask God.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, is there an area in my life I need to give over to You and not worry about, to leave in Your hands, to almost not even pray about anymore?”

Time Stamps:

[0:43] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[4:51] – Background to this episode.

[7:17] – First Principle: When you have peace.

[10:38] – Second Principle: When you feel a shift and no longer feel a need to pray.

[13:35] – Third Principle: Ask God.

[16:26] – Summary

[16:51] – Prophetic activation.

[17:54] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[20:11] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Luke 18:1-8
  • Philippians 4:6-7
  • Galatians 5:19-22

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 128: Hearing God about praying for big events

Episode 128: Hearing God about praying for big events

Sep 27, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

What do you pray for the big events in your life? What is God’s heart for those events? Do you limit God by what you are praying for? Join Gary & me as we share what we’re hearing from God about what to pray for various big events in our lives, along with some principles to keep in mind.

Episode Notes:

First Principle: Submit our desires to God

  • Don’t want to be controlling.
  • Share everything with God – He already knows anyway.
  • Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
    Heart transformation: the more we focus on God and take delight in Him, the purer our desires become.
  • Jeremiah 29:11-12 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

Second Principle: Stop and ask God what He wants as an outcome

  • Stop. Quiet the noise around and within.
  • Inner peace.
  • Align with God’s desires.
  • Do I limit God working in my life?

Third Principle: Learn from others’ prayers.

  • I initially would have said, ‘listen to others praying’, but we can learn from the ancient fathers of the faith.
  • Dr Roland Ashby (@dr.roland_ashby), e.g., praying for our daughter’s marriage –
    • not to repeat our mistakes
    • against anyone coming between Sarah and Cooper

Fourth Principle: Pray BIG prayers

  • James 5:16b-18 (The Message version): “The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.”
  • Going to Cambodia on a mission trip. Prayed that the temperature would drop 10 degrees Celsius. It did for a week.
  • 1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
  • John 14:12-14 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
  • You get what you expect. Expect BIG things. God created the universe. He raised the dead. He healed the sick, made blind eyes see. He can do anything.
  • Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” Message version – “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!”
  • George Müller once said, “Faith doesn’t operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends”. This was a man who ran an orphanage in One day the housemother came to inform George, “The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat.” George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “Mr Muller,” he said, “last night I could not sleep. Somehow, I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.”  Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.”
  • Do I limit God’s work in my life?

Summary:

  1. Submit our desires to God.
  2. Stop and ask God what He wants as an outcome.
  3. Learn from others’ prayers.
  4. Pray BIG prayers.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, can You please bring to mind a big event I’m involved in in these next few months?”
  • “God, can You please reveal to me Your heart for that event?”

Time Stamps:

[1:20] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[5:18] – First Principle: Submit our desires to God.

[7:46] – Second Principle: Stop and ask God what He wants as an outcome.

[8:44] – Third Principle: Learn from others’ prayers.

[11:11] – Fourth Principle: Pray BIG prayers.

[17:14] – Summary

[17:38] – Prophetic activation.

[18:40] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[20:42] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Psalm 37:4
  • Jeremiah 29:11-12
  • James 5:16b-18
  • 1 John 5:14
  • John 14:12-14
  • Ephesians 3:20

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 127: Contending with what we heard God say

Episode 127: Contending with what we heard God say

Sep 20, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Do you know how to fight your battles using what you have already heard from God? How do you use your prophetic words to contend with your current situation? Join Gary & me as we share personal experiences of fighting various ‘battles’ using our prophetic words.

Episode Notes:

Introduction:

  • Our experience with our daughter being extremely sick
  • Episode 115 – What do I do with what I heard God say?

First Principle: Check that what you heard from God is true.

  • Check the source.
  • Does it bring peace or chaos?
  • Test it. Does it line up with the Bible, wise, trusted people, etc?
  • Look for confirmation. Ask God for confirmation.
  • 1 John 4:1 says to test that it is the Spirit of God.
  • What is the fruit, the outcome, etc?

Second Principle: Wield your weapon.

  • What you heard from God is a weapon. Prophetic words are a weapon to use to fight the battle.
  • Eg friends struggling with relationships within their family imploding despite prophetic words about their family being united and all with a close relationship with Jesus. You don’t need prophetic words about that unless you don’t have unity, etc. Prophetic words would have been nice but irrelevant.
  • Write a declaration about the outcome and speak it out regularly.
  • Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Message version: “So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do; they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.”
  • Challenge: What assignment are you giving your words?
  • What you heard from God is not an empty promise. Pray it into being.
  • 1 Timothy 1:18 “Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well.”

Third Principle: Grow into becoming the person needed to win the battle

  • Grow your identity and authority. We defeat our internal giants before we can take on external giants. E.g. if we’re afraid and haven’t gone after inner peace with God, then we can’t expect to come against fear in the atmosphere.
  • Spend time in the Bible, solidifying your identity. Our identity affects our authority and the way we pray.
  • Practice hearing from God.
  • Make a song playlist to fight your battles. I have a list on Spotify called ‘warfare,’ e.g. Raise a Hallelujah, Praise Before My Breakthrough, Way Maker, Promises Never Fail, Prophesy Your Promise, Goodness of God, etc.
  • Renew your mind on the things of God.

Fourth Principle: Get help

  • Ask a couple of people to be prayer partners with you. Uphold you in prayer.
  • List your strategies.
  • Praise and worship. Armies in the OT went into battle with the trumpeters out the front. They heralded that the army had a battle plan, was on the offensive, and would win. The trumpeters and musicians broke the path. Our worship and praise break strongholds spiritually. Never underestimate the power of praise and worship.
  • Practice gratitude.
  • Speak life over your situation.

Summary:

  1. Check that what you heard from God is true.
  2. Wield your weapon.
  3. Grow into becoming the person needed to win the battle.
  4. Get help.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, what weapon would You like to give me today?”
  • You might like to ask God further questions about that, e.g., how to use the weapon or what the weapon is for in your life, etc.

Time Stamps:

[0:42] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[6:01] – Introduction.

[10:55] – First Principle: Check that what you heard from God is true.

[11:29] – Second Principle: Wield your weapon.

[19:28] – Third Principle: Grow into becoming the person needed to win the battle.

[22:09] – Fourth Principle: Get help.

[23:18] – Summary

[23:45] – Prophetic activation.

[24:39] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[28:05] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Proverbs 31:25
  • Jeremiah 29:11
  • 1 John 4:1
  • Isaiah 55:11
  • 1 Timothy 1:18
  • Psalm 100:4

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 126: The purpose of hearing God

Episode 126: The purpose of hearing God

Sep 13, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

What is the purpose of hearing God? Why do we want to hear God? Join Gary & me as we share that hearing God is about intimacy with our Heavenly Father, and we unpack what that can look like.

Episode Notes:

Introduction:

  • I sometimes feel that we can lose sight of the purpose of hearing God. I’ve been guilty of this when giving prophetic words (hearing from God for someone else). We can get slick with the delivery, etc but lose the ‘heart’ in it.
  • Episode 5 – purpose of hearing God in relation to prophetic words. Today we are looking at it in relation to hearing God for ourselves.

First Principle: It’s all about intimacy

  • It’s not about what we do, but who we are and how we relate to God.
  • Matthew 22:37-39: “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
  • Message version puts it: “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.”
  • What does loving God look like?
  • What does intimacy with God look like?

Second Principle: Learn to hear God in a multitude of ways

  • Yes, it is also about divine guidance, spiritual insight, but more importantly, relationship.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:16b we have the mind of Christ.
  • Drawing closer to God.
  • Gary shares what intimacy with God looks like for him and how he hears from God.
  • Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.

Summary:

  1. It’s all about intimacy.
  2. Learn to hear God in a multitude of ways.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, can You please bring a song to my mind?”
  • “God, why did You bring that song to mind?”

Time Stamps:

[0:36] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[5:41] – Introduction.

[7:03] – First Principle: It’s all about intimacy.

[11:20] – Second Principle: Learn to hear God in a multitude of ways.

[15:00] – Summary

[15:24] – Prophetic activation.

[16:28] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[19:11] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • 1 Corinthians 14:3
  • Matthew 22:37-39
  • 1 Corinthians 2:16b
  • Galatians 5:22-23 (fruit of the spirit)

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 125: Hearing God about our Fathers

Episode 125: Hearing God about our Fathers

Sep 6, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Today, on Father’s Day in Australia, we acknowledge the wide range of emotions we feel about our fathers. When our earthly fathers leave needs and expectations unmet, we can project that lack onto God. Join Gary & I as we unpack how our relationship with our earthly father can affect how we hear our Heavenly Father, and what we can do about it.

Episode Notes:

Introduction:

  • We acknowledge the wide range of emotions around our father and Father’s Day.
  • You can’t out-sin God’s love.
  • Your past doesn’t define you. Your mistakes don’t define you. If you have made some bad choices, your mistakes don’t define you. Some of God’s best players are His imperfect, broken prodigals. God specialises in short-tempered, reckless, flawed people. God constantly uses broken, messy people to bring glory to Himself and to reach others.
  • Nun working in a men’s prison. Bought Mother’s Day cards for prisoners to write a letter to their mums. Had to get heaps more in. Father’s Day was coming up, so she contacted Hallmark to arrange a bulk delivery of Father’s Day cards – none taken. Not one single card. A lot of father issues.
  • A father’s role is to love, protect and keep safe, provide for, and give identity to their children.
  • Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world.
  • A lot of heartache.
  • Honour our fathers and mothers. Fifth commandment Exodus 20:12 – “Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lordyour God is giving you.”

First Principle: See your dad through God’s eyes

  • My dad – unmet expectations.
  • Had to accept that he was incapable of meeting my expectations and functioning as a healthy dad.
  • His early years were horrific.
  • Ask God to show you His view of your father, His love for your father, His compassion towards you for what you may have missed out on by having your father as your father. You may need to deal with your baggage and hurt first so you can hear God clearly. Eg SOZO / prayer ministry
  • Minimise judgement.
  • Recognise we are not perfect either. See our dad through God’s eyes.
  • Sometimes through unmet expectations of our father, we project our father’s lack onto God.

Second Principle: Don’t carry baggage – deal with it.

  • Hurt people hurt people.
  • Love and forgive.
  • It can help to write a letter to your dad – even if you never give it to him.

Third Principle: Our Heavenly Father is the perfect Father.

  • Romans 8:15-16 Message version: “God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.”
  • 2 Corinthians 6:18 “I will be a Father to you,and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
  • Ephesians 1:4-5 “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago, he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ.”
  • 1 John 3:1 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
  • The Old Testament doesn’t talk much about God being a father.
  • Exodus 4:22 Lord talking to Moses, “Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lordsays: Israel is my firstborn son.”
  • Psalm 103:13 “As a father has compassion on his children,so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”
  • Isaiah 64:8 “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
  • Psalm 68:5 “A father to the fatherless, a defender/protector of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Verse 6 – God sets the lonely in families,
  • Luke 15: 20-24 – parable of the lost son and the father’s response when he returns home.
  • Song, “Good, Good Father”
  • The beauty of God being a Good, Good Father is that if there are areas we feel as though we’ve missed out on from our own father, God can fill the gap.

Summary:

  1. See your dad through God’s eyes.
  2. Don’t carry baggage – deal with it.
  3. Our Heavenly Father is the perfect Father.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, what have I missed out on from my earthly father?”
  • “God, what do I need from You as my Heavenly Father?”

Fathers provide presence, protection, provision, love, and identity.

Time Stamps:

[0:40] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[6:39] – Introduction.

[8:27] – First Principle: See your dad through God’s eyes.

[11:49] – Second Principle: Don’t carry baggage. Deal with it.

[14:42] – Third Principle: Our Heavenly Father is the perfect father.

[16:52] – Summary

[17:15] – Prophetic activation.

[18:31] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[20:43] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Exodus 20:12
  • Romans 8:15-16
  • 2 Corinthians 6:18
  • Ephesians 1:4-5
  • 1 John 3:1
  • Exodus 4:22
  • Psalm 103:13
  • Isaiah 64:8
  • Psalm 68:5
  • Luke 15:20-24

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 124: Do I limit hearing God?

Episode 124: Do I limit hearing God?

Aug 30, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Have you ever thought you needed to do something significant with your life to make it count? Are you so busy you don’t intentionally take time to stop and hear God? Is your faith big enough to handle anything God might share with you? Join Gary & I as we unpack how we limit hearing God, share personal examples, and bring wisdom in these areas.

Episode Notes:

Background:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been musing on the fact that when I was younger, I believed a lie – that I have to do something hugely important and big with my life that will live on after I die, i.e., for my name to continue down through the generations. I now realised that that was incorrect. For sure, a limited number of people do do something with their life that has huge implications, good and bad, for the world, but most of us are trying to make the best of our daily life.

How does that equate to hearing God?

First Principle: Am I believing the lie that I have to do something big for God to make my life count?

  • Sounds a bit harsh – is my mindset full of doubt or unbelief?
  • Always looking for more or devaluing what I am doing.
  • Confess that lie.
  • Gary & Jane share how they think they limit hearing God
  • It is not wrong to ask, “God, what am I meant to be doing with my life?” and regularly assess that.
  • Episode 123 “Which voice is louder?”

Second Principle: Am I living life too small?

  • Am I stepping out of my comfort zone and being courageous?
  • Is my faith big enough?
  • Do I have unbelief or doubt that God will speak to me?
  • Start from a faith-filled position.
  • Do I understand how God is trying to communicate with me?
  • Episode 4 – How does God talk to us?
  • Episode 8 – How can I grow in my ability to hear God?
  • Episode 13 – Recognising how God speaks to us.
  • Episode 75 & 76 – How can I grow in hearing God?
  • Colossians 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
  • Gary & Jane share how they have intentionally grown their faith.

Third Principle: Do I intentionally set aside time to hear God?

  • Like dating – initially you can’t get enough of spending time with this amazing person. Hang on their every word. Fast-forward: married for 7 years, take each other for granted. Prioritise spending time with other people over time spent with them.
  • Am I filling my time so I don’t have to be still and confront my demons?
  • Episode 20 – Making time to hear God.

Summary:

  1. Am I believing the lie that I have to do something big for God to make my life count?
  2. Am I living life too small?
  3. Do I intentionally set aside time to hear God?

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, where do I need to take a step forward? In which part of my life would You like me to step outside of my comfort zone?”
  • It might even help to draw a mind map of your life and ask God, “What are Your thoughts on my work here, on how I spend my time here, what are Your thoughts on… this?”
  • Take some time with God and ask Him questions about the different areas of your life and where He would like you to step forward intentionally.

Time Stamps:

[0:39] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[4:28] – Introduction.

[5:33] – First Principle: Am I believing the lie that I have to do something big for God to make my life count?

[9:17] – Gary & Jane share how they think they limit God.

[10:31] – Second Principle: Am I living life too small?

[14:12] – Gary & Jane share how they have intentionally grown their faith.

[16:27] – Third Principle: Do I intentionally set aside time to hear God?

[17:47] – Summary

[18:14] – Prophetic activation.

[19:42] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[22:43] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Colossians 3:1-2

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 123: Which voice is louder – God’s or culture’s?

Episode 123: Which voice is louder – God’s or culture’s?

Aug 23, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Do you find it hard to hear God’s still, small voice? Does a lot of ‘noise’ fill your day and compete for your attention? Join us as we unpack this topic, share personal examples, and offer wisdom to help you create space and quiet to hear God’s voice.

Episode Notes:

Introduction:

  • Our culture today is very demanding.
  • Social media and noise can fill our day and compete for our attention.
  • FOMO – Fear of missing out.
  • Instant gratification.
  • Absorb culture and don’t seem to question it because everyone else is doing it.

First Principle: Regularly stop and assess

  • Take stock. What is the loudest, most influential voice in my life right now?
  • Look at what is filling your days, your mind, your thought life, the ‘down’ times of your day.
  • What is keeping you awake at night? What do you think of first thing in the morning?
  • Look at your social media access. Try fasting from social media or whatever is grabbing your attention and see how it goes.
  • Don’t just coast along, but make a habit of asking questions.
  • Learn to question your choices, decisions, lifestyle, e.g., education system, way you spend finances, holidays, buying a house, what fills your time, e.g., work/study, etc.
  • Romans 12:1-2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” The Message version is “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.”
  • Conform – take on the shape. Don’t live in a fortress out of fear, though.
  • Surround yourself with ‘truth-tellers’ – people who will be honest with you. Not just ‘yes’ people.
  • Proverbs 13:20 “Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.”
  • I am prompted to get back into the habit of reading a chapter of Proverbs each day, e.g., on the 7th day read chapter 7, etc.

Second Principle: Pause. Be still.

  • Quiet the ‘external’ voice.
  • Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” It’s in a chapter about chaos. Verses 1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
  • Selah – stop and catch your breath. Pause. Usually used in the middle of chaos. A reminder to stop, pause, take a breath, settle your mind, heart, and thoughts. E.g. Psalm 3 when David is fleeing from his enemies. Not a time to take a break and rest. But it is built into the narrative – don’t turn your mind off God during those times.

Third Principle: One way God speaks is in a still, small voice.

  • 1 Kings 19: 7-12. Elijah had shown up the prophets of Baal and annihilated them, but then got scared and ran for his life. An angel of the Lord gave him food, water and rest because he was hungry and tired, and that was affecting him physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Then he travelled another 40 days and nights, went into a cave where he heard in verse 9: “And the word of the Lordcame to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
  • Nature can calm us.
  • John 10:27 “My sheep listen to (or recognise) my voice. I know them and they follow me.”
  • John 17:15-17 “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

Summary:

  1. Regularly stop and assess.
  2. Pause. Be still.
  3. One way God speaks is in a still, small voice.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, is there something I could take a break from or fast this week to spend more quiet time with You?”
  • “God, can You please show me how or when I can take a break this week?”

Time Stamps:

[0:37] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[5:41] – Introduction.

[7:09] – First Principle: Regularly stop and assess.

[16:28] – Second Principle: Pause. Be still.

[19:39] – Third Principle: One way God speaks is in a still, small voice.

[22:47] – Summary

[23:11] – Prophetic activation.

[24:23] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[26:51] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Romans 12:1-2
  • Proverbs 13:20
  • Psalm 46:10
  • Psalm 3
  • 1 Kings 19:7-12
  • John 10:27
  • John 17:15-17

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 122: God never answered my prayer

Episode 122: God never answered my prayer

Aug 16, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

You may be wondering how the topic, ‘God never answered my prayer,’ relates to hearing God. Heaps. When we become disappointed with God because He never answered our prayer, it impacts our willingness, openness, and ability to hear God. Join us as we unpack this topic, share personal examples, and bring wisdom in this area.

Episode Notes:

Our experience:

  • Jane’s experience of Ruth dying, her mum dying, and infertility.
  • Gary’s experience with disappointment, especially around career changes.
  • Disappointment with God – unmet expectations, when something we have hoped for, prayed for, expected didn’t occur. Sometimes we can put up walls of protection to prevent further hurt. This can become a blockage to hearing God.
  • Be honest. Don’t become offended with God. Don’t let bitterness begin.
  • Practice gratitude.
  • Anchor myself in the promises of God. God’s truth, not my experience.
  • Episode 21: Hearing God when God is silent.
  • Episode 17: When I thought I heard God, but it didn’t come true.

First Principle: Deal with your disappointment.

  • Forgive. Then change your thinking.
  • Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” The Message version: “Unrelenting disappointment leaves your heart sick.”
  • Don’t critique God. Lean into Him. Now is not the time to pull away from God. Don’t allow the enemy to fester disappointment, offence, and bitterness.
  • Psalm 34:18 “The Lordis close/near to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” The Message version: “If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.”
  • Psalm 27:13-14 “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lordin the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
  • Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
  • Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”
  • Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The Message version – “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognise what he wants from you and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
  • Psalm 34:1 “I will praise the Lord at all times.”
  • Just because we’ve experienced disappointment does not mean that God’s character has changed.

Second Principle: Accept the mystery.

  • Life’s not fair. Accept it.
  • God’s character hasn’t changed because we’ve experienced loss. In his sermon several days after his wife died of cancer, Bill Johnson said, “God doesn’t owe us an explanation.”
  • We can be so busy asking God why that we don’t listen to what He is saying.
  • It’s not helpful to ask God ‘why’. Accept the mystery. Job in the Bible – God never gives him an answer to why. Instead, “I’m God, and you’re not”. Sometimes that has to be enough.
  • God’s not a fairy godmother who will fix everything.
  • We are not called to live an easy life. Luke 9:23 – we are called to deny ourselves and follow Christ.
  • Saw a quote – “Be so rooted in God’s love that even disappointment feels like divine protection.” @jenessawait (IG)

Third Principle: Move forward.

  • Can I say, “I still keep showing up”? “I still want to hear God”. This becomes my new normal.
  • Our purpose in life is not to reach a destination but in the journey.
  • Don’t be like the Israelites in the wilderness, whinging about everything despite seeing God turn up and do miracle after miracle. Be thankful, obedient and faithful.
  • Practice gratitude.
  • Isaiah 60:18 “No longer will violence be heard in your land nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates, praise.” We give God praise.
  • Psalm 100:4 – Enter God’s courts with thanksgiving and praise.

Summary:

  1. Deal with your disappointment.
  2. Accept the mystery.
  3. Move forward.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, can You please show me any areas in my life or my thoughts that are not in agreement with You, Lord?”
  • “God, are there any walls of protection I’ve built in my life, or any bitter roots I’ve allowed to develop from past hurts?”
  • “God, is there anyone I need to forgive?” (Maybe even yourself. If a person immediately comes to mind, take that as a sign that forgiveness is still required.)

Time Stamps:

[0:45] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[5:38] – Gary & Jane’s experience.

[10:22] – First Principle: Deal with your disappointment.

[13:40] – Second Principle: Accept the mystery.

[16:44] – Third Principle: Move forward.

[18:50] – Summary

[19:10] – Prophetic activation.

[20:45] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[22:43] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Ruth
  • Proverbs 13:12
  • Psalm 34:18
  • Psalm 27:13-14
  • Romans 8:28
  • Hebrews 10:23
  • Romans 12:2
  • Psalm 34:1
  • Luke 9:23
  • Job
  • Isaiah 60:18
  • Psalm 100:4
  • Joshua1:6-9

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 121: What if God asks me to do something bizarre?

Episode 121: What if God asks me to do something bizarre?

Aug 9, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

How would you respond if God asked you to do something bizarre? Do you have a ‘grid’ for how you would make your decision? Join us as we give both Biblical and personal examples and share guidelines and a caution to keep in mind if, and when, you hear God ask you to do something bizarre.

Episode Notes:

Previous episodes:

  • Episode 57 -Ezekiel

God asked Ezekiel to do prophetic acts – physical acts that have implications and change things in the spiritual world. A prophetic act is something done (at God’s direction) in the natural (physical) realm that supports God’s work in the spiritual realm and brings forth results manifested in the natural realm. It opens a channel for God’s presence, power, and victory to affect the physical realm and change outcomes. Examples of Ezekiel doing this include eating the scroll, taking a block of clay and building siege works, lying on his left side for 390 days to bear the sin for the number of days that represent the years of Israel’s sin and then lying on his right side for 40 days – the number of years of Judah’s sin. He took wheat to bake barley bread over human excrement for fuel – symbolising Israelites eating defiled food among the nations. Ezekiel said he would not defile himself that way, so God allowed him to bake it over cow dung instead. Shaving head, burning 1/3 of the hair, scatter 1/3, cut 1/3 with the sword, representing 1/3 die by plague/famine, 1/3 scattered to the wind and 1/3 fall to the sword.

  • Episode 34 – Hosea to marry a prostitute
  • Episode 39 – Esther – go before the King uninvited – beheaded if not accepted
  • Episode 40 – Noah in Genesis 6-9 when God asks him to build this 3-storey boat. He built this huge boat when there was no rain. Even more bizarre when you realise they were tent dwellers and had no grid for rain and floods.
  • Episode 51 – Mary in Luke 1:26-56 – angel said you will conceive supernaturally
  • Episode 53 – Jonah – to go to the most depraved city and tell them God is bringing judgment. 7th Century BC, Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. No love between Israel and the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians would conquer cities and rape and take captive the women and kill the men and children. The Assyrians would tear off the lips and hands of their victims and skin them alive. Nahum 3:1-4 tells us what Nineveh was like – a city of blood, full of lies and plunder, war, fighting, corpses in the middle of the street, prostitution, and witchcraft. Jonah thought they would kill him. Likened to a Jew during World War 2, hearing God say to go to Hitler and tell Nazi Germany to repent.

First Principle: Check if it is from God

  • Ask wise, trusted people. Does it align with Biblical principles?
  • Mark 3:21 – Jesus’ family saying, ‘He’s out of his mind’. Jesus had broken the law by healing on the Sabbath, attracted great crowds, picked his disciples, and then his family came along to ‘save’ him.
  • Our view of how and what God expects of us is not always right.
  • Examples of Gary & Jane hearing bizarre things from God and how they obeyed.

Second Principle: Will it bring good or harm?

  • Will it harm someone or harm God’s witness?
  • Acts 8:26-40 – An angel told Phillip to leave the crowded area where he was having great success sharing the Gospel and instead go to a deserted road running through the desert. A chariot with a Eunuch from Ethiopia (in charge of the Treasury of the Ethiopian Queen) came along, reading the book of Isaiah. Phillip explained the Gospel, the Ethiopian Eunuch believed and was baptised in a bit of water on the side of the road, and Philip was taken away in the spirit. The Eunuch went on his way and started a huge expansion of the Coptic church in Africa.
  • A word of caution: Our thinking and other people’s reactions can limit what we perceive God may be saying, and that can impact on us never reaching our full potential in God.

Third Principle: You have a choice

  • We’re in charge of our obedience to God.
  • Our expectations or our limitations don’t limit God.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:10-15 – when we appear before the judgment seat of Christ, we will each be called to give an account for how we lived our lives.
  • Genesis 6:22 “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” Wouldn’t it be great to be able to say that at the end of your life.
  • If God asks impossible things of us, He plans to do the impossible for us.
  • You still have a choice whether you obey God, but you don’t really have a choice because you are a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Summary:

  1. Check if it is from God.
  2. Will it bring good or harm?
  3. You have a choice.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him to show you a way you can share His love this week through food.

  • Ask God what to make / what food.
  • Who to give it to.
  • How to present the food.

Time Stamps:

[0:38] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[4:03] – Introduction.

[7:15] – First Principle: Check if it is from God.

[12:24] – Second Principle: Will it bring good or harm?

[18:08] – A word of caution.

[18:23] – Third Principle: You have a choice.

[19:51] – Summary

[20:11] – Prophetic activation.

[21:19] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[23:17] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Ezekiel
  • Hosea
  • Esther
  • Genesis 6-9
  • Luke 1:26-256
  • Jonah
  • Nahum 3:1-4
  • Mark 3:21
  • Acts 8:26-40
  • 2 Corinthians 5:10-15
  • Genesis 6:22

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 120: Is it me or is it God?

Episode 120: Is it me or is it God?

Aug 2, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Have you ever wondered if it was your own thoughts instead of God’s voice? This is very common, as God speaks to our spirit and our soul, so God’s voice can sound like our voice. Join us as we unpack this topic, give practical examples, and share guidelines to keep in mind as you explore whether it is God’s voice or your own thoughts.

Episode Notes:

First Principle: It requires a step of faith.

  • Have to trust that God wants to speak to you, is speaking to you, and you are worthy of hearing God.
  • First thought principle.
  • Intimacy with God – what God sounds like. Get stuck into reading the Bible, praying, and listening to God.
  • His sheep hear His voice: John 10:27“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
  • John 10:2-4 “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
  • John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

Second Principle: First thought principle.

  • 2 Corinthians 1:5 – We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
  • Romans 12:2 -renewing of our mind. – Our thoughts will begin to sound Christ-like.
  • God speaks to our spirit but also to our soul and our mind. So, God can sound like our own voice.

Third Principle: Guidelines or parameters.

  • Like guard rails on the road.
  • Does it align with Biblical principles?
  • Would following it bear good fruit?
  • Do I bear inner witness ie peace?

Fourth Principle: Does it really matter?

  • If the fruit is good, does it really matter?
  • Caution – don’t say ‘God told me’, especially when prophesying.

Summary:

  1. It requires a faith step.
  2. First thought principle.
  3. Guidelines or parameters.
  4. Does it really matter?

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him to show you whom you could buy a present for, what to buy, and how to give it to them.

Time Stamps:

[0:50] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[4:20] – Introduction.

[7:15] – First Principle: It requires a faith step.

[11:11] – Second Principle: First thought principle.

[13:58] – Third Principle: Guidelines or parameters.

[14:43] – Fourth Principle: Does it really matter?

[15:30] – Summary

[15:54] – Prophetic activation.

[17:06] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[18:49] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • John 10:27
  • John 10:2-4
  • John 10:14
  • 2 Corinthians 1:5
  • Romans 12:2

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 119: Hearing God for myself

Episode 119: Hearing God for myself

Jul 26, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Do you struggle with hearing God for yourself? Do you second-guess what God may be saying to you? Do you find it easier to hear from God for others? Join us as we unpack this topic and share practical examples of how God can often sound like our own thoughts.

Episode Notes:

First Principle: The truth is, we can hear Good for ourselves.

  • It is a lie that we can’t hear God for ourselves, or that it’s harder to hear God for ourselves.
  • God created us for relationships.
  • God desires intimacy with us.
  • Psalm 139:13-18 – God created us and knows our innermost thoughts and desires.
  • Jeremiah 33:3 – God wants us to call to Him, and He will always answer us.
  • Often, we are not listening or are unaware of how God is speaking to us.
  • If you want God to speak to you, He will always answer you.
  • Romans 12:2

Second Principle: Explore the different ways God speaks to you.

  • Get to know God’s voice.
  • John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”
  • John 10:27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
  • Episode 3 – What God’s voice sounds like.
  • Episode 4 – How does God talk to us?
  • Episode 11 – What to do when I can’t hear God for myself? (ask a different question, thank God, check obedience (have you obeyed the last thing God asked you to do?), etc.
  • You may think God’s not answering because it might be different to what we think – a preconceived idea or expectation.

Third Principle: Have a mentor or someone you’re accountable to.

  • It can help to chat things through with someone.

Summary:

  1. The truth is we can hear God for ourselves.
  2. Explore the different ways God speaks to you.
  3. Have a mentor or someone you’re accountable to.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him to bring to mind a Bible character. Grab hold of the first person who comes to mind. If you don’t know your Bible that well, Google the first name that comes to mind and see if they’re in the Bible. Then read about them in the Bible and learn about them. Explore how you can experience God by how they experienced God. Then ask God:

  • How can that apply to my life?
  • Is there something I can learn from them about experiencing God?

Time Stamps:

[0:37] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[5:57] – Introduction.

[10:28] – First Principle: The truth is, we can hear God for ourselves.

[13:30] – Second Principle: Explore the different ways God speaks to you.

[15:21] – Third Principle: Have a mentor or someone you are accountable to.

[16:09] – Summary

[16:31] – Prophetic activation.

[18:06] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[20:27] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Psalm 139:13-18
  • Jeremiah 33:3
  • Romans 12:2
  • John 10:14
  • John 10:27

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 118: Hearing God as a group

Episode 118: Hearing God as a group

Jul 19, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Hearing God as a group can get messy, but depending on your focus, that can be great. Join us as we unpack guidelines and expectations for hearing God as a group and explain how to pray in a flow, so the group stays on the same track during the prayer time.

Episode Notes:

First Principle: Have clear guidelines and expectations for the group.

  • The group’s culture is important. Have clarity about the culture of the group you’re creating and will continue to create.
  • Is it an open or closed group? If it is an open group, it can be great to have an empty seat and pray for the next person to fill that seat.
  • You may need a limited membership depending on the group’s focus, and try to stay on track as you pray.
  • Legalism can stifle the flow of the Spirit. When you have rules that you have to ‘be’ or ‘do’ to be in the group, then that can stifle the flow of the Holy Spirit.
  • Respect others.
  • Safety is important. Have safeguards in place. Look at the group’s membership. Is it open to everyone? Are there requirements to join? Has there been conflict or members expelled or judged unfairly? This will affect hearing God as a group. So look at any blocks within the group re hearing God and praying. Don’t surround yourself with ‘yes’ people – that can be dangerous.
  • Trust is important. If you are seeking God for an answer to a particular question, and you are beginning as a group or trust isn’t evident, then write anonymously the answer you get. Otherwise, it can be consensus instead of discernment.
  • Basically, build trust and safety. Confidentiality – what is said in the group remains in the group, etc. You’re also not there to ‘fix’ people or share your similar experience. You don’t want advice givers.
  • A great group is where everyone feels valued and can contribute.
  • Variety is great in prayer styles – beginners, seasoned pray-ers, authoritative prayers, list prayers, decreeing and declaring. Know your authority in Christ and pray accordingly.

Second Principle: Go with the flow.

  • Nothing worse than praying on one topic and someone then changes it, like being on a train heading North and suddenly going West.
  • Be okay with silence.
  • Look for confirmation. Pay attention to themes and overlaps.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:40 “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” Or as The Message version puts it: “Be courteous and considerate.”
  • Romans 8:16 – the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit.
  • Minimise doubt by acting quickly.

Third Principle: Community is important.

  • Hearing God as a community safeguards against individual bias or extremes.
  • We always emphasise that part of our discernment process in hearing God is to run it past wise, trusted, discerning people.
  • Provides accountability and confirmation so as not to go off on a tangent with personal bias, etc. Part of the testing and weighing process.
  • 1 John 4:1 & 1 Corinthians 14:29 both encourage testing of what you hear.
  • The responsibility to test it lies with the person/people who are responsible for the outcome, e.g., Acts 10 & 11 are a great example of taking the Gospel to non-Jews/Gentiles. Both Cornelius and Peter had separate visions. Then Peter went to the Jewish Council to confirm the way forward. This was a major change, as it opened up the whole world to the Gospel.
  • Deuteronomy 18:15-22 talks about how in the OT, if what a prophet said came to fruition, you knew it was from God. But that could take years. The Spirit of God only came on the prophets back then under the old covenant. Since Jesus was on earth, died, and was resurrected, the Holy Spirit came (Acts 1), and we can all hear God speak.
  • We are called to be in community. No man is an island.
  • Don’t chase prophetic words. A prophetic word only confirms what God has already been showing you.

Summary:

  1. Have clear guidelines and expectations for the group.
  2. Go with the flow.
  3. Community is important.

Prophetic activation:

Because we’re talking about hearing God as a group today, ask a friend to join you. Grab envelopes, paper and pens. Each write a name on the front of an envelope, then hand it to your friend without them seeing the name. They will ask God what to write for that person, while you ask God what to write for the person your friend wrote on the other envelope. After you have finished writing a letter to them from God, place the letter in the envelope and give it to the person named on the front.

Time Stamps:

[0:47] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[3:34] – Introduction to topic.

[4:34] – First principle: Have clear guidelines and expectations for the group.

[9:39] – Second principle: Go with the flow.

[112:03] – Third principle: Community is important.

[16:38] – Summary.

[17:02] – Prophetic activation.

[18:19] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[20:30] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Joshua 1:6-9
  • 1 Corinthians 14:40
  • Romans 8:16
  • 1 John 4:1
  • 1 Corinthians 14:29
  • Acts 10 & 11
  • Deuteronomy 18:15-22
  • Acts 1

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 117: Hearing God when I am desperate and stressed

Episode 117: Hearing God when I am desperate and stressed

Jul 12, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

When life seems to be falling apart, an important decision needs to be made, or you are really stressed, do you struggle to know God’s thoughts and what He would have you do? This is often a time when we doubt we can hear God, even though we are desperately seeking Him. Join us as we flesh out these thoughts and offer practical strategies to help you hear God’s voice the next time you feel desperate and stressed.

Episode Notes:

First Principle: Ask for help

  • Ask for help/prayer from others.
  • Ask God to break through any clutter and noise.
  • Romans 8:34 Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for us. I love the following verses 37-39, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
  • Run to God – Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God.”
  • Matt 11:28 – 30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
  • Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
  • Psalm 63:8 David stated, when facing being killed – “I cling to you. Your right hand upholds me”.
  • Luke 6:12 – Jesus prayed all night before making the major decision of choosing his 12 disciples.

Second Principle: Look at why you are desperate and stressed

  • Is it an internal or an external lack of peace?
  • Is it related to a major decision or a sin?
  • Will it matter in a few months/year?
  • Address physical issues, e.g., tired / sleep deprived, workload,
  • 1 Kings 19 – Elijah had just had a massive victory of showing up the prophets of Baal, and then next minute he’s scared and running for his life. He was tired and hungry. He prayed to God to kill him. God sent an angel to give him something to eat and to rest.
  • Is there an ‘end in sight’, e.g., end of study, etc?
  • Write down all the stuff stressing you – go from the abstract to the concrete. Seeing it in black and white can help. Chase inner peace.
  • Then ask God, “What are your thoughts, God, about this?”
  • May need to ask God a different question.
  • What are the things I can’t change?

Third Principle: Cultivate your relationship with God before stuff happens.

  • When kids were small, we would brainstorm what to do in adverse circumstances, e.g., at a party – code word.
  • Practice hearing God’s voice.
  • Practice turning first to God in all things.
  • Brainstorm scenarios and strategies/responses.

Summary:

  1. Ask for help.
  2. Look at why you are desperate or stressed.
  3. Cultivate your relationship with God before stuff happens.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, can You please bring to mind any decisions I need to make in the next few days?” (You may want to write them down.)
  • “God, can You please give me Heaven’s perspective, or the view from Heaven, on these decisions?”

Time Stamps:

[1:13] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[5:11] – Introduction to topic.

[6:28] – First principle: Ask for help.

[10:21] – Second principle: Look at why you are desperate and stressed.

[20:01] – Third principle: Cultivate your relationship with God before stuff happens.

[21:39] – Summary.

[22:21] – Prophetic activation.

[23:34] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[25:16] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Romans 8:34,37-39
  • Psalm 46:10
  • Matthew 11:28-30
  • Philippians 4:6-7
  • Psalm 63:8
  • Luke 6:12
  • 1 Kings 19

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 116: What if God asks me to do something I don’t want to do?

Episode 116: What if God asks me to do something I don’t want to do?

Jul 5, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Have you ever thought that God might ask you to do something you didn’t want to do? Have you been hesitant to listen to God in case this occurs? Join us as we discuss this topic and share examples, unpacking what might be behind this line of thinking.

Episode Notes:

First Principle: Need to look at our view of God

  • Can I trust God to have my best interests at heart?
  • Is your God a good Father?
  • Can I put my faith in Him?
  • It could be likened to having a filter/blockage between God and me. Sometimes we don’t get the full picture.
  • Sometimes we don’t realise what we need, but God does.

Second Principle: Why wouldn’t I want to do what God is asking me to do?

  • Is it too hard? Scary? Do I dislike it?
  • Need to look at my motivation. We are Christians. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour. Therefore, we obey Him and what He wants.
  • Theological question – Is my life my own? 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, especially 19-20 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything—but I will not be mastered by anything…. (verse 19) You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”
  • What does God have for you on the other side of your fear?

Third Principle: Check out what you’ve heard.

  • Ask wise, trusted people.
  • Is your interpretation true?
  • What does the Bible say?
  • Intimacy with God is important.

Summary:

  1. We need to look at our view of God.
  2. Why wouldn’t I want to do what God asks me to do?
  3. Check out what you’ve heard.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, can You please show or tell me a colour?”
  • “God, what is that colour representing?”

Time Stamps:

[0:40] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[3:42] – First principle: Need to look at our view of God.

[7:12] – Second principle: Why wouldn’t I want to do what God is asking me to do?

[10:05] – Third principle: Check out what you’ve heard.

[12:07] – Summary.

[12:32] – Prophetic activation.

[14:03] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[17:01] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
  • Daniel 5:5

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 115: What do I do with what I heard God say?

Episode 115: What do I do with what I heard God say?

Jun 28, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Have you heard from God and are not sure what you are meant to do next? God is often more interested in who we are and the process than in the result. Join us as we discuss this topic, emphasising to check that what we thought was from God was indeed from God, and that timing is important, as God can often be in the delay.

Episode Notes:

First Principle: Make sure it was God’s voice

  • Episode 3 – the 4 different voices we can hear. Check the source.
  • Does it reflect the heart and character of God?
  • Does it bring peace or chaos?
  • Test it. Does it line up with the Bible, wise trusted people, etc.?
  • Look for confirmation. Ask God for confirmation.
  • 1 John 4:1 says to test that it is the Spirit of God.
  • Pray it through.

Second Principle: Depends on what it is

  • What is the fruit (outcome) of doing what you think you heard?
  • Galatians 5:19-23 fruit of the spirit vs acts of the flesh.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 ‘Don’t despise prophecies. Test everything. Hold on to what is God.’
  • Contend. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 Paul says to Timothy – ‘Fight the good fight. Hold on to the prophecies about you.’
  • God’s more interested in who we are becoming and the process than the result.

Third Principle: Timing is important

  • Is it to pray or say?
  • Obey – usually when people say they are having trouble hearing God, I ask them when the last time was they heard God and did they obey what God asked them to do.
  • Growth and maturity. Faith step.
  • Be discerning who you share it with. Will they encourage or be wise with it?
  • Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time.” “For the revelation awaits an appointed time.”
  • The working out of the word can be in the delay. Not always an immediate outcome. It can sometimes take years to come to fruition. i.e., prepare you to be the person and character necessary.
  • Is it conditional on something?
  • Abraham in Genesis 15 was given the promise of a son and as many descendants as the stars in the sky. What he heard didn’t come true until 25 years later, with the birth of Isaac in Genesis 21, despite their messing it up by trying to make it come true by sleeping with Hagar.
  • In Genesis 37, Joseph was 17 years old when he had 2 dreams, one with his brothers’ sheaves bowing down to his sheaf, the other with the sun, the moon and 11 stars bowing down to him. It was at least 10+ years, maybe heaps more, before that came true, and he had been thrown in a pit, sold, falsely accused and put in prison.

Summary:

  1. Make sure it was God’s voice.
  2. Depends on what it is.
  3. Timing is important.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and maybe even hold your hands out to God. Imagine a major concern you have right now sitting in the palms of your hands. If nothing comes to mind, think of something you’d love to see in your life in 10 years’ time. Ask God to show you His heart for that burden/concern/desire, and one thing He would have you do to help bring it to fruition or see it resolved.

Time Stamps:

[0:36] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[3:54] – First principle: Make sure it was God’s voice.

[5:37] – Second principle: Depends on what it is.

[10:51] – Third principle: Timing is important.

[15:27] – Summary.

[15:49] – Prophetic activation.

[17:34] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[20:02] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • 1 John 4:1
  • Galatians 5: 19-23
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21
  • 1 Timothy 1:18-19
  • Genesis 37
  • Habakkuk 2:3
  • Genesis 15
  • Genesis 21

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.
Episode 114: Hearing God about a career change – part 2

Episode 114: Hearing God about a career change – part 2

Jun 21, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Has your identity been based in your career? Is fear holding you back from making a change, or is the opportunity to change your career a distraction? Join us for part 2 of hearing God about a career change as we unpack these topics and share principles and tips for hearing God when discerning career changes.

Episode Notes:

Links to previous episodes:

  • Episode 71 – Will God tell me what to do with my life? (Looked at Daniel 5:5 where the fingers of a human hand appeared during a banquet of 1,000 nobles and wrote on the wall that basically he would die and he died that very night. God’s will for your life is not singular or solitary. Also, your identity is not in what you do but who you are.)
  • Episode 85 – Young adults and hearing God – a time of major decision-making.
  • Episode 98 – Hearing God about my vocation.
  • Episode 113: Hearing God about a career change part 1.

First Principle: Look at your discernment process.

  • Inner peace.
  • Align with the Bible
  • Wise, trusted people
  • Does this reflect the heart and character of Jesus?
  • Motivation – why change your career?
  • Are you content in all areas of your life?
  • Have you fasted and prayed? Luke 6:12 – Jesus selecting disciples
  • Be careful about rushing. God is outside of time. It’s a balance between not getting sucked into the thinking that you will never have an opportunity like this again and never making a decision, and being prepared to jump at the right opportunity quickly. I usually find that things like that don’t occur in isolation. There has already been a stirring in your heart. Great idea to journal so you can look at the last few months and see how God has been preparing you.
  • Gary shares how it can be like a dance with God, and we have a part to play.
  • Have others support you in prayer.
  • Discussed the will of God and whether God would make it occur no matter what.

Second Principle: Faith versus fear.

  • What do you fear? Is fear holding you back?
  • Is this opportunity a distraction?
  • Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire “I believe God made me for a purpose – for China. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure….To win is to honor Him.” (i.e. it doesn’t have to be either or, it can be both)
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – scene with the stepping stones appearing over the chasm.
  • Check your motivation – seek God first. Matt 6:33, Luke 12:31
  • Our career is not our identity. Step back and ask God – “What is happening?”, “What is my identity?”, “Has my identity been based in that role?”
  • Faith step
  • Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord and He will direct your path.
  • James 1:5-8 – ask for wisdom. Believe and do not be double-minded.
  • Be kind to yourself.
  • Discussed when we don’t have a choice re transitioning in our career.

Third Principle: Ask God direct questions.

  • Test.
  • Gideon in Judges 6:36-40 needed extra time and confirmation, so he asked God for a fleece (wool fleece to be wet with dew and ground around it dry), then another fleece (the opposite – wool dry and ground around it wet)
  • Basically, want to align with the Word of God and God’s plans.
  • Micah 6:8b “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
  • John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
  • Gary shared about a time when he asked God for a fleece.

Summary:

  1. Look at your discernment process.
  2. Faith versus fear.
  3. Ask God direct questions.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, if the segments/decisions/activities of my life were suitcases or bags, which bag would I want You to carry for me at the moment?”
  • “God, what do I need to know about that ‘bag’ now?”
  • “God, is there anything I need to do about any of the bags at the moment?”

Time Stamps:

[0:39] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[3:09] – Introduction to the topic and links to previous episodes.

[3:54] – First principle: Look at your discernment process.

[7:21] – Talking about the will of God.

[9:46] – Second principle: Faith versus fear.

[12:32] – Discussing if we have a choice in the transition and the implications.

[15:45] – Third principle: Ask God direct questions, or a different question.

[16:45] – A time when Gary asked God for a fleece.

[19:25] – Summary.

[19:48] – Prophetic activation.

[21:02] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[23:14] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Luke 6:12
  • Matthew 6:33
  • Luke 12:31
  • Proverbs 3:5-6
  • James 1:5-8
  • Judges 6:36-40
  • Micah 6:8b
  • John 13:35
  • Hebrews 12:1-3

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.

Episode 113: Hearing God about a career change part 1

Episode 113: Hearing God about a career change part 1

Jun 14, 2026 | 0 comments

Episode Description:

Are you looking at a career change? Life is generally not a straight road, nor is it generally a 100-metre dash. It is often a marathon of intersections, curves, detours, wait zones and the occasional ‘wrong’ exit. Join us for part 1 of hearing God about a career change as we share about different times of transition in our lives, as we discerned God’s call and what we should do next, including valuable tips for hearing God about your career transitions.

Episode Notes:

  • Life is generally not a straight road, nor is it generally a 100-metre dash. It is often a marathon of curves, detours, intersections, wait zones and the occasional ‘wrong’ exit.
  • Often, it can depend on whether we have a choice in the process, or it is forced upon us.
  • It may also be dependent on timing, e.g. Joseph in Genesis 37-40.
  • Gary shared about his career changes. He emphasised having a real sense from God regarding the timing of any changes, and it should not just be a knee-jerk reaction to a challenging situation that God may be using to develop your character.
  • Jane shared about her career changes and the decision-making process with that.
  • Daniel 5:5, where the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall – wouldn’t that make it so much easier!!
  • What we may think is a great career change, God may be in the fact that we don’t get the job.
  • There are ‘guard rails’ to operate within, and God gives us a lot of freedom within those ‘guard rails’.
  • Tips for hearing God include prayer and fasting, searching the Bible for principles, and finding one or two wise, trusted people who ask great questions to try to unpack what’s happening for you and your motivations.
  • Examples of Jane praying specifically for five to seven points for her children’s jobs.
  • You don’t want to have regrets. Give it a go.

Summary of what we’ve looked at today:

  • Gary & Jane both share their career changes and the decision-making processes behind those changes.
  • Some tips when trying to hear God about a career change.

Prophetic activation:

Turn your heart and thoughts to Father God and ask Him:

  • “God, is there something about a decision I’m facing at the moment that I would regret if I don’t do it?”
  • “God, what is something I would love to do but I haven’t yet had the opportunity to do?”

Time Stamps:

[0:53] – Gary & Jane share how they have heard God this week.

[5:28] – Introduction to the topic and links to previous episodes.

[6:11] – Gary shares his career changes and his decision-making processes.

[11:15] – Jane shares her career changes and her decision-making processes.

[18:35] – Some tips for hearing God about decisions.

[20:24] – Jane shares about specific prayer points she used for her children’s jobs.

[21:49] – Jane shares about an audible voice to homeschool their children.

[23:42] – You don’t want to have regrets.

[24:48] – Summary.

[25:25] – Prophetic activation.

[26:28] – Gary & Jane share a prophetic word for a listener.

[29:04] – Gary prays for you.

Resources / Links Mentioned:

Bible Verses Mentioned:

  • Genesis 37-40
  • Daniel 5:5

Connect with Gary & Jane:

Support the show:

  • Please share this podcast with someone who would value hearing from God.
  • Follow and leave a rating + review on your favourite podcast listening app.
  • If God is leading you to donate or support the show in any way, please visit https://buymeacoffee/garyandjanM Thank you so much.