7 Things That Stop You Hearing from God (and How to Overcome Them)

The most common things that stop believers hearing from God are spiritual immaturity, an unrenewed mind, disobedience, quenching or grieving the Holy Spirit, insincerity, presumption and lukewarmness. Divine guidance is the inheritance of every child of God, but these seven hindrances can block it. The good news is that each one can be overcome.

1. Not growing spiritually

“Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all.”

Galatians 4:1 (NKJV)

A spiritual infant is an heir who lives like a slave, unable to lay hold of what is already theirs. The Hebrew Christians should have been teachers by then, but still needed milk rather than solid food, and had become “dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:11–12). Explaining deep things to an immature believer is like explaining space travel to a six-month-old.

“But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Hebrews 5:14 (NKJV)

How to overcome it: feed on the Word daily, pray consistently and put what you learn into practice. Discernment grows “by reason of use.”

2. An unrenewed mind

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

“To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). The carnal mind thinks only of worldly things and is not subject to God’s law. Without the Word, people follow misleading voices. Years ago a devout young woman on her way to chapel heard a voice saying, “Don’t go, you are not My child. I have rejected you.” She ran, the voice grew louder, and she collapsed on arrival. Had she known the Word, she could have stood on Jesus’ promise: “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).

How to overcome it: “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Let the Word reshape your reasoning and perspective.

3. Disobedience

Ignoring what the Holy Spirit has already shown you, whether in the written Word, through your conscience or by the inward witness, blocks further instruction. Each act of disobedience breaches the protective hedge around your life and gives the enemy room.

“Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

Isaiah 48:18 (NKJV)

How to overcome it: go back to the last thing God told you and do it. Resolve to carry out what the Bible says joyfully.

4. Quenching and grieving the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is not a switch to flip on in emergencies (“Holy Spirit, I need direction now!”). The relationship is built on fellowship and intimacy. He is the Holy Spirit; anything contrary to holiness hinders His work in your life. Jesus showed how precious the Spirit is to the Father and the Son when He warned about blasphemy against the Spirit (Matthew 12:31–32).

• “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19): quenching means suppressing His promptings and choosing to live independently of His guidance in some area.
• “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30): grieving means saddening Him through disobedience and sin.

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3). The Spirit who dwells in us “yearns jealously” (James 4:5) for constant fellowship, not acknowledgement only in a crisis. How to overcome it: keep a responsive heart and act on His promptings immediately.

5. Insincerity

“Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”

Ephesians 6:24 (NKJV)

Sincerity does not mean you are always right; you can be sincere and wrong. It means that when you know what is right, you do it. Some people pray for God’s will after they have already made up their minds, and that disposition makes His voice seem far away. How to overcome it: lay your plans down honestly and be willing for the answer to be “no.”

6. Presumption and assumption

Presuming means deciding beforehand how God must do things. Jesus healed blind people in different ways: a touch, a word, mud and the pool of Siloam. He fed five thousand with five loaves, then four thousand with seven. Each time He followed the Father, not a formula.

“But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’””

2 Kings 5:11 (NKJV)

Naaman nearly missed his healing because Elisha’s instruction, to wash seven times in the Jordan, did not match his assumptions. Afterwards Elisha refused Naaman’s gifts, though at other times he accepted gifts. He followed God’s direction in that specific moment rather than “the usual thing.” How to overcome it: ask God for His way in each situation instead of repeating what worked last time.

7. Lukewarmness

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

Revelation 3:15–16 (NKJV)

Jesus warned that in the last days “because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). For the lukewarm, Jesus has been pushed out of the driver’s seat; He is outside, knocking (Revelation 3:20). Proverbs 1:24–28 warns that those who refuse God’s counsel in calm times may call in a crisis and not find Him.

Prayers are not answered simply because people are in distress, just as people are not fed simply because they are hungry. Answers come from knowing God and staying in union with Him. How to overcome it: rekindle your zeal now. Open the door, return to your first love and stay consistent.