Hear Him Louder Podcast

Welcome to the fifth episode in our series on listening for Jesus inside spiritual disciplines – because in these practices, we are having conversations with God, which means in these practices, we can hear Him louder. 

Today Marnie is with Wendy Speake, author of A Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving: 30 Days of Rejoicing in God’s Goodness, and we’re talking about something called an “ask” fast, which includes the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting and praise. Wendy shares her own story of an excruciatingly painful season during which God invited her to reframe her prayers from requests to praise and thanksgiving.

We all have seasons where it feels hard to praise God. But what if praising Him through the hard things changes us? What if we praise Him for being God and then watch Him be God?

If you are longing for peace and joy in places where you’re barely holding on, this episode is for you.

Marnie and Wendy discuss:

• Four seasons where praise feels hard.
• Why spiritual disciplines aren’t to “check the box” (but also: we must check the box).
• What an Ask Fast is and how it works (and how it’s three spiritual disciplines in one!).
• How to reframe our prayers from petition and request to praise and thanksgiving.
• How we aren’t avoiding the hard things, but praising God through the hard things.
• How we listen for God in spiritual disciplines.
• Why spiritual disciplines matter.

Wendy Speake is also the author and host of The 40-Day Sugar Fast, The 40-Day Social Media Fast, and the companion resource, The 40-Day Feast. As a trained actress and heartfelt Bible teacher, Wendy ministers to women's hearts through storytelling and Biblical life applications. She utilizes drama, poetry, and the study of God's word. During her career as an actress in Hollywood, Wendy longed to tell stories that would edify and encourage women. Today she does just that.

Three next steps from this episode:

1 | Download your FREE copy of "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines" and learn three simple questions for Jesus for whatever spiritual discipline you practice.

2 | Enter to win a FREE copy of Wendy's book, A Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving: 30 Days of Rejoicing in God’s Goodness here! Enter before 12:00 PST on October 31, 2026!

3 | Sign up for Wendy’s FREE 30-Day Ask Fast here! When you sign up, you’ll be invited to free, private Facebook group where Wendy will lead us through her new book during the month of November! You'll also want to grab a copy of her book for the Ask Fast.

You can find out more about Wendy through her Website or on Instagram. You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

We’re on our fourth episode in our series on listening for Jesus inside spiritual disciplines – because in these practices, we are having conversations with God, which means in these practices, we can hear Him louder. 

Today, Marnie is with Jen Pollock Michel, author of A Rule for the Rest of Us and we’re talking about this idea of creating a rule of life. Jen defines a rule of life as the practice of regular habits to sustain creative, faithful response to God’s loving voice. So when we think about having a rule, we are thinking of a way of aligning our lives with the way of Jesus, or a way of establishing habits that bring us to God. The act of choosing and the continued faithfulness of following these habits help us hear Him.

If you are longing for a way of quieting chaos and establishing habits that hold you close to God, this episode is for you.

Marnie and Jen discuss:

• What a rule of life is and is not.
• How a rule of life is about abiding with Christ and hearing and obeying His voice.
• The beauty of boundaries in a world of infinite possibilities.
• How habits and goals are different.
• Five steps for creating a rule of life.
• How listening is inherently part of creating a rule.
• The gift of and need for grace with a rule.
• A simple exercise to get started.

A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, Jen Pollock Michel is an award-winning author and speaker living in Cincinnati. Jen holds a B.A. in French from Wheaton College, an M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University, and an M.F.A from Seattle Pacific University. Her writing has appeared widely in print and online publications, and her popular weekly Substack posts publish every Monday. Jen also serves as the first-year writing mentor in the Whitworth University low-residency MFA program in Creative Writing.
 

For this Fall series: Go grab your free copy of "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines" to learn to listen for Jesus by asking three simple questions as part of every spiritual discipline you practice.

Download your free copy of "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines" here!

And you're going to want a copy of Jen's new book, A Rule for the Rest of Us!

You can find out more about Jen at jenpollockmichel.com. You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

We’re continuing our series on listening for Jesus inside spiritual disciplines – because listening is inherently part of practices such as rest, reading scripture, or prayer. In these practices, we are having conversations with God, which means in these practices, we can hear Him louder. 

Today, Marnie is with Jennifer Tucker, author of Breath Prayers, Present in Prayer, and Prayer in Motion. We’re talking about different ways we can pray and connect with God, from breath prayer to Lectio Divina to prayer while moving, and how we can listen for God in each of these prayer types.

Maybe you’ve always prayed but you’re in a "prayer rut," or maybe your prayers feel check-box-y and you’d like to connect with God more deeply. 

Prayer is not about perfection. Prayer is about connection in a conversation where we speak and we listen. 

If you are longing to hear God in different ways of praying, this episode is for you.

Marnie and Jennifer discuss:

• How to reimagine prayer as connection, not perfection.
• How to pray when you don’t have words.
• A prayer practice that makes scripture come to life.
• Ways to pray while moving our bodies.
• What listening for God looks like in different kinds of prayer.
• How prayer changes when we realize God is right here, right now.

Jennifer Tucker is an artist and bestselling author and illustrator of a trio of prayer books that offer a bridge between mental health and faith: Breath as Prayer, Present in Prayer and Prayer in Motion. Jenn is a devoted follower of Jesus and an advocate for mental health.

We've created a free resource for you to use throughout this Fall series! It’s called "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines"! With this resource, you'll listen for Jesus by asking three simple questions as part of every spiritual discipline you practice.

Grab your free copy of "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines" here! 

You can find Jennifer on Instagram or at her Website.

You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

We’re continuing our series on listening for Jesus inside spiritual disciplines – because listening is inherently part of practices such as rest, reading scripture, or prayer. In these practices, we are having conversations with God, which means in these practices, we can hear Him louder. 

Today, Marnie is with Amanda Bible Williams, co-founder of She Reads Truth, talking about listening for Jesus in scripture.

If you are longing to hear God speak into your life, whether it’s for a specific circumstance or because you’re longing to know Him deeper, reading scripture is the place to start. Being in scripture is a discipline that helps us to learn and know and recognize His voice. 

Reading His Word leads to hearing His words. 

Friend, if you want to hear God louder through scripture, this episode is for you. 

Marnie and Amanda discuss:

• How anything we read in our Bibles “counts.”
• Rhythms and creative ways to read the Word regularly.
• How community helps us stay in the Word.
• What hearing God through scripture is like.
• A personal story from Amanda of hearing God’s promises for her family through scripture.

Amanda Bible Williams is co-founder of She Reads Truth, a worldwide community of Bible readers. She is co-host of the She Reads Truth Podcast and editor of the bestselling She Reads Truth Bible and The Bible Is for You: A Devotional Journey Through Every Book of the Bible. Amanda is pursuing her MA in biblical and theological studies at Denver Seminary. She and her husband David live in Tennessee with their four kids.

We've created a free resource for you to use throughout this Fall series! It’s called "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines" here! With this resource, you'll listen for Jesus by asking three simple questions as part of every spiritual discipline you practice.

Grab your free copy of "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines" here! 

Amanda and the She Reads Truth team are offering 20% off your order in the She Reads Truth shop through October 9, 2026! The Advent 2026 collection launches September 21, 2026! And when you spend over $60, you’ll also get free shipping (no code required).

Head to She Reads Truth and use this shop code: HEARHIM20

You can find Amanda on Instagram or over at She Reads Truth -- and check out the She Reads Truth Podcast.

You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

We’re kicking off with a series on listening for Jesus inside spiritual disciplines – because listening is inherently part of practices such as rest, reading scripture, or prayer. In these practices, we are having conversations with God, which means in these practices, we can hear Him louder. 

As we begin Fall, these episodes will offer encouragement that as our paces picks up, we can still listen. Today, Marnie is with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith to talk about rest. Yes, even in Fall.

Did you know that rest is about far more than being still? Today we unpack seven different types of rest (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social, sensory, and creative), learn how to identify rest deficits, and discuss how, when we rest, we can hear God louder.

Friend, if you’re tired and wondering why naps aren’t helping, this episode is for you.

Marnie and Dr. Saundra discuss:

• The definition of rest (hint: it isn’t just cessation of activity).
• Seven different types of rest we need. 
• How to recognize rest deficits and what to do about them.
• How rest helps us to hear God. 
• The difference between abiding with and striving for God.
• What reclining with God looks like.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a Board-Certified internal medicine physician, speaker, and award-winning author. She is an international well-being thought-leader featured in numerous media outlets including Prevention, MSNBC, Women’s Day, FOX, Fast Company, Psychology Today, INC, CNN Health, and TED.com. She is the author of numerous books including her bestseller Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, including insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness, overcome burnout, and live your best life. 

Take the free Rest Quiz to discover your personal rest deficits.

We've created a free resource for you to use throughout this Fall series! It’s called "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines"! With this resource, you'll listen for Jesus by asking three simple questions as part of every spiritual discipline you practice.

Grab your free copy of "Three Listening Questions to Ask in Spiritual Disciplines" here! 

Be sure to connect with and learn more about Dr. Saundra at DrDaltonSmith.com.

You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

Welcome to the Summer Book Club, a special series for the Hear Him Louder podcast that features three guests and three books in three episodes, all focused on helping you to hear Jesus louder.

Is there something you’ve sensed God inviting you into? Have you wondered what will happen when you say yes?

In this episode, Paige Allen and I talk about what we can learn from the matriarchs in Genesis about the promises that God has for us, because each of us has a part to play in God’s story. Paige recounts the stories of the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel) and then shares five stages they (and we) can experience in birthing a God-promise.

Marnie and Paige discuss: 

• How God invites us to join Him in His plans.
• What His voice can sound like.
• How and why to say yes to God.
• What the stories of the matriarchs teach us about our story.
• The five stages of birthing a God-promise.
• How to ask God about His promise for you.

Paige Allen is a speaker and writer and executive pastor at Church on the Rock in Lubbock, Texas. She co-hosts the Bloom Talks podcast, where unknown but remarkable women tell their stories of God’s faithfulness. Paige has a Masters of Divinity degree from The King’s University. She's written two books, He Knows Your Name: How 7 Nameless Women of the Bible Reveal Christ’s Love for You and Matriarchs: What the Women of Genesis Teach Us About Our Part in God’s Story.

You can connect with Paige at her website or on Instagram.

Go grab Paige’s book here. 

To help you get into a practice of listening for Jesus in your everyday, Marnie created a FREE resource for you: Find Your Listening Rhythm with Jesus. You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

Welcome to the Summer Book Club, a special series for the Hear Him Louder podcast that features three guests and three books in three episodes, all focused on helping you to hear Jesus louder.

Do you need a two-minute timeout with Jesus this summer? Are you a mama who is struggling to hold onto the wonder of summer because the chaos is real?

In this episode, Andrea Fortenberry and I talk about the weary and the wonderful of motherhood as it plays out in summer. What if we could find new and creative ways to meet Jesus even in these days of summer?

Andrea shares her story of finding God in the hardest moments and offers simple, practical ways that we can embrace the wonder of whatever stage of motherhood we’re in, from newborns to launching our young adults. 

Marnie and Andrea discuss: 

• Why perfectionism doesn’t work in motherhood.
• How to listen for Jesus in whatever stage of motherhood you’re in.
• What it can look like to sit with Jesus in summer.
• How making time for God, even in our tiny margins, is actually a time-saver.
• How to show up for the life God has for us even if it isn’t what we expected it to be.

Andrea Fortenberry is a writer, speaker, and host of The Perfectionist’s Guide to Mothering, a podcast that equips moms to find freedom from perfectionism and show up for the life God has for them. She is the author of Two-Minute Timeouts for New Moms: 100 Devotions for Weary and Wonderful Days. She has been married to Will for 21 years and they have two children, ages 17 and 14. She is on staff with MomCo as the Leadership Development Manager and cohosts The MomCo Leadership Podcast. She loves chai lattes, reading books and all things Gilmore girls.

You can find Andrea at her website and Instagram.

Go grab Andrea's book here. 

To help you get into a practice of listening for Jesus in your everyday, Marnie created a FREE resource for you: Find Your Listening Rhythm with Jesus. You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

Welcome to the Summer Book Club, a special series for the Hear Him Louder podcast that features three guests and three books in three episodes, all focused on helping you to hear Jesus louder.

How would you live differently if you really knew that you don’t have to hold it all together?

In this episode, Nichole Suvar and I talk about what we’re holding, why we’re trying to hold it and why we don’t have to anymore. She shares her story of battling anxiety and how she held onto this phrase: “In Him all things hold all together.” (Colossians 1:17). And we discuss how our world distorts and twists what God originally intended in the garden of Eden – and the truth that the peace of Eden still waits.

Marnie and Nichole discuss: 

• Seven deep truths that God embedded in us back in Eden.
• What the distorted versions of these truths look like, including control and perfectionism.
• How to notice what we are holding and how to lay down what isn’t ours to carry.  
• The difference between managing overwhelm and finding peace.
• How to cultivate the peace of Eden in our own lives.

Nichole Suvar is an intentional living strategist who comes alongside overwhelmed women to introduce them to God’s design for mental wellness. Today we’re discussing her new book, “I Don’t Have to Hold it All Together: Cultivating the Peace of Eden When Feeling Overwhelmed.” 

When she’s not writing or coaching, you can find Nichole trying in vain to keep the cupboards stocked for her always-hungry teens, hiking a new trail, soaking in the quiet with her husband, Paul, or savoring cheddar cheese with pickles like it’s a gourmet meal. She’ll take deep conversations over small talk any day, especially if there’s good coffee involved.

You can buy Nichole's book here. Find her other resources at her website and follow her on Instagram.

To help you get into a practice of listening for Jesus in your everyday, Marnie created a FREE resource for you: Find Your Listening Rhythm with Jesus. You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

Today’s conversation with Jennifer Dukes Lee is all about our mornings. Do you think of yourself as a morning person? Do you even like mornings? What if we could not just love our mornings, but also hear God louder in them?

Jennifer tells us that God is most definitely a morning person. And if we are made in His image, then we, too, are morning people…which means maybe we’ve been thinking about our mornings all wrong!

Friend, whether you jump out of bed every morning or you think you’re allergic to mornings, this episode will help you reimagine your mornings.

We discuss:

• Why our mornings matter.
• The difference between a routine and a ritual – and why that makes a difference in the morning.
• How we handle hard mornings.
• Four morning archetypes for how we may be wired to begin our days.
• How these four archetypes listen for Jesus in the morning.
• How to navigate mornings with someone who starts their day differently than you do.
• How to love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength in our mornings.

Jennifer Dukes Lee is a bestselling author, speaker, and morning evangelist from Iowa. She is the author of several books, including How to Love Your Morning, Growing Slow, and It’s All Under Control. She’s a fan of queso, bright lipstick, and singing too loudly to songs with great harmony. She lives on a fifth-generation family farm, where she and her husband have made a life of growing crops, pigs, two beautiful humans, and an enduring faith. You can connect with Jennifer at her Website or over on Instagram and Facebook. 

Take the quiz to learn your morning archetype.

Two ways to get your copy of How to Love Your Morning:

1 | Enter to win a copy of How to Love Your Morning.

2 | Purchase your copy here.

And to help you get into a practice of listening for Jesus in your everyday, Marnie created a FREE resource for you: Find Your Listening Rhythm with Jesus. Marnie would also love to hear from you. You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.

Today’s episode with Erica Wiggenhorn is about how to learn how to recognize what God is speaking to us. To know His language.

Do you sometimes get confused when you read your Bible? Does it feel muddy sometimes? Erica shares with us that God did a whole work making her a Bible study teacher after years of not understanding the Bible. 

Her story of praying big, audacious prayers and seeing God speak into her story in powerful ways unlocked and jumpstarted her love for scripture and began her journey of listening for His voice.

What if learning God’s language could change how you hear Him? What if you opened your Bible with anticipation? 

Friend, when we meet God in the word, we hear Him louder. He has so much He wants to say.

We discuss:

• What to do if reading the Bible is confusing or hard.
• How praying audacious prayers can reveal God’s character.
• How to learn God’s language.
• That hearing God’s voice is easier when we understand how we’re wired. 
• How to elevate God’s voice over lies.

A later in life Jesus follower, Erica Wiggenhorn felt like you needed a secret decoder ring to be a Christian. Afraid to pray out loud, uncertain how to read the Bible, but wearing the cutest church clothes west of the Rio Grande, Erica spent years of her life trying to figure out what it meant to truly follow Jesus. Attending her very first Bible study at the age of 30, she finally found that missing decoder ring and the Bible began to come alive for her. Today, Erica Wiggenhorn will tell you, “Jesus saved me from my sins and His Word saves me from myself, daily!”

You can connect with Erica at her Website or over on Instagram and Facebook.

Other episodes mentioned today:

Episode 40 with Evelyn Sherwood

Episode 37 with Janet McHenry

Episode 6 with Niki Hardy

To help you get into a practice of listening for Jesus in your everyday, Marnie created a FREE resource for you: Find Your Listening Rhythm with Jesus. You can connect with Marnie through her Website or on Instagram.