Learning to discern and follow the voice of God is a journey. There are three practical things we can do to grow in this area. It starts with creating an atmosphere to hear God's voice. Then we must develop the confidence to know when God speaks to us, and finally, we must have the courage to obey God's direction.

We are all called to carry our own individual crosses. Some of us carry more difficult ones than others. Regardless of what our cross looks like, it is our responsibility to be faithful to it. This often takes humility and surrendering of what we want in order for God to move.

In order to be a true follower of Christ we must deny ourselves. This starts with loving God, and making Him the first priority in our lives, next we have to put others before ourselves. When we move away from our selfish desires it gives God more room to work in our lives, and makes us a better representation of Christ.

Jesus offers us all an upgrade when we first become His disciples, but it doesn't stop there. We can continue to upgrade our relationship with Him by being constant learners and making decisions that take us to the next level.

When our presence brings the presence of God in a situation, it is a gift to those around us. Even if we may not feel it, we can make a difference in the lives of those around us. This is made possible though who we are in Christ.

God is a perfect judge. Even though He is filled with unfailing love and mercy, He does not excuse the guilty. Thankfully, God has made a way for us to be free from this condemnation through Jesus Christ.

When we do not recognize God as The Authority over our lives, it can impact the way we hold ourselves responsible. We have all walked through moments where we try to step outside of God's authority, and find ourselves realizing how much we truly need authority in our lives.

God paints the perfect picture of a good Father. This is seen through the way He protects us by setting guidelines in our lives, how He supplies us with what we need, and more. Even if we didn't have the best example of what a good Father is here on earth, we can still find what we need in God our Heavenly Father.

God seeks relationship, fellowship, and companionship with us. Contrary to what we may feel at times, God is near to us and always makes Himself available. God's pursuit for us can easily be seen all throughout scripture, but the greatest example of God's pursuit for us is Jesus.