God speaks from within.

You must seek a vision of God, for such a vision is not imposed upon you. You are welcomed by it, but you must first seek it out. God is a force of love, healing, and patience, strength and vulnerability. God is all these things. But God is also that silent voice that speaks to you from within.

How can you hear God? How can you listen to know that God is there? You know God and you hear God when you are not consumed by the need to listen only to self. The way to a vision of God is not through self-absorption, and yet being absorbed by needs of self is very much a part of human life. Of course you have needs, but those needs may be acknowledged personally as being present without controlling you, driving you in directions away from the person next to you.

For many, life can be a rat race, activity that is easily viewed ultimately as activity for its own sake. You may be guided by trying to meet the objectives of others. You may be guided by the expectations of others. You may be guided by a fear of what others may believe or what others may think of you. That is not a productive design for increasing those glimpses in your move toward a fuller view of God.