The Receive Experience

What if the reason you struggle to hear God isn’t because He’s not speaking—but because part of you doesn’t feel safe enough to listen?
In this conversation, Christian counselor Stefanie Hinman explains how our nervous system, attachment wounds, trauma, shame, and past relationships can affect the way we experience God.
Sometimes we can believe in our heads that Jesus is loving and safe while our bodies respond as though connection is dangerous. Stefanie describes how learning to quiet, regulate, and experience safety can create space for a deeper connection with Jesus.
We also talk about why people often withdraw when they’re hurting, how to support someone without trying to fix them, and why simply being seen and known can be deeply healing.
In this episode, you'll learn about:
Why fight, flight, or freeze can make connection with God difficult
The difference between knowing God is safe and actually feeling safe with Him
How childhood and attachment wounds can shape your picture of Jesus
Why regulation can sometimes come before deeper emotional or spiritual processing
What to do when you pray or listen and feel like you “got nothing”
How to respond to someone’s pain without minimizing or fixing it
How to notice the things that cause you to withdraw from God—and reconnect
Stefanie describes flourishing as becoming aware of what draws us toward connection and what causes us to withdraw, especially patterns rooted in fear, shame, lack, or striving.
Learn more about Stefanie and her resources:
https://bounceproject.org
Want to learn how to hear God more clearly?
Join the free Hearing God Challenge:
https://hearinggodchallenge.com

Chapters
00:00 Why hearing God can feel difficult
03:10 Learning to experience Jesus as safe
08:24 Trauma, attachment, and the need for safety
16:45 How your nervous system affects hearing God
22:59 Stop trying to fix people who are hurting
34:09 What to do when you hear “nothing” from God
40:48 Striving, withdrawal, and learning to flourish

What if one of the biggest mistakes we make in following God is asking Him to bless the direction we’ve already chosen?In this conversation, I sit down with Rachael Groll, author, pastor, speaker, and host of the Hearing Jesus Podcast, to talk about what it actually looks like to let God lead.Rachael shares why following God sometimes means stepping into the water before you know how He’s going to make a way, why God may use a completely different strategy than He has in the past, and why surrendering our expectations is so important if we want to hear Him clearly.We also talk about the role Scripture plays in discerning God’s voice, how our view of God affects the way we read the Bible, and one of Rachael’s favorite approaches to prayer: “I never say amen.” Instead of treating prayer like something that starts and stops, she tries to live in an ongoing conversation with God and gives Him permission to interrupt her plans.If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I actually following God—or am I just asking Him to follow me?” this conversation is for you.Rachael’s work is focused on helping people understand Scripture and hear God more clearly through biblical teaching, Bible studies, and the Hearing Jesus Podcast.👉 Learn more about Rachael: rachaelgroll.com👉 Listen to the Hearing Jesus Podcast through Rachael’s website👉 Join the FREE Hearing God Challenge: hearinggodchallenge.comCHAPTERS00:00 Are You Asking God to Bless Your Plans?04:14 When God Changes the Strategy14:34 The Biggest Mistake in Trying to Hear God18:13 Reading the Bible vs. Actually Studying It25:53 How to Trust God When You Don’t Understand31:10 “I Never Say Amen” — Hearing God Throughout the Day39:00 Casting Your Crowns & Surrendering the OutcomeIf this conversation helps you, subscribe for more conversations and practical experiences designed to help you hear God, deepen your friendship with Jesus, and live from connection instead of fear.

What if the reason you’re struggling to hear God isn’t that He isn’t speaking—but that you’re listening through the wrong picture of Him?Many of us grew up believing that if God speaks, He’ll probably ask us to do something difficult, uncomfortable, or something we don’t want to do. But what if God actually enjoys being with you? What if some of His invitations sound more like, “Come rest,” “Slow down,” “Go play,” or even, “Let’s do this together”?In this conversation, I sit down with Christian speaker and spiritual director Kari Bartkus to explore what it looks like to hear God in ordinary life.We talk about:• Why hearing God doesn’t have to look the same for everyone• Finding the ways you naturally connect with God• Silence, journaling, nature, music, baking, and everyday life with Jesus• Why God may be inviting you to slow down instead of accomplish more• How fear can distort the way we interpret God’s voice• What it means to believe that God genuinely delights in being with you• A simple journaling question you can use to begin hearing God todayIf you’ve been trying harder and harder to hear God, this conversation may invite you to try something different: stop striving for the perfect spiritual experience and start noticing the God who is already with you.🔥 TAKE THE FREE HEARING GOD CHALLENGELearn simple, practical ways to recognize God’s voice and deepen your relationship with Him:https://hearinggodchallenge.com/🌿 CONNECT WITH KARI BARTKUSKari helps women encounter God through Scripture, reflective journaling, and gentle spiritual practices.https://karibartkus.com/🎧 You can also find Kari’s Journal Gently podcast and her other resources through her website.CHAPTERS00:00 The Picture of God That Makes Hearing Him Harder01:51 Kari’s Journey Into Spiritual Direction08:00 Helping People Connect With God10:12 Finding Your Natural Way of Hearing God13:10 Silence, Solitude & Listening Prayer18:59 Being Present With People Who Are Hurting26:10 God’s Invitation to Be Present30:41 What If God Actually Enjoys Being With You?36:06 God Delights in Spending Time With You40:30 A Simple Journaling Prompt for Hearing GodOne question to take with you today:“God, what do You want me to know today?”You may be surprised by where His answer finds you.

This conversation I have with Tom is one I keep thinking about. He grew up with undiagnosed ADHD, and for years the prayer he'd been taught (kneel down, stay quiet, talk in order) never worked for his mind... he'd fall asleep before he got anywhere. Then he found something that changed everything: writing his prayers instead of trying to hold them in his head. I invite you into what he discovered, and what fifteen years of listening back has taught him about God's voice.Here's what we explore:▪️How undiagnosed ADHD made traditional prayer feel impossible for him▪️The practice of prayer journaling that let him pray for an hour without losing focus▪️What happened the first time he "turned the pen over" and let God answer back▪️A moment that showed him he could receive the same love he watched God give to broken people▪️How he uses AI now to search fifteen years of journal entries for patterns in what God has said to him▪️What the wind combing through a canyon taught him about letting goChapters00:00 Intro02:46 Tom's Story With Undiagnosed ADHD06:04 The First Time He Knew God Was Real09:00 Why Traditional Prayer Never Worked for His ADHD Brain11:44 Discovering the Practice of Prayer Journaling17:12 Turning the Pen Over and Learning to Hear God's Voice19:12 Learning to Receive the Love He Saw God Give Others27:24 Voice to Text, AI, and a Practice That Keeps Refining36:00 What Following Jesus Looks Like for Him Today39:06 Reading Fifteen Years of God's Counsel in Real TimeIf Tom's story stirred anything in you... especially if you've ever felt like your brain just isn't built for the way prayer is usually taught... I'd love for you to sit with that. And if you want to keep going deeper, join us in the Hearing God Challenge, the link is below.🔗 Sign up for the next Hearing God Challenge - https://hearinggodchallenge.com/

In this conversation I have with Barry, a coach who has spent years exploring identity and listening prayer, we talk about the “unfair advantage” of knowing what's already true about who you are in Christ, and how that changes fear, anger, hearing God, and everyday life.Barry has spent years learning about identity, listening prayer, and seeing people through the truth of who God says they are. His approach has been shaped by teachers including Jamie Winship, Baxter Kruger, Dan Mohler, and others.Expect to learn why your greatest fear may actually point toward something important about your identity, how to help someone hear truth from God rather than simply telling them what is true, what Barry does when someone asks “Is this me or God?”, why grace matters so much when learning to hear God's voice, what it practically means to be one with Christ, how to stay connected to what God is saying when fear takes over, why circumstances aren't always the highest level of truth, and how to recognize the life and love of Jesus happening in ordinary moments.One of the ideas I keep coming back to from this conversation is that we can spend years trying to become something that God is already inviting us to receive as true. As Barry puts it, the shift happens when we begin coming into agreement with what is already true about us in Christ.And that changes the question. Instead of only asking, “How do I get rid of this fear?” we can begin asking, “Jesus, what do You know about me right now? What do You want me to know about this?”Chapters00:00 Knowing What's Already True About Who You Are01:42 Seeing People Through the Lens of Identity04:22 What Your Greatest Fear May Reveal06:51 Helping People Hear Truth From God Themselves10:34 When God Says, “I'm Not Disappointed in You”17:27 Is It Me or Is It God?20:30 Letting Jesus Reveal the Heart of the Father24:09 What It Means to Be One in Christ29:22 Meeting Grace in the Present Moment33:27 Who Gets to Define What Life Is?If something in this conversation stirred something in you, I invite you to just sit with it for a moment. God is present with you now, and maybe a simple question to bring to Him is, “What do You want me to know about who I really am?”🔗 Sign up for the next Hearing God Challenge - https://hearinggodchallenge.com/