We know that God speaks to us in many ways: directly through his voice or our thoughts, through others or through the Bible. But the next vital step to hearing God is obeying him; actually doing what we have heard him say. It can be hard to put what God asks into practice, especially when we're bombarded by the relentless stuff that life brings. But, it's clear...James 1:22 GWT says: 'Do what God's word says. Don't merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves.'

A great way to help us keep obedient is to keep track of it - through a prayer journal, or a list of 'God notes', or audio messages to ourselves. Let's record what we think God says to us, whether it's a specific message for our life, or a general Bible verse that applies right now. Then let's pray for the inspiration, strength, courage and opportunity to do it.

And, let's celebrate our journey of obedience, through a record (written or mental) - of when we showed kindness or mercy when we would rather have not, or when we rejected a usual temptation, or considered something from God's perspective instead of our own.

So what now? Get yourself a journal or planner. Spend time praying. Write down what you think God is saying to you. You are well able to be obedient, because he is always with you anyway, cheering you on.

Let's say we've taken yesterday's advice and got over our discomfort to ask God to guide us. What's next? Well, listening. There's no point in asking a question if we're not ready to listen.

And listening is a process that takes practise. Let's look at 1 Samuel 3. God called Samuel twice, and he went to Eli (his mentor) thinking he was the one calling. It took a third call from God and some advice from Eli for Samuel to even realise it was God speaking to him. From there, he received an epic message. It's about consistently taking the time to say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears' (1 Samuel 3:9 NKJV). Now, it's worth pointing out that God still speaks to us today. Not always with a booming voice, but he most definitely is still 100% interested in communicating with us.

A really good place to start listening for his voice is Scripture. Even if God isn't speaking to us audibly/visibly/in any heart-stopping way today, he is speaking to us through his word, written down centuries ago. The Bible is always ready to be heard, in our situation, at any time. It's a great place to begin to build (or re-build) that openness to hearing God speak, after having asked him to.

So what now? Try memorising bits of the Bible. Unsure where to start? Try the famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1 - 7:28). Then, in future, see how God brings verses back to mind when you need them - that's listening.

God's pretty good at giving guidance. As the one who created the bigger picture, he knows where each person uniquely fits in. On the flipside, however, we're not necessarily great at asking him for that step-by-step guidance. Check out Psalm 32. David's chatting with God, about chatting with God. David knows about admitting his issues, asking for help... those things result in God being found.

We know that asking God to guide us is good to do. But we so often don't do it. Why? Because deep down it scares most of us. It's a risk. It's uncomfortable. It asks God to be in control. What if we don't get what we were planning? What if we have to make drastic changes to our thinking? And, sometimes we don't really want guidance; deep down, we just want safety. And God isn't often safe in the way that we'd like.

But he is really good. He wants us to develop a clear sense of his will, and there's no way to do that without asking for his guidance and then making decisions depending on what we know about him and what we've heard from him. He wants mature children, not robots, and that means us taking risks to chase after his will. Occasionally we will miss (or mis-interpret) what he's saying, but his purpose isn't to get us to 'perform' the right actions, but to become the right kind of person.

So what now? Have a good heart to heart with God, today. Ask him for what you need from him.

Things don't always go the way we plan. We know that, but we keep the disappointments hidden - they usually don't make it to Pinterest or Facebook. Sometimes, we get our hopes up about exciting new opportunities, only to see them fall flat. No matter how hard we try, it can be hard to shake the feelings of disappointment and anger. It can be tempting to ask: 'How could that have come to nothing?' And we may find ourselves looking for someone to blame.

If we're experiencing disappointment right now, this next bit may be tough to hear: 'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:28 NIV).

'In all things God works for the good': it can be hard to see how a failed project, opportunity or relationship fits into Romans 8:28. But, no matter how we feel after a negative experience, God has a good plan for it, now or in the bigger picture of our life. Sometimes we'll be able to use our experience to minister to those in a similar situation. Sometimes it'll be about his purposes for the world. We need to trust that God won't let our experience go without a positive outcome.

So what now? The most helpful thing you can is to face your disappointments head on. Call a disappointment what it is, but trust God to bring out good from it.

Moses' life was pretty tough. He started life floating down a river, grew up to rebel against the guy who was like a brother to him, then led the Jewish people away from Pharaoh through a huge sea, only to face constant opposition from them. 'Moses, we're hungry.' 'Moses, we want a change of diet.' 'Moses, are we there yet?' Exhausting, right? So: the Lord said, 'There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock' (Exodus 33:21 NCV).

A few verses before this, Moses had asked God for his help. This 'rock' didn't come out of the blue. In all the trials he faced, Moses had discovered how important it was to rest on God. So when problems came, he knew exactly where to look: to the rock, next to God, where he could stand. More than that, Moses dreaded the idea of going any further without God's presence. And so he asked to God to go with them.

God knows we need to ask for his presence and choose to rest in it. So he'll wait for us to ask. Then, he waits for us to wait on him. There, Jesus, the rock who sits at the side of his Father (Mark 16:19), is ready to give us help and strength.

So what now? How have you reacted to trouble in the past? What has your go-to response been? Now, before tricky stuff happens in future, find your 'rock', your safe space to get God's help when trouble comes.

We've all experienced these moments: when we read the Bible's words, know they mean something but have no idea what. Sometimes, the lesson just doesn't compute. So does this mean we're not 'good' Christians? That we don't know God well enough? That we're just outright-not-smart? Not at all. In places, the Bible is a hard book to read, with history and context that often isn't easy to understand. So, let's take practical action. Let's grab a group of friends we're comfortable around and start a regular Bible study. Maybe there's a leader at church to ask to be a regular mentor or contributor to the group.

Understanding what God is saying through his word should be high on our priority list. In Deuteronomy 11:16 NLT it says, 'Be careful. Don't let your heart be deceived'. That's God's warning that if we don't care to put him first, then we're asking for trouble. The solution: 'Commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders' (Deuteronomy 11:18 NLT).

It takes commitment and courage, but when we put in the extra effort to understand and trust what God is saying, we'll see the words of the Bible come alive and change our lives.

So what now? 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says: 'But it is just as the Scriptures say, "What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!" God's Spirit has shown you everything.' Be encouraged, if you follow Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit's help when reading God's word.