Want to know whether God is talking to you? 

Simply notice.

Be on watch particularly for repetition. 

See, it's not by happenstance, say, when your pastor's sermon is entitled "A Pure Heart," your evening devotion reminds you how Christ taught it's what comes out of the mouth--not what goes in--that defiles a person and, for the life of you, Fred Hammond's "Give me a Clean Heart" worship song that seems to be playing at your every turn.These intertwined moments are all part of God's repeat button.

This nudging is often like the still, small voice that Elijah heard. Depressed, broke, broke down and ready to put the last nail in the coffin, Elijah rested at the Juniper Tree where the angel fed him. He was on the run from Jezebel and her minions. Talk about a second wind. Elijah moved on. God was in the midst, that much he knew. The destructive winds came. God was not there. A mighty earthquake followed. God wasn't there either. The fire raged. No. Not there. God chose to be in something tiny, easy-to-miss, unintimidating and tender.

A whisper.

"My sheep hear My voice," Christ said centuries later. His followers recognize that there's a divine echo, a heavenly redundancy, a celestial pattern.

Silence your lifestyle enough to be able to catch what may otherwise be mere coincidences. Walk in sensitivity. Righteous listening calls on more than just your ears since it's woven with seeing, feeling, touching and tasting. Observe with passion. Treasure these flows of recurrences in your heart. Jot them down in a journal. Pinpoint that particular theme God wants you to get. Pray. And worship when it happens. Be meek enough to be in awe that God arranges things in a special way just to flag you down. Be like the psalmist or even Paul who both said, "Who am I, Lord, that you are mindful of me?"

Lord, all of this for me? 

You see, the more your adore God's voice, the more he'll converse with you.

Ana Valeska is a not-so-naughty librarian, college instructor, book editor and--yeah,baby--NEWD columnist. Her forthcoming work, Tu Eres (You Are), is a devotional based on modern-day worship psalms. Ana Valeska longs to help redeem urban, young adult culture for the Lord Jesus. Her daughter, Selena, and cat, Puffles, have her wrapped around their little fingers.