The Listening Leader: How To Have Real Conversations with God Ep 43

You can be successful and still feel spiritually unsure, like you’re making big leadership decisions on instinct, pressure, or anxiety. Kelley Johnson sits down with Vonna Matthews, founder and publisher of CEOMOM Magazine, to get honest about what it takes to become a listening leader who can actually hear the Holy Spirit in everyday work, relationships, and seasons of waiting.

We talk about the surprising way listening often starts: getting pushed into moments where self-reliance runs out. Vonna shares how hard places, pruning, and uncertainty can become the very environment where God teaches us intimacy and trust. We unpack why God often answers our insecurity by reminding us who He is, not by listing who we should be, and how that shift changes faith-based leadership from striving into surrender.

Then we get practical. We break down active listening through stillness, silence, and asking specific questions like “What’s on the Father’s heart today?” and “What is my role in what You’re doing?” We also explore obedience, stewardship, and timing, including how to pray before meetings so you don’t miss what God wants to do beyond the agenda. You’ll hear a real story of waiting on God for clarity and watching things move quickly when it is finally time.

If you’ve been asking, “Is this God’s voice or my own thoughts?” this conversation will help you slow down, discern with confidence, and lead with spiritual clarity. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more women leaders can learn how to hear God at work.

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Transcript

Welcome And Season Focus

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to In the Flow, a podcast for women pursuing God's spirit in life and leadership. I'm Kelly Johnson, and this season we're exploring what it means to become a listening leader. Because clarity and alignment with the Lord creates a more impactful leader. Each conversation invites you to slow down, lean in, and lead from a place of achievement with the Lord so that we can grow in spirit-led wisdom and authentic power. Let's get in the flow. Today's conversation is all about what it looks like to have spiritual conversations and be in communion with Holy Spirit. I'm joined by Vonna Matthews, founder and publisher of CEO Mom Magazine. Vonna has been a friend for more than a decade now, and she is passionate about all things women in leadership, motherhood, and business. I love that Vonna walks the walk. She doesn't just talk the talk. And in this conversation, we share what it looks like to

Why Spiritual Conversations Matter

SPEAKER_00 1:15

grow in our ability to be listening leaders. Well, Vana, I'm excited to jump into this conversation. You know, I always enjoy my time with you, my conversations with you. And uh, for those of you who are not familiar with Vana, I would encourage you to go back to uh season one of In the Flow. That theme was Simplify, Rest, and Reset. And Vana Matthews shared uh a huge part of her story during that conversation. So it's great to have you back on In the Flow. Thank you for having me. I am excited to be back.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

So thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Yeah. So, as you know, we're in this season focused on being listening leaders and to really grow that, cultivate it, strengthen it, and expand it in ways that the Holy Spirit is guiding us or maybe inviting us. And so, Vana, to just kick us off, I would love to hear how have you grown to be a listening leader? Like what were those elements or moments or experiences that really started to shape you as a listening leader? I love that question.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

I I would say just jumping right into it. I think you become a listening leader

Becoming A Listening Leader Through Trials

SPEAKER_01 2:35

by going through it, by going through something that requires you to just stop and be still and completely rely on God. And so I would say for myself, within the past few years as I've grown in my relationship, that I have really had to pay attention to what God is saying because he has put me in positions to where I had to completely rely on him. You know, be, you know, high performing and having all these different things going on. It's been so easy for me to just rely on myself, pay attention to my capabilities, what I believe I can do. And so when I've been in a situation where I've had to just stop and I have to look at him, it forces me to listen. So I would say initially, it it's not that for me, it hasn't been this awakening or oh, I need to listen. It's almost I have been forced to. I have not had a choice but to pause and listen to God because I'm out of whatever it is I thought I needed, it's depleted. I'm out of it. And so that has been my journey. I've experienced that both personally and professionally. And, you know, for example, just having to obey God, having Him ask me to do something that is quite frankly crazy, something that's just wild and crazy. And I don't just right from the calling, I don't have the resources. I don't know the right people. I'm not in the right position. And that obedience, that movement, I think you shared with me earlier, which I really love, that God, we hear God when we move. And so just moving forward has forced me to listen to him because it's required my obedience and my complete surrender and reliance. And so I would say for me, that's been my journey, getting to a point of listening where I've had to completely rely on him.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

I can relate to that on so many levels. And I think even though it's hard to go through, it's hard when we're uncertain. It's hard when it feels like we don't have what we need, whether that's tangible material things that we need, or even if it's wisdom, skills, experiences. And so it's hard, it's so uncomfortable. And yet I have come to realize that the Lord wants to use those experiences to refine us and our relationship with him. But a huge part of our relationship is our communication and the way that we relate to him. So if we can improve the ways that we listen to him, if we can tune in better to his frequencies and the different ways, the myriad of ways that he wants to speak to us, I just think it is so beautiful. And recognizing that that beauty comes out of often brokenness or really hard places.

unknown 5:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

I would agree. And those hard places, they are required. You know, I know sometimes when they when they come up unexpectedly, that shock paralyzes us. But those those hard places, those hard moments, they are required. You know, when I think about just relationships that I have with close friends, that growth comes from hard conversations. It comes from vulnerability. It comes from an exchange of this is how I'm really doing, this is where I really

Pruning, Hard Moments, And God’s Love

SPEAKER_01 6:10

am. And so that for me has been a part of that listening is really allowing myself to hear him and just really hear, and it it sounds a little bit crazy, but to hear his love, to hear his, to hear his how much of a father he is, how much of a friend he is. And so for me, I I understand more now that those hard, those hard moments are so needed. They're so required for that growth. I mean, the pruning, I think you talked about it in season one or season two, that pruning is it's a beautiful thing. Doesn't feel beautiful, but it's a beautiful thing. It really is.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Yeah, yeah, I so agree with you. And I love that you used relationships in the natural and sometimes those hard conversations. That if we continue to go through them, like if we don't stop or if we don't completely shut down. Now, that doesn't mean that sometimes we don't need a break, we don't need to pause, sometimes we do need to pause in relationships. But if we persist, if we endure and use endurance, then there can be good fruit out of that. And I think you and I were talking earlier, God uses everything. He doesn't waste anything. However, if we prevent him from using it, meaning we don't participate, meaning we don't kind of let go of our vision of the way that it should happen, the way that it should unfold, then he may not get as much fruit, as much oil out of a situation as what he originally intended.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

That's good, Kelly. That is so good. That is so good. And it goes back to that reliance. I've I've had to learn that God wants us to rely on him. Like you said, there's this resistance and fighting. That part is unnecessary. The hard part is required, but the fighting and the trying to do it on your own, that is, he wants us to come to him. You know, I I was someone shared years ago, I was at an event, and they talked about how if if you if you read scripture where when God called someone to do something, and they would they would come back with, well, I'm not enough of this, I don't have enough of this. God didn't necessarily remind them or tell them who they are or who they were, he would tell them who he is. And so I think that is such an incredible reminder that that reliance is a beautiful thing, and that listening is what is what helps you get to that place. Like for me, listening and paying attention to him and just leading in that way or following in that way has helped me to get to that place of reliance because it's required me to have real conversations with God. It's required me to be vulnerable with God. And I don't know about you, Kelly, but sometimes I'm a little shy and embarrassed even with God. I'm just like, Lord, I don't want to say this because I should know better. I should, we've we've been in a relationship long enough. And I I start to disqualify myself when he was like, I've always been your qualifier. So why do you need to be something specific when you are where you are because of me anyway? So I struggle with that sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Oh, that is so good. That is fire. And I'm reminded of the scripture, I'm forgetting the reference right now, but you know, it's it's this concept, this biblical concept, that because of what Jesus completed on the cross and the finished work, right? He didn't just die on the cross. He went to the grave. God rose him from the dead after three days. You know, all power and authority was given to him because of that work and the finished work of the cross. When God sees us, he sees Jesus. He sees the completeness and the perfection that was done through Jesus Christ. And that is why and how we

Reliance Over Self-Performance

SPEAKER_00 10:20

are seated in heavenly places. That is how and why we have access to the throne of God if we are in Christ Jesus. And so I love what you're highlighting in that for some reason we still think that if it's gonna be, it's on me. And that is so far from the truth, right? Like, why do why do we still think that? That if it's going to happen, I have to manufacture it. When our father is the creator of this whole universe, nothing that we see didn't have, excuse me, nothing that we see happened by circumstance. He formed it, he allowed it. And so we still want to rely on flesh. You know, that is our brokenness, that is our human nature, unfortunately. And I think being a listening leader is a part of that is learning to really take control of that, take captive those thoughts around thinking that we have to be the ones who do it. And I love your reminder that in Scripture, so many times when people said or responded to God's call, responded to God's ask of them, he really didn't give a whole lot of air time to their list of either complaints or disqualifications. I mean, he just sort of like moved right past it and was like, hmm, okay, yeah, I'm Jehovah Jrah. Here's that ram in the bush. Esther, go in front of the king and you're gonna be all right, girl. Put your, you know, get your put your face on, get your hair done, and go in there, right? Like he always made a way.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Absolutely. You know, going back to something you just said, the saying that you just said, if it's gonna be, it's up to me. I'm I'm going to definitely start using that because I I think we get so stuck on that. But when I think about one of the things that I struggle with is we are supposed to be a part a lot of times of the work that God is doing. And so it's hard to figure out, okay, God, what am I supposed to be doing in relation to what you're doing? And I think that confusion, at least for me, is what gets me stuck on myself. And that goes back to that active listening. Like I feel like we could talk about active listening all day because that goes back to having those conversations about, okay, God, I want to be at your will. What is my role in this? What do you want me to do this in this particular occasion, in this particular situation? I've had to learn to see myself as a vessel more because I think I've always thought of being a vessel for something outside of myself. Like I'm a vessel to bless someone else's life, but we are vessels in the work that God is doing, I think even through us. And so having those conversations where we are postured and we are positioned to listen, you know, and asking those very specific questions, God, what am I supposed to be doing in this? Because He does equip us. He has given us very specific talents, very specific capabilities and competencies that he requires us to use. Scripture tells us that it's all for him. But it's like, how do you not get caught up in that? And I think that that active listening lends itself to those important questions and those important conversations that, as I keep saying, go back to surrendering, go back to the reliance that he wants us to have. And so that's that's a challenge for me. Like, God, what am I supposed to be doing? And because I don't ask that question, because sometimes I wasn't listening, I would start going, going, going. Okay, well, I'll do it. I'll figure it out, you know.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Yeah. Okay, so we're gonna make this practical. And I know that you shared with me before we came on to today's episode. You shared with me that having those conversations has become a spiritual game changer for you and learning that active listening. And I know that you and I have had many conversations about this. So let's kind of pull people inside our little circle

Stillness And Asking Better Questions

SPEAKER_00 14:45

for a minute. And one of the things that I've shared with you in the past is just how much I love David and how many times scripture talks about how David inquired of the Lord. David inquired of the Lord. And that study really shifted the way that I communicate with Holy Spirit. And it shifted, it was a big part of shifting my ability to be an active listener in my time with the Lord, as well as in real time, like in the moment. So I would say there's actually two disciplines that have helped me to be an active listener. Number one, practicing stillness during my time with the Lord. So really slowing myself down and sitting in silence, um, sometimes, oftentimes doing some deep breathing just to sort of slow down my brain because it's so active. And so it takes a minute for me to slow down and not fill it with a ton of thoughts. And so learning to sit still in the presence of the Lord in silence has been a key element for me being an active listener. The second element of being an active listener spiritually has been asking questions and then waiting for Holy Spirit to respond. And so I start my day often with Lord or Holy Spirit, what's on what's on the Father's heart today? What do you what do you want me to pay attention to today? What does our Heavenly Father want to remind me of today? And learning after I ask those questions to pause and wait. And it has taken some time to recognize the Holy Spirit's voice because it it does often sound like mine, but it also sounds like scripture. And there's this beautiful integration of the scripture, understanding the love and character and heart of God, which you highlighted, Vana. Um, but to lit so to listen to love. Like that's really what we're doing. And because the enemy's voice and our voices often sound like anxiety, it sounds like condemnation, it sounds like shame, it sounds like shoulda, woulda, coulda, I can't believe. Those tones are not God's tones. And when we learn to be active listeners spiritually, we we start to hear scripture. We we start to hear love, we start to hear how precious we are to the father. And it often starts with asking questions so that we can hear what is on the father's heart.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

I love the way you talked about the stillness, because from a practical um perspective, even for me, that's required. Also, I would say from another practical perspective is is when you do hear him, act on what you've heard because it is whether it's fear that paralyzes us, whether it's you know, going back to that self-reliance, that relationship and that intimacy grows with Christ from obedience and sacrifice and surrender.

Obedience After You Hear

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Like and you, it's going back to listening to that love. The more I do as I've heard, the closer I grow to him. Because the fruit is spiritual. We've talked, the fruit is not just getting the thing or the promotion or the material, whatever it is. The fruit is really just that spiritual relationship, that intimacy with him. So I would say after the stillness, acting on what you've heard. That's what that active listening is, is when you hear his voice, when it's very clear, just go. And sometimes that is remain still. Sometimes for me, that is go forward. Sometimes it's go forward without knowing the next step. Just go. We don't know what's going to happen when we go, but just go. Something else that I've learned to do, Kelly. I actually started this not too long ago and I applied it on Friday, is in the middle of my day, I will find myself if I'm in a position like, you know, just with what I do with the publication, I'm out talking to different businesses and I'm meeting with different people. And so before I go in, I will ask God, what am I supposed to get from this interaction? And how am I supposed, how do you want me to reveal you? What is the fruit? What is the purpose of this? Because my carnal, my human is always thinking business.

Listening Before Meetings And Decisions

SPEAKER_01 19:35

I'm going in here for business. But sometimes that's not the purpose. And there's something greater in that. So I've learned to ask him, what are you doing in this moment? And I think that goes back to the stillness because that stillness is not finite. I've had to learn that it's a time after time, day after day, sometimes moment after moment. And it doesn't always look like silence. Sometimes it just looks like you not leading and you waiting on him before you move forward. And so for me, that's just been a very practical thing. I would encourage, you know, the listeners, just really before you take that next step, God, what what are you revealing in this moment? And he sometimes may not, he may not reveal it, but going back to active listening and praying and communion with him, sometimes it's just ushering him in. That's enough. Because the active listening does not always require an immediate response. Sometimes it's just his presence. And that is, that is good enough. That is, that is beautiful enough. So I would say that for me from a practical, the right questions, but letting him lead the moment.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Amen. Like that is so good. I love that example of praying and asking before going into meetings or going into conversations so that we can be more in tune and be more in tune to what God has already predestined before that conversation, before that meeting. But what might we miss if we don't ask and listen before we go into that meeting? So I absolutely love that example because it's so practical and so real. And sometimes, like you said, the whole purpose could be to show a little bit of Jesus to a non-believer or to encourage a believer who is carrying something that has nothing to do with the meeting or the purpose of the meeting. But perhaps, who knows, you're going to encourage that person or give them a piece of wisdom or something that you have that God's already given you. Sometimes it's more about what we give than what we get, but we won't recognize it, or we're not as likely to recognize it if we're not asking. And listening. And I love that you're highlighting that the other element to being an active listener of Holy Spirit requires action. Sometimes that action is writing it down, sort of steward, stewarding the intelligence, stewarding the spiritual intel that we're getting. And other times it is actually taking a physical act or actually picking up the phone or sending the text message or whatever it might be that the Lord is prompting us to do. But we've talked quite a bit throughout this season that a big part of being a listening leader is to steward what we hear. Because the Lord wants to know that he can trust us with what he gives us. And sometimes stewarding just means journaling it, putting a note in your phone, um, and and holding it until he reveals even more insight about the actual tangible step he wants us to take.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

That's good. Stewarding

Stewarding What You Hear

SPEAKER_01 23:05

what you hear. I love that. And I think also that active listening, you know, it k keeps us away from having these expectations of things that are outside of God, but things we haven't even heard from him. You know, if you if you don't have that communion or you don't do that active listening, it's easy to create your own ideas of how it should be. And so when you sit in that stillness and just those conversations, you you release expectations and just allow God to do what he pleases, do what he wants to do. So I love that. Stuart, what you hear. That's good.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

That's powerful. Thank you. Yeah, we have I mean, I have a ton of notes in my phone and I just kind of keep a running record. And then some things I journal, but it's it's helpful to be able to look back over time to recognize that was the Lord speaking or that was him confirming or redirecting. And so sometimes we need that rear view mirror look to be able to truly discern what the Lord has already been saying to us because we only, we only sort of know in part, we hear in part. And so sometimes we have to collect the pieces of what he's been sharing and revealing to us. I want to ask you to share. You've been uh founder, publisher for CEO Mom magazine for many, many years now, over a decade, and uh, which is beautiful. Congratulations. And I know that there's probably a gazillion uh examples of where you've sought the Lord, asked, and heard from him about CEO mom, or even you know, being a wife, being a mom. But I would so I want to maybe have you share an example of that evolution or a time where you

Waiting On God With CEO Mom Magazine

SPEAKER_00 25:00

really had to actively listen to the Lord. Um but before you do that, I want to just highlight two quick scriptures for everyone, because you know, you and I both love the word. James 4.2, of course, the famous passage, you know, that we have not because we ask not. And then James 1.5, if any person lacks wisdom, let him ask of the Lord. Before we continue, let me ask you: have you ever wondered how to tell if it's God's voice or just your own thoughts? In the flow is so much more than a podcast. Each season, I produce a free resource to support your growth. And for this series on the listening leader, I created a free devotional called How to Hear God at Work. It'll help you slow down and recognize God's leading in everyday decisions, whether you're leading a team, a business, or your own heart. Visit im KellyJohnson.com and click on the resources section to get your free copy today. And so I just wanted to highlight those two scriptures that came up earlier in our conversation, Vonna, that it's such a part of being an active listener that the Lord wants us to ask. And there's no condemnation for those of you who ask the Lord, if we don't have wisdom, He'll give it to us.

SPEAKER_01 26:28

So I will say definitely, definitely recently, definitely recently, I've had to really pay attention to God. And actually, over the past six months, I've had to take some time to figure out what I'm going to do with CL Ma magazine. I, you know, had been working for a competitor, if you will, for um a little over a year and was really starting to feel like God was leading me back to CL Ma. And but at the same time, I couldn't move until he prompted me to move, until he opened the door for me to move or provide the opportunity for me to move. So I remember in sharing with you, I, you know, recently was laid off. And I remember sharing with you prior to that that I knew God was going to move me out and it was going to be quick. And I think I shared that with you and that I had to be ready to just go. Didn't quite know I was going to be laid off, thought I would eventually, you know, probably leave on my own accord. But that's how God chose to move. And I remember after sharing that with you, you said something that really blessed me. And you said, I'm proud of you for waiting on God. And so that was such a pivotal moment and a time and a season when I really had to listen to him. And, you know, I had all these ideas and all these things that I wanted to do. And I still had to pause and wait on him. And then once he started to move, things started to move quickly and he started to position the right people, and all these different things are going on. And I'm so excited. But I had to take a moment to step back, to fast, to pray, to be still, to listen, to do all of those things. And it was really required of me to not move until he told me to move. And even then, it wasn't the way in which I would have orchestrated, but it was his time, and it was it was perfect timing for the work that he's doing. And so that's definitely just ending from a professional perspective, is not being able to move forward until God sends out.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

Yeah, I think it's really good that you highlighted an example of one that took time to unfold. You heard from the Lord, He was telling you what was coming, but He didn't give you the timeline. He didn't say, okay, on this date, I want you to go or do. And I think that really ties in with what we were talking about in terms of stewarding the spiritual intelligence that we get, really stewarding what we're hearing. Because just because we hear from him, it does not always mean go right now, do right now, say

Timelines, Discernment, And Preparation

SPEAKER_00 29:20

right now. It could be that wait for the appointed time. And I think for those of you who might be in a similar situation where you feel like the Lord has been saying something for a while and you're not sure, should I make that move? Should I take that step? I would encourage you to just ask. Just ask, Holy Spirit. Earlier I quoted the scripture. We have not because we ask not. How much of a timeline? How much of what we're trying to figure out on our own do we not know because we haven't asked the Lord? Father, what's on your heart in terms of timeline? I've asked that a few times, and there were many weeks and months where I didn't get a clear answer. But I knew that meant don't do nothing now, Kelly, right? Because I didn't have a clear answer, I knew I shouldn't take a step. And over time, after many, many months, I started to get this sense that things would happen soon. The message that I was hearing from Holy Spirit started to shift. For a long time, it just wasn't clear at all. And then the sense that I got from the Holy Spirit, it was not actual words. It was more of a sensing and a knowing, but it was like things are going to shift soon. And I really took that to mean that I needed to start preparing for the shift. And so that I think can also happen, or I've experienced it myself, where the timeline is long. It can be very long, unfortunately. But we have seen examples in scripture, especially with Abraham and Sarah. But what happens when we take things in our own hands to try to make the timeline work with our timeline? I'm also thinking about David with Bathsheba. He did some things to sort of he had a timeline because she was expecting and he was trying to cover up the mistake. And so there was this time pressure, and he took the matters into his own hands, and we know kind of how that unfolded. And so I just highlight that I love that you're sharing an example of when it takes a while to really know when God wants us to act.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Absolutely. And it's it's opportunity. I've learned that it's opportunity to grow that intimacy with him. When you're in that waiting space, that's opportunity. And it it may not seem beautiful at the time, but it really, it really is. It's a beautiful opportunity to really get to know him, to continue those conversations, to ask those right questions. I would even say I love um your question about asking God about the timeline. I've also learned to ask him, you know, God, how will I know it's you? Or make it clear and plain to me so that I know it's you and not me. Coming up with my own idea or my own timeline. And I'm I've in in certain seasons, there's work still to be done in me. And so that's why I have to stand still, because he, whatever I need to be at this level, is it's not ready yet. And a lot of times it's not just in personality or in resources or just it's sometimes it's just he's like, I want to draw you closer to me, want to hold you closer to me. And if I let it out too soon, you're going to revert back to reliance on that thing. And I love you so much. God revealed to me the other day, I'm not going to give you anything that could possibly replace me. That could where your attention would be on that thing. And so it's just, it's, it's a great opportunity. I I love it. It's it really is.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Yeah. Yeah. Scripture tells us, I mean, I believe it's red letter text with Jesus saying, occupy the time until I come. And how we occupy our time in intimacy is so critical. It's not always about occupying our time with activities and tasks. You know, it's real easy to just do busy work. But I believe that the Lord is inviting us to really be attuned to him and to know his heart, to know his love, to know his voice, and to know how to move with him, but also move by faith when we maybe don't have everything that we feel like we need. So there is this constant, there is a there is a tension. There's a tension between moving by faith and also knowing that yes, the Lord wants me to take this step. But I know our time is really coming to an end quickly. I know you've got to go and shift to mom duties here in a moment. So I would love for us to pray. And I'll ask you, Bonna, to kick us off and then I'll wrap us up.

SPEAKER_01 34:28

Dear Father, we come before you, just praising you and thanking you so much for these godly conversations. We thank you for just being in the middle of them, giving us wisdom and the words and just speaking through us. We pray, dear Father, that we have been able to bless so many, that you have blessed so

Prayer, Encouragement, And Closing CTA

SPEAKER_01 34:50

many through us, through the words that we are sharing, through scripture and through obedience and through surrendering and complete reliance on you, dear Father. We pray for the listeners that even as they grow in their active listening, that they use it as an opportunity to develop intimacy with you, and that in the waiting, that they are so focused on you and they continue to draw closer to you and rely on you and love you, God, and just to know that you are their father, you are their friend, dear Father. And so we just ask that even as they meet you, that you would draw nigh to them as they draw nigh to you. Dear Father, we thank you so much for these incredible moments and incredible opportunities to minister. And as we go forth, continue to refine our active listening, continue to refine us as we focus on you, continue to draw closer to us, continue to draw us into intimacy with you, dear Father, and continue to position us to completely rely on you. You say in scripture to be thankful in all things. And so we are so thankful for those moments and those opportunities just to be close to you. Sometimes it's in the good moments we are far from you. But in the suffering and in the times when we're looking to the left and right and we don't know what to do, those are opportunities, God, just to know you for who you are. Jehovah Jair or Jehovah Nisi, you are Jehovah, you are Yahweh, you are all that we need. You are all-knowing, you are sovereign. And for each listener, dear Father, we pray that in the big moments and the little moments in the relationships that they have, in the conversations that they have, that you would continue to reveal yourself unto them.

SPEAKER_00 36:38

Yes, Father. Lord, I just come in agreement with um this prayer that Vana has brought forth, Lord, and I ask you to help us to be courageous question askers. Lord, I thank you that you're not offended or afraid of any question that we bring to you. And so, Lord, I just ask you to help us to ask the bold questions because you're a big God and you can handle our questions. I'm reminded of King Jehoshaphat when he brought the children of Israel to the Jordan River, I believe, and was like, Lord, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. And so, Lord, our eyes look to you now for every area, for everything that we're seeking, your wisdom, your guidance, your love, your friendship, your gap-filling power. Help us, Lord, to keep our eyes on you and our ears attuned to you. We love you, Lord, and we're so grateful that you long to be in close communion with us. It's in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that we pray and give thanks. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 38:02

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 38:06

Thank you for flowing with me today. If this episode strengthened your spirit and leadership, be sure to subscribe and share it with a friend. Remember, deeper clarity starts in community. Visit im KellyJohnson.com for free devotionals and to learn more about Raya Circles, where faith and leadership truly go together in the flow.