Shadowing Practice: How can I hear God's voice? - Ask Dr. Stanley - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Does God still speak to us today?
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He's always speaking to believers, but we must be attuned to hear His voice.
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It is a matter of listening and waiting, of humility and meditation upon God's Word, and of learning to recognize how God communicates.
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Yes, God is speaking to us.
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In fact, one of the most influential times in my life was
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when my grandfather Stanley first taught me how to listen to God.
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What a wonderful privilege it is to fellowship with our Creator, our Redeemer, our eternal friend.
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One recent email sums up many of the questions people have asked us about hearing God's voice, and it reads, I have prayed for God to speak to me,
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but I don't hear Him.
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My faith is strong, and I know He will do for me as the Bible promises, but I have never heard Him say, go buy this gallon of milk,
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don't buy this car, wait for what I have for you.
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Am I not listening in the right way?
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Or is He guiding my everyday decisions, but I don't realize He's speaking?
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How do I hear God's voice?
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Indeed, God is still speaking, and He's interested in all these things that you name, buying milk, waiting up at the car, and so forth.
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So are you asking if God speaks specifically?
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And the answer is, yes, He does.
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Let me give you two or three examples.
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Speaking about buying groceries, on a particular day, I had a very short period of time,
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and so I wanted to buy a turkey for Thanksgiving.
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My time was really running out, they're running out.
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I thought, well, I shouldn't do this now.
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I said, God, just show me what to do.
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It's like God said, go to this store, buy the turkey now.
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Against sort of my will, I went.
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I walked right in, straight to the right place, the right pound of turkey, walked right out, paid it, got back in the car in less than about 25 minutes.
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Did God tell me to go?
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Yes, he did.
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On another occasion when I was going to buy a car, I had driven this same car three times and talking to the salesman about it.
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And while I was sitting there, it's like the Lord said to me, do you want this car or do you want my best?
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That's all I needed to hear.
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I said, God, I want your best.
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And I told the gentleman I was no longer interested.
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How many times has the Lord spoken to my heart about something and said, not now.
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Trust me, just wait.
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And I can tell you this, without an exception, anytime that God has ever told me to wait, it always came out better.
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Anytime that I've ever thought, well, maybe that's just my opinion.
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It's never right.
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When He speaks to you, He speaks to you personally because He loves you.
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You remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount?
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Speaking of the Father, loving us, taking care of us, lilies of the field, birds of the air, and all of these things.
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And what does the Bible say?
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Ask and it.
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Not something, but it shall be given you.
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What?
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Whatever we ask.
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So I would ask you this question.
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Are you praying only when there's a need or a desire?
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How much time do you spend worshiping him and intimate fellowship with him, loving him and expressing that?
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You don't need to ask, listen carefully, for what you're responsible for providing yourself on a daily basis.
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That doesn't mean that there aren't some things you should check on naturally, but you don't have to ask him what color socks you're going to wear, if you should brush your teeth or not.
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But I'm talking about the issues of life.
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So I would ask you this question.
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Are you really listening to his voice about your sins?
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His commands to you to serve him, to share your faith?
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In other words, these are things that don't necessarily profit you.
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Are you spiritually tuned in to His Spirit, living an obedient life, walking in His will.
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God desires to speak to us.
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The problem is within you, not God.
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He is more than willing to speak.
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You need to get in the Word.
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Listen to what the Scripture says.
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The Bible says, the entrance of His Word gives light.
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What does that mean?
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As I open the Word of God and begin to pour it into my heart, He's going to speak to me primarily through his word.
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Not always, but it'll never be a contradiction to his word.
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When he speaks, he's going to make it clear.
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The question is, are you listening with a yielded heart?
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You said you have lots of faith, but is your heart right?
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Listen, read to do whatever he says.
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That is, God, this is the question I have in my heart.
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Give me direction from your word.
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Show me what to do, and I will do it.
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God will make you no exception.
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If you come to Him with a surrendered life, yielded spirit, clean heart, you can bet your life on this.
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God is willing to demonstrate His awesome power and love and answer your petition.
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Well, thank you for joining us for this broadcast of In Touch.
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And as we close, remember, it's your intimacy with God that determines the impact of your life.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How can I hear God's voice? - Ask Dr. Stanley”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: speak, word, speaking, listening, listen. This video has 78 sentences and 917 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:07. The speaker talks at a natural 179 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 17 of its 78 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| fellowship noun | /ˈfɛl.ə.ʃɪp/ | A company of people that share the same interest or aim. |
| yield verb | /jiːld/ | To give as a result or outcome; to produce or render. |
| anytime adverb | At any time. | |
| attune verb | /əˈt(j)un/ | To bring into musical accord. |
| contradiction noun | /ˌkɑːntɹəˈdɪkʃən/ | The act of contradicting. |
| obedient adjective | /əˈbidiənt/ | Willing to comply with the commands, orders, or instructions of those in authority; biddable. |
| spiritually adverb | In a manner affecting, relating or pertaining to the spirit or the soul. | |
| humility noun | /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/ | The characteristic of being humble; humbleness in character and behavior. |
| sock noun | /sɑk/ | A knitted or woven covering for the foot. |
| salesman noun | A man whose job it is to sell things, either in a shop / store or elsewhere. | |
| intimacy noun | /ˈɪn.tɪ.mə.si/ | Intimate relationship. |
| groceries noun | /ˈɡɹoʊ.s(ə.)ɹiz/ | Retail foodstuffs and other household supplies; the commodities sold by a grocer or in a grocery store. |
| believer noun | /bɪˈlivɚ/ | A person who believes; especially regarding religion. |
| gallon noun | /ˈɡælən/ | A unit of volume, equivalent to eight pints |
| meditation noun | /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/ | A devotional exercise of, or leading to, contemplation. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| run out verb | To use up or consume all | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| sum up verb | To produce a total by adding. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Am I not listening in the right way?
- My time was really running out, they're running out.
- I thought, well, I shouldn't do this now.
- That's all I needed to hear.
- Are you praying only when there's a need or a desire?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have asked · have never heard · has ever told |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | must be attuned · be given |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, aren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: fellowship /ˈfɛl.ə.ʃɪp/, contradiction /ˌkɑːntɹəˈdɪkʃən/, meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/, influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: contradiction /ˌkɑːntɹəˈdɪkʃən/, humility /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/, intimacy /ˈɪn.tɪ.mə.si/, influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like fellowship, yield, anytime.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.