A Psychological Perspective on Hearing God – Mark Chironna

Does our personality have anything to do with hearing God’s voice? How does our human imagination, thinking and intuition interact with the Spirit? Our guest on this show Mark Chironna, calls our human interaction with God a “dance,” where God never violates our humanness and the journey to wholeness is the place where theology and psychology meet.Mark calls himself a dysfunctional Italian from New York City. He grew up in a Presbyterian church, but was disillusioned by the lack of evidence of the power of God. So he dabbled in metaphysics, esoteric Christianity and even the occult before finding himself radically converted to Jesus at 19 years of age at the height of the Jesus people movement (Think the movie, Jesus Revolution). Mark says he knew the devil and that scared him enough to realise Jesus must be real!Today Mark is a theo-semiotician, prophetic minister and media personality who holds a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies and a Master of Arts in Psychology. While at times in the church, psychology was seen to be a kind of enemy to spirituality, Mark firmly believes theology and psychology need to be in conversation with each other. He brings a unique and necessary psychological perspective to the experience of hearing God’s voice. This is a rich and deeply insightful conversation!Tania and Mark talk about:Mark’s story and how he experienced prophetic inclinations at an early age. He “just knew things about people.”The interaction of our humanness and God’s divinity: “At that place where the divine and human interact, God never violates the way he made us, so there’s this dance – this participation with the Spirit – that graces us to yield to insights and intuitions that come.”The importance of quietness and contemplation in hearing God.The interaction of personality and hearing God. Mark suggests that that people who lean towards the prophetic tend to be more introverted and spend more time in self-reflection and self-awareness.The connection between creativity and prophetic expression.How our pain and suffering teaches us to listen and hear. This is very different to “magical thinking,” where we’ve been inundated with the idea to “make this decree and it will come to pass.”The importance of the cross in recognising and understanding the Spirit’s voice.“There is no prophetic without cruciformity. The cross has to touch all of us: introvert, extrovert, thinker, feeler, judger and senser.”Next StepsJoin the journey to hearing God’s voice. Start your free 7-day ⁠God Conversations devotional ⁠today!Pray, promote and give. God Conversations is donor-funded and made possible through the generosity of people like you! ⁠Become a partner today⁠.Equip your church to hear God’s voice. ⁠Join our community of ministry leaders⁠ for monthly insights and a free preview of 50 Days of God Conversations resource.About Dr. Mark ChironnaHelping people learn how to flourish and become life-long learners has been Mark’s life’s journey. As an avid student, Dr. Chironna is a theo-semiotician, holding a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies and a Master of Arts in Psychology (www.markchironna.com). He is also an author, BCC certified coach, and is currently seeking a Ph.D. at the University Of Birmingham, UK. Most importantly, Dr. Chironna has been in the people-helping arena for over forty-seven years, guiding others towards growth in Christ and all areas of life.