In this powerful conversation, Jenilee Samuel sits down with Heather Shriver Burns — master coach, spiritual director, and host of the Seek First CEO podcast — to explore the real reasons many believers struggle to hear God clearly.
Heather shares her personal journey from a checklist faith and high-achievement mindset to a deep, intimate, two-way relationship with God. Through loss, busyness, trauma, and relational experiences, she discovered that silence from God often isn’t God being distant — it reflects what’s crowded our inner world.
Together Jenilee and Heather unpack:
1. Why God can feel silent even when He’s speaking
Heather shares how her faith was more obligation than intimacy before a season of loss — and how that shifted her ability to hear God.
2. How trauma and nervous system stress can block spiritual hearing
Busyness, unresolved hurts, and fight-or-flight states create inner noise that makes hearing God harder than it should be.
3. The power of human connection in spiritual clarity
Some of the clearest messages from God come through people — especially when our own connection feels muted.
4. How everyday moments become God-encounters
Heather and Jenilee talk about learning to notice God in mundane life — not just in quiet time or special moments.
5. The importance of honest communication with God
Letting go of performance, including honesty about fear, loss, and confusion, opens up the way God actually speaks.
6. Why community and relationships matter in spiritual growth
We’re not meant to grow in isolation — our connections with others test, refine, and expand our ability to hear God’s voice.
🌿 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Heather’s story — including losing an 8-figure business while pregnant and pressing into God through it — illustrates how even deeply spiritual women can struggle to hear God until they heal the places that block His voice.
🧡 Key Quotes from Heather
✨ “Community is crucial for growth.”
✨ “Recognizing God’s presence daily matters more than perfect quiet time.”
✨ “Honest communication with God transforms how we connect with Him.”
Find Heather and her work here:
Website: heathershriverburns.com (under construction)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathershriverburns/
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