It would be very convenient indeed if God choice to speak to us through modern day methods, can you imagine to following?
- An email from God (love to see that address)
- Text Message pops up on your smart phone
- Voice Mail
- Private Instant Message
While those would be convenient it may never happen, but hey, God can do anything right? Just ask Moses!
So then how does God speak to us? In answering that lets examine the easiest 'ways' we can hear from God first, and on from there.
From his Word
The more I have come to know about my wife, the better I am able to understand her and 'hear' her, I just wish there was a book all about her so I could understand greater!
To hear from God, it helps to know about his character, his expectations, his motives, his attributes and his will for my life. All that is contained within the pages of holy writ. God truly will, and does speak to us over and over through his word. To study it is to learn his voice, and to attune your spirit and 'hearing' to what he desires to speak directly to your heart.
From Ministers
How many times do you hear someone tell the Pastor, "That message today was just for me"? God can take the same message, and speak to many different people, going through different problems, facing different circumstances, yet make each feel as if God was speaking to them individually. That is biblical, God anoints his servants, and when they are in-tune with the Spirit, God will direct them to speak things that was not even in the speakers notes. This is one of the reasons church attendance is a crucial part of our Christian walk.
From others
God also uses others that he gifts to speak to us, be discerning here however, and try the Spirit to see if it be of God. It will never contradict his word, his principles, and God given Ministry and leadership.
There are certainly other methods God uses to speak to us, but then there is the one you allude too, that "still small voice".
This is certainly a part of 'hearing' that is learned in a sense (on the hearing part). I find it best I can hear him speak to me in that still small voice the scripture speaks of (I Kings 19:12) after spending a time in prayer.
The key few seldom learn is that prayer IS communication; by definition communication involves both speaking and listening. After a time of prayer, I have heard that still small voice during a time of meditating upon him after the 'speaking' part of prayer is completed.
During this meditating times, you learn to quiet your emotions, your mind and bring every thought into captivity and mediate upon his presence. That is learned through faithful prayer and quiet meditation afterwards.
I suspect God chooses the majority of the time to speak to us using the first two mentioned... Moses spent a looong time in the desert before having a burning bush experience, Elijah spent many mundane, boring days by the brook Cherith watching it dry up before God spoke to him again - the mundane was more common for both than it was to hear from God.
I have watched people get their spiritual lives out of balance in pursuing being a spiritual guru that heard from God on a daily basis. Every dream had to have a meaning and every voice had to be from God.
While your pursuit is commendable, seek balance in all things - even this; and then place yourself in a position to hear that voice through prayer and meditation, training your heart to be receptive to discern it when it comes. God will honor a sincere heart that seeks to hear his voice.