God Spoke to You? Yeah, right.

In the last week, I have heard several say that God talked to them. “God told me not to be with that man,” one woman said. She listened, and got away from the guy,
which as it turns out, was a very good decision. Another
said that God woke him up out of his sleep to show him some things about
his life . . . and he was clearly shown some things he needed to come
to terms with. Then, I mentioned going to the beach to
specifically ask God about his vision for my ministry in Long Beach,
thinking I might get some kind of God-sized mission . . . I did. He
reminded me that ‘if his people pray, turn from their sinful ways, he
will hear, and answer.’ He ‘spoke to me’ through reminding
me of a Scripture
I learned in high school. Three different scenarios,
three different people in the last week-- Let me ask you something, does
God speak to you? Do you believe he still speaks to
Christians today? I do.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders. . .

The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. . .

The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.

The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. . .

And in His temple all cry, "Glory!" from Psalm 29

I love what the boy Samuel said to God, when he thought he heard his voice - "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." 1 Samuel 3.8-9 If
God was indeed speaking, he wanted to hear him. . . me, too. The church I
attended in my youth taught that God’s voice could only be found in the
pages of Scripture. And yet, inside myself, it did not make sense that
God stopped communicating his thoughts once the Bible was complete. To
be sure, the words of God
are found in the Bible, but since the canon of Scripture was closed
almost 2000 years ago, does that mean he has nothing to say to us in the
21st century? Hmmm . . . I think not.

"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it
who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do from that
motive. It is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but
let us do it from a principle of love, and because God would have us." 1

Do you desire to hear God's voice? I would think you do if you are desirous of a meaningful relationship with him, and get this----that is the whole point of your life! God
spoke to many in the Bible—all who were seeking the heart of God. [Moses,
Noah, Jonah, Mary, Esther, Isaiah, Saul (who became Paul) Ezekiel, and
others. . .].

'The ideal for hearing from God is finally determined by who God is, what kind of beings we are and what a personal relationship between ourselves and God
should be like.'2 From John 10, the shepherd of the sheep calls His
own sheep by name and leads them out. . . He goes ahead of them, and the
sheep follow him because they know his voice. . . "I am the Good Shepherd. I know my
own and my own know me. . . . My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and
they follow Me."

How does God speak?

~in a still, small voice

~through Scripture

~through other believers - including messages from the pulpit

~visions - when awake

~dreams - when asleep

~circumstances - opened or closed doors; serendipitous meetings

~a "knowing" in our innermost being

When God speaks, he expresses his mind, his character, and his purposes--and his leading will always be consistent with Scripture. He will not shout at us though, in order to
get a word in. . . "we need to give much time to
communicate with the Holy
Spirit. He will not speak to anyone who is in a hurry.3 God
is a gentleman and will not break the door down to get our attention,
so we do well to obey--

"Be still, and know that I am God." 4

God spoke to you? Well, just maybe he did!

Christine

2 Dallas Willard, Hearing God - ** a phenomenal book