When I was in college, one day I went by myself to a Taco Bell, and while I was there, I noticed an older man across the dining room.
For some reason, he caught my attention. I observed him off and on while I was eating, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about him.
When I was leaving the restaurant, he was standing by the door. He stopped me and said that God told him to give me twenty dollars and to tell me that He cared for me.
I don't know in what way God spoke to him, whether it was a voice or some other manner, but I do believe that it happened.
It pains me sometimes when I hear people say that God doesn't speak to us today. Many people say that the Bible has everything in it that we need to know, and I won't disagree that the Bible is complete for the church as a whole, but I believe that sometimes we as individuals need a little more, something a little more specific, a little more direct.
Does God still speak to us today? I think so, and here are three reasons why.
1. Paul said that we should seek to prophesy.
"Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. . . . But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation." 1 Corinthians 14:1, 3 (NASB)
What is prophecy other than speaking what God says? And how do we say what He says without knowing what He is saying?
2. The Bible doesn't say we shouldn't expect it. Rather, we see over and over again people in the early church hearing God speak . . . and not just the original apostles.
Paul:
"As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'
"And he said, 'Who are you, Lord?'
"And He said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.'" Acts 9:3-6 (NASB)
Peter:
"While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Behold, three men are looking for you. But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.'" Acts 10:19-20 (NASB)
Agabus:
"As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, 'This is what the Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" Acts 21:11 (NASB)
I find the Bible to be a book of examples rather than a book of exceptions to the rule, especially since the Bible does not tell us we should not expect to hear from Him in the same way as the early church did. Some try to argue that the Bible does say prophecy and similar gifts are no longer active, but the burden of proof is on them, and I and many others find their evidence lacking.
3. It happens. We never want experience to be our first argument for or against anything, because our experiences can deceive, but without experiences, our other two points are irrelevant. If no one is hearing from God, what is the point of trying to convince you that it's possible?
I have heard story after story about people hearing from God, sometimes for themselves and sometimes to help people around them. I believe I have heard him as well. It doesn't happen often for me, but when it does, I hear a thought in the middle of my thoughts. It feels somehow foreign, like it didn't originate in my own mind but was placed there.
Please take a moment and consider these two stories of people hearing from God.
"I was sitting on a plane when the Holy Spirit kept stirring my heart to ask the man next to me if there was anything I could pray for him about. I was hesitant the entire flight but finally obeyed. When I asked, he stated that he didn't believe in prayers since he was raised Catholic and didn't believe in the church or anything that went with it. I felt immediately shot down and thought, 'Oh great, some impact I made!' But it's when I shared with him my travel plans to see my father who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer that he looked into my eyes with tears streaming down his face and said, 'Pray for your dad for me; that's my prayer!' Then he said, 'God bless you, child,' and gave me a hug. With God's plan, He enabled me to either plant, water, or grow a spiritual seed that day!" - Kristin
"Many years ago, Bill and I were deciding whether to have more children, and I found out that I was pregnant. I was upset because we had not made up our minds yet! In a couple of weeks I had a miscarriage and went through a time where I thought God was punishing me because I wasn't sure I had wanted that baby. (Bill had two and I had one when we got married, and by this time we had three together, so six total.) One night I had a dream and the Lord told me I would have one more child, a girl and name her Mary Rose. At that time, I was already two weeks pregnant and that is how Mary Rose came into our lives. I am a firm believer that God does speak to us and we better be ready to listen!" - Teri
Some things to think about:
Most people who hear God do not hear a voice audible to their ears. Rather, they are listening to God with the Spirit inside them. They hear God speaking in their thoughts, they get a sort of "impression," or they see a picture in their mind or have a dream while sleeping.
Some people are able to hear from God more easily than others. Often that comes by having a close relationship with Him, as well as practicing and testing what you hear.
Why should you test what you hear? It is easy for our own minds to get in the way of hearing God. So when you hear something you think might be from God, you need to confirm it, so far as you can.
The most important way to do that is to compare it to the Bible. If what you hear is a contradiction of the scriptures, you either did not hear it from Him at all or you greatly misunderstood. God will not contradict Himself.
After you have tested what you heard against the Bible, test it against what you know. If He tells you something about an event or a person, see if it matches up with what you already know or can reasonably discover. If it doesn't match up, don't dismiss it outright, but set it aside for a time. As situations progress, you may find that what you heard does prove itself to be true.
You talk:
Has God spoken to you before?
In what manner did you hear?
Did you know right away that it was Him or did you discover that later? What made you realize it was Him?
Well spoken!
ReplyDeleteI've recently been developing my relationship with God and I do hear Him more often when I tune in to Him. Dreams, visions, thoughts, impressions -- I get it all.
Life is so much more interesting that way, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI think that He speaks to me in small ways; through little signs. It's up to me to decipher these messages and apply them to my life. This was a nice piece to view on a Sunday morning. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOh, and thank you for stopping by my blog! :) Hope to see you again.
Sometimes figuring it out is the hardest part! It's so easy to misunderstand!
ReplyDeleteWhile I know I've heard Him speak many times, two specifically stand out. One was the time when I was in a car accident back in 2004. The moment before impact I very clearly heard a voice in my head saying "You're going to have an accident."
ReplyDeleteThe other time was after my 1st baby was born. He was premature and had to stay in the NICU for 10 days. It's a rather long story so I'll just leave the link to it here, in case you are interested in reading it.
http://dayslifedreams.wordpress.com/mommy-to-mommy-2/logans-story/
Mercy, thank you for sharing! I look forward to reading your story!
ReplyDelete