Stories from God: Everyday People Experiencing God in Extraordinary Ways

Chapter 5: Hearing God Speak

      This chapter is another chapter on prayer, but prayer of a different kind. Prayer during which we listen to God. Actually listening to God was an idea that was foreign to me during most of my life as a believer. I would talk to God but I never took time to listen to God.

I was a Christian for 30 years before anyone told me that God would talk to me. What was even more surprising was the idea that He wanted to talk to me. It was not until after I started to attend New Song City Central church and read Mike Riches book Hearing God's Voice that I began to realize that prayer works in two directions. Looking back, I cannot understand why I missed this for so long. After all, the Bible is full of stories of God communicating directly with people.

The fact is He spoke to everyone (OK almost everyone). Of course, He spoke to the prophets. It was their job to listen to God. However, God also spoke to Cain, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and a host of other Old Testament characters. He continued to speak to people in the New Testament. Before Christ came, He talked to Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph. After Christ left, God talked to Peter, Paul and a host of others.

I guess my favorite Biblical story involving God communicating with us, is that of Ananias. Here is someone about whom very little is known. Was he a powerful, inspirational Christian? Did he share the Gospel with many people? Did he suffer for Christ? We simply do not know. Yet God spoke directly to him. God told him to go to help Saul (soon to become Paul). In spite of all we do not know about him, we do know this, he was a man that listened to God and obeyed God. As a result, he was instrumental in starting the greatest ministry in the history of the world, the ministry of Paul.

I guess what I believed about answered prayer was influenced by my concept of the word "answered." To me, "answered" meant that something happened in my life, that I got what I asked for. However, that is not the case in ordinary everyday conversation. When we sit down to talk with someone, we expect an answer in the form of a verbal response. Why should answered prayer be any different? I needed to stop focusing on God giving me things and start listening to Him. When I did, I discovered that God had a lot to say.

Some of the stories in this chapter are about the things He told me. Many of the stories are about the impact listening to God had on my friends. In every case, listening to God resulted in a miracle.

If there is one chapter in this book that can immediately change your life, it is this one. These stories tell us how important it is to listen to God. Jesus told us this in Matthew 4:4, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Listening to God is more important than bread to our lives. His Word sustains us more than food. We should hang on every word that comes from the mouth of God. If you are not listening to God, these stories will show you what you are missing. They told me what I missed for almost 30 years.

God Speaks to Rodney

I believe that God created everyone with a purpose. We are all wonderfully made to serve God in some fashion. It goes beyond our spiritual gift which we receive from the Holy Spirit at the moment we first come to Christ. It has more to do with how God sees us, and His plans to use us. At New Song, we call it our Spiritual DNA or original design (OD). One thing we like to do when we pray for people, especially for the first time, is to ask God to reveal their original design. It is such a blessing to watch someone become overwhelmed with joy as they hear for the first time God speaking directly to their soul. Oftentimes, God uses this moment to verify their deepest dreams. He tells them that what they have always desired for their lives is what He planted in them when they were born. Sometimes, what God reveals comes as a surprise. God's view of them is beyond anything they thought they were capable of. Like Gideon, in the book of Judges, when he was first greeted by God as "Oh, valiant warrior," and his response was "...my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house," some feel inadequate to the calling of Christ. However, even those who are surprised by God know deep in their soul that He is speaking truth to them.