When my girls were very young I would get up at o dark o'clock to go walk. It would be my only time to be quiet and still in God's Presence. I needed that every morning. Even so, it seemed if God wanted me to listen, He would wake me up in the middle of the night. Again, the only time it was quiet. Sometimes I would get so overwhelmed by what all He told me that I would have to get up and start writing. And that is how I started writing.
Recently I was at a funeral and we sang, "Here I Am Lord". When we sang, "I heard you calling in the night" I thought of all the times God talks to me. I still hear from Him at night on occasion but now it is usually when I am in creation. Being quiet. I may be walking or riding a bike but I am quiet. The more I began to hear God the more I began to listen for God. The more I heard from God the more our relationship grew. How can you be close to anyone you do not listen to? This began to transform my life. God wants to talk to us, not just listen. Prayer is a two way conversation and that was hard for me to learn. John 8: 47, "Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” Wow!
We are told in Jeremiah 33: 3 that if we call, He will answer. "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." He will also guide us Psalm 32: 8, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you." There are so many Scriptures about this and so many stories about people in the Bible who heard God and knew His will. God speaks to all of His children and He speaks in a way that we can understand.
God speaks through circumstances, other people, signs, through His Word and through the Holy Spirit. John 16: 13, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." God speaks to us by opening and closing doors. And my favorite is that He speaks and reveals things to me through His creation. Romans 1: 20, "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
When I think of Him speaking to us through creation I think of the small tree outside of my kitchen window in my last house. It had red berries on it during the winter. Dad and I would always know when warm weather was coming because of how many berries were on it. We loved watching that tree. There were never too few or too many. None went to waste because it was the perfect amount. I felt God reminding me that He is my provider and He gives me just what I need just when I need it! I think that is how God speaks to me and teaches me. It also gives testimony to His faithfulness.
God speaks through His Word. Have you ever got a card in the mail with scripture on it or opened your Bible and it was just what you needed to hear? I love when I have read a particular Scripture many times and it didn't strike me as anything special and then one day.... It is like the best message that I could read. I know it is just for me! It fits my circumstance perfectly - that is because it is the Living Word. He speaks to us by the Holy Spirit, equipping us with gifts for His service.
I believe when we hear God, we know it is God. Don't ask me how. It's a God thing! John 10: 4, "When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." His voice and His messages are clear to His children. Let's listen for God's voice. Matthew 11: 15, "Whoever has ears, let them hear."
"A thriving prayer life is possible when we're quiet enough to hear God speak."