Day 15 Contrasts

"I never hear God's voice," was the comment of a regular attendee at the altar this morning.  I immediately asked, "Do you read your Bible?"  He answered yes. "Then you hear from God.  Hearing God isn't the issue; doing what God has said is!"

The next person I prayed with had never been to Calvary.  I asked how I could pray with her and her response was, "God spoke to me yesterday and told me that I was angry. I want to be forgiven and free."  I asked if she had ever given her life to Christ. Her response was, "Yes. Yesterday."

What a contrast in responses.  One has known the Lord but can't hear His voice; the other heard His voice for the first time the same day of her salvation and responded.

My intent is not to be critical of either response, but there are observations and questions to be considered in these two scenarios that should not be ignored.  

• Length of time knowing the Lord doesn't automatically assume we have developed our ability to hear the voice of God.
• When God wants to speak, are you open to hear?
• God is always speaking, but have we learned how to listen?

How can you know the voice of the Lord?  Other than the obvious--reading God's Word, there must come an element of faith that causes your spirit to recognize the prompting that could come only

from the Holy Spirit.  Let me give you an example.

This morning while spending time in my personal devotions I asked the Holy Spirit what He wanted to do in the service today.  Immediately my spirit was prompted that there would be someone in the service with either a pinched nerve or injured neck. He even showed me what section of the sanctuary the person suffering would be sitting in. 

I responded to that prompting by waiting for the opportunity in the service to speak what I knew was from the Lord.  After the service, a man who sat in the very section God showed me came and said, "I was the person with the pinched nerve in my neck."  Later a young boy about 8 came with his father to tell me he also came to church with his neck hurting and God healed him.

What I am sure of today is this: God speaks and those who train their spiritual ears to hear will know His voice and see His power.  As you fast and pray this week, ask the Holy Spirit to give you greater awareness of His voice, but then be prepared to act.  You will hear and see the difference.

I'll meet you at the Throne,

Pastor George