So, You Want to Hear From God

“But God told me!”

 

“I sensed the Holy Spirit saying…”

 

“God woke me up in the morning…”

 

“I have a message for you from the Lord…”

 

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Does it make you scream with frustration or do you smile cynically and think, “God must be exceptionally chatty to you because He certainly doesn’t speak to me. And no, I am not deaf.” Steady on, no one said you were. The truth is this: God does speak. He speaks to us everyday whether or not we are willing to listen. The fact is; we are not always interested in what He has to say. For example, I decide I want to get married to the dashing brother who sings baritone in the choir. I’ve accepted his marriage proposal, yet I am not comfortable about my decision. Instead, I am permeated by an indefinable sense of unease. Yet, I soldier on with my decision, intent on marrying the guy. That sense of unease is the Holy Spirit prompting me to take another look at my decision. And that is just of the many ways God speaks to us.

 

Another example; I was in a painful situation and had been crying for a couple of hours. I cried so much I feared shedding another tear as my eyes were stinging. As I lay on the bed spent, the sun’s rays suddenly illuminated my room. I felt as if God was saying to me, “My child, there are better days ahead. I am here with you.” I was enormously comforted. I did not hear an audible voice, I did not see any angels but God spoke to me through the wonder of His creation. “If God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t He more surely care for you?”[i]. .

And another example; I hadn’t been a Christian long. But there I was with my pastor. His eyes were closed and it seemed he was listening intently to something. Thing is, I was the only person standing there and I wasn’t talking.

 

“What are you doing?” I asked him.

 

“Listening,” he replied.

 

“To what?”

 

“To the Lord.”

 

“What, you mean you can hear Him? How?” I wanted to know so I could hear Him for myself. After all, I was His child as well.

 

“If you listen, you will hear. Go home. Lock your door and wait in the silence. Do not play any music and do not make any noise. Just wait and He will speak. I guarantee you.”

 

I couldn’t wait to get home. I did as he asked and waited and waited. Naturally, my mind suddenly became overactive but I refused to listen. All I knew was, I was waiting to hear from God. And then I heard Him. A still, small voice and it was as clear as day. “Abidemi, my child…” I didn’t wait to hear the rest. I flew out of the room on wings, “He called me His child!” I shouted joyfully to the empty house. “I am His child!”

 

Understand this; this wasn’t yoga. I didn’t empty my mind of anything. I wasn’t reaching out to some kind of consciousness. I simply waited. And He came. I must have waited all of ten to fifteen minutes but it took that time to get my whirling emotions in order and the devil to realise I wasn’t going to budge. Try it for yourself. Don’t get yourself worked up or ‘stirred up.’ Just find a quiet place and say to the Lord, “Speak to me” and He will. He yearns to reveal Himself to us. Take Him on His Word, “The Lord still waits for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion”[ii]. I thank God for sending that pastor my way. To this day, after praying, I still wait in silence to hear from my Father. It’s a habit I believe every Christian should cultivate.

 

It was a Sunday and I was desperately trying to ignore the fact that I was supposed to be praying. “Holy Spirit, it’s Sunday. Give me a break,” I mumbled groggily half-asleep. And then I heard it.

 

“Abidemi!”

 

It was my sister’s voice and it sounded urgent. I didn’t hesitate. I shot out of bed and ran upstairs to her room and there she was; sleeping like a baby. I wasn’t stupid. I realised I was having a ‘Samuel moment’. “Ha, ha,” I muttered to the Holy Spirit. “Use my sister to get me out of bed. Yes, very funny. Ha. Ha.” I stalked back to my room and started praying. As I prayed, words shot out of my mouth, “Thank you God for the prophecy we’re going to receive in church today.” Later on in church, a visiting pastor received a prophecy from the Lord. I went home filled with joy. I couldn’t believe He woke me up just to tell me what was going to happen in church that morning. I mean, He’s God! Now, I understand that this is what friends[iii] do. Tell each other stuff. Still, He could’ve waited another hour before getting me out of bed…

 

“Study this Book of Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed”[iv]. I think this is self-explanatory. The Bible is God’s written word. It makes sense; the more time you spend with someone, the more intimately you know him or her. The same goes for God. If you spend more time reading the Bible and meditating on it, you will be able to discern His voice. I cannot count the number of times I’ve asked the Holy Spirit’s counsel in certain situations and a Bible verse comes to my mind that befits that particular situation. One thing I’ve learnt is this; if I am worked up or rather emotional, my ability to hear from God is rather impaired. Sometimes, impossible. I understand the rigours of twenty-first century living has robbed those in the West of the ability to sit still for more than five minutes at a time but I firmly believe that any time invested in our spiritual life is well worth it. If you don’t like sitting down and reading the Bible, get it on tape. You can listen to it in your car, on your Walkman and even whilst you’re in the gym. The most important thing is having your mind renewed by the Word.

 

Discerning God’s voice takes time and practice. But God hasn’t left us without tools. In the books of Ephesians and 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle exhorts the churches to pray in the Spirit always. It makes sense: “The Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what is the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will”[v]. I believe this wholeheartedly. I prefer to pray in the Spirit because 1) We have been told to and 2), I have the gift of interpretation. I understand when I speak in a heavenly language. Don’t ask me how that’s possible. I just do. Has anyone ever asked why or how you understand English? Oh, and another thing;

 

Once, I heard the ‘still small voice’ telling me to go for a prayer meeting. I got ready and was about to leave my house when I telephoned a friend. “Oh no,” she told me on the telephone. “There is no prayer meeting today.” I was wrong. It wasn’t the Holy Spirit, just my imagination or a low-level devil having fun with me. Nathan had to correct David when he realised he’d given him the wrong message from God[vi].  Speak with your church leaders; I’m sure they can regale you with stories of the times they got it wrong.

 

God is creative. Look at the earth! Who else could have designed the millions of plants, animals, seas, oceans and all the rest of it with perfect precision? And if what we see is the corrupted version, can you imagine what the Garden of Eden must’ve looked like? A million, zillion times better, that’s what! I guess what I’m trying to say is this: we cannot limit the number of ways God speaks to us. He spoke to Moses through a burning bush, Joseph had dreams, Balaam had to contend with a donkey and Daniel’s encounter with the angel Gabriel was so frightening, he found himself on the floor as a dead man. I’m sure millions of people who’ve encountered angels do the exact same thing (I, for one have requested one thing from God; no angels please. I have a desire to have a long and satisfying life).