When God Speaks

I’m interested in a relationship with Jesus.

That was the box my daughter checked when prompted at the end of our Easter service. Of course I did what any good mom would do: I peeked at her answer.

On our way home, Brent and I both agreed we needed to circle back around to her response card when we put her in bed that night and knew she would be open to talking. What it came down to was not her uncertainty of salvation, but rather her lack of desire to have her own quiet time, something Brent and I had been encouraging her to do.

“I hear you and dad talk about God speaking to you, but what is that and how do you know it’s God?” she asked.

We explained to her that we learn someone’s voice by spending time with that person. The more time you spend, the more in tune you become. For a Christian, we start in Scripture. But that’s not the only way God can speak. His Spirit can give you a “feeling” during a certain set of circumstances. He can use someone else as a mouthpiece. It can be a piece of literature or a movie you watch when he impresses something upon you. It can be through nature or a work of art. A song. He is not limited, and as long as we cross-examine what we are hearing with Scripture, we can set apart what is from Him and what is our own fallible minds.

The cool thing about God is that he decided to give Elizabeth a practical example to witness.

On the following Tuesday morning, I got ready for work and left the house. But I just didn’t feel right. The school year was starting to suffocate me, I hadn’t had much time for studying and pursuing an assignment God has laid on my heart, and I was just feeling depleted, uncreative, and lacking.

As soon as I threw my stuff down in my classroom, I sent Brent a text:

Can you pray for me? I’m struggling today.

He responded by saying he had already prayed for me, but he would pray again.

Two minutes later, one of my co-workers with whom I’ve only had one other conversation the entire school year walked into my classroom. It kind of startled me. But this person said they just felt “prompted” to stop in as they walked by my classroom door.

Over the course of our conversation for the next twenty minutes, this person spoke a word of prophecy over me that was specific to my current situation. So specific.

Guess who was witness to all of it? My daughter who was sitting on the couch in my classroom.

I sent a follow-up text to Brent once my co-worker left and said, “Of all people, you’ll never believe who just walked in my door and spoke a word of prophecy over me.”

His response? He wasn’t surprised. He said after my last text message, he prayed that God would specifically send someone that day to encourage me. My co-worker, who never stops by my classroom, was that person.

That night over dinner, Brent and I were able to talk about the occurrence with Elizabeth. We told her that the person who stopped by had a choice to make when they were prompted: to ignore it and keep walking, or to follow in obedience. 

You see, hearing from God isn’t just about us. Often God speaks to us for the benefit of others. It’s so important for us to be in tune with his voice. Through Scripture. Through prayer. Through praise. AND THEN through a willingness to see with spiritual eyes, hear with spiritual ears, and feel with a spiritual heart. We cannot compartmentalize our lives with the spiritual lived out only on Sundays during church and during our quiet times throughout the week. We are in the spiritual 24/7.

How many of us walk through the day, missing the ways in which God is trying to speak? 

Listen.

Listen for that still, small voice. He’s there. In the minutest of details.