The other day I tried to call my mom on her work number. When I got her voicemail, I hung up and tried her cell phone. That didn't work either so I gave up and decided to talk to her later. But if I really needed to get a hold of her I could have kept going. I could have sent her a text or e-mail or facebook message or fax.
There are so many ways of communicating today, it's absolutely crazy. So that begs the question; How many different ways does God communicate with us?
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says "Pray without ceasing." In the middle of this shotgun list of basic activities believers should put into practice are these three little words that tell us what our communication to God should be. A believers communion with God so be so intimate that talking to Him is easy and natural.
So what is prayer? Is it talking at God and Him listening? NO!! It is so much more than that. Prayer as defined in the bible is a 2 way conversation. I think many times we feel that prayer in a monologue rather than a dialogue. But prayer is a conversation.
Now let's put this together. Logic says that if we are to pray without ceasing and prayer is a 2 way conversation. Then we can only come to the conclusion that God is speaking to us without ceasing.
So how does God communicate with us? First is through the Holy Spirit. As Packer says in "Knowing God," "the work of salvation is one in which all three act together, the Father purposing redemption, the Son securing it and the Spirit applying it." Or as Ephesians 1:13-14 says, "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of His glory."
If you know Jesus as LORD and Savior, you have the God's Spirit dwelling inside of you. So He can speak right to you. Those "tap on your shoulder" experiences you feel when you know something isn't right, that is God's Spirit. When He enters your life, things begin to change. He speaks to you telling you how to live more like His character.
Now I don't believe that God speaks to us through signs or circumstances but He does work within our everyday boring situations of life. Take Moses for example, he see a burning bush in the desert. That was something that part of his everyday life. God used that to speak to him. The other day I was at home and I watch Zion take a huge tumble and do a face plant right onto the kitchen floor. I rushed over to him and scooped him up in my arms. As he cried into my shoulder, I felt God says to me, that that is exactly what He does when I stumble and fall flat on my face. Did God make me a father so He could tell me that in that instance? Not exactly. We can never put God in a box. I believe he took my circumstance of being a father and loving my child enough to comfort him when he falls, and spoke to me through it. I did not have the full grasp of how God is a father to me until I myself became a father. Did God make Zion fall down so He could speak to me in that moment? Probably not, God took something that is very ordinary in our household and used it to communicate His love to me.
God also speaks to us through other believers. That's why accountability groups are so important. We all have the same Spirit so God work within each of us to speak to each of us. 1 Corinthians says that we all have the same Spirit and that messages of wisdom or knowledge or faith or healing can be given through us. If you don't have one I encourage you to find a small group of believers that you are comfortable with. That you can open up to completely and be totally honest with.
Listen don't give me that crap that you don't want to spell your deep dark secrets to others. Let us not look down on each other. Guess what we are all in the same boat, we are all sinners saved by grace through faith in Jesus. Find a group and let the Spirit moved in you and speak to you.
Finally God speaks to us through His word. 2 Timothy says that Scripture is God breathed. Also in Genesis it says that God breathed into man to give him life. So that goes to say, the Word of God, the Bible is alive. All that is needed is to read it. God has a lot to say to you, but this one you have to make a move.
May our LORD be with you
No comments:
Post a Comment