How Does God Speak to Us
I mentioned last week that someone had asked me “How do you speak to God? Does He Listen and how would you know?” They also added “I have tried to talk to Him many times but still, I have never heard any reply from Him.”
While this conversation made me sad that this poor soul was having so many doubts about God it also made me realize that I, perhaps, wasn’t doing my part and teaching others the things I truly know and understand about having a conversation with God and where the answers may come from for me.
Once you have involved yourself in regular prayer, you will begin to understand as things you may have never experienced, seen or heard before will gradually become clearer to you and you WILL begin to feel the awesome power of our God.
So, for today, I’d like to take a moment a talk about some of the ways I communicate with God in hopes it may help you on your journey.
I have basically focused on seven key areas that work well for me. This isn’t something written in stone or an unwritten commandment to follow. It is just a simple method of how we might communicate with our Lord just a little easier.
Communicating with Our God
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Through His Word
How many times have we had that conversation? I encourage people every day to read their Bible. I have never insisted on cover-to-cover but simply opening it up and “browsing through His word.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
All too often I will just pick-up my Bible, fling it open and point to an area in it with my eyes closed. I will begin reading there and search for understanding in the words. This is not to say you should stay on those pages but don’t give up on what you may not understand… pick again until you find an area that reaches your heart!
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Our Teachers and Fellow Believers
We as messengers, teachers and simply fellow believers are not all-knowing and wise but have dedicated ourselves to God the Father and Christ the Son. We read the Bible; do our best to understand it; and share it willingly with whomever would like to hear.
Jeremiah 3:15 – “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.”
Talk to me, talk to a friend… talk to any other person you may know that Loves their God and believes in His words. All too often, you will find comfort in their words as they tell you the stories of how they became closer to God.
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God’s Creations (Nature)
I particularly like this one as well. Look at all we have around us here in Florida. We have beautiful, sun-shiny days and a great big ocean we can go sit beside and listen to the peaceful calming of the waves.
Psalm 19:1 – “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
As you all know, I find tremendous peace and relief from my stress by attending the Sunrise as often as I possibly can. I Love the sounds, as well as the silence, and find great power in the rising of the Sun and the warming rays as they slowly embrace me.
As bikers, we are so lucky in the sense we get to feel wind blowing through our hair and across our bodies as we ride. This too can bring much peace to us and remind us of His Angels that ride on our shoulders.
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Our Experiences
Have you ever had something happen to you where you wind-up asking yourself “Wow, what just happened?” I’m sure you have. Think about it for a moment and let me share an experience I had where I know God was there (some of you have already heard this story):
“I have been riding motorcycle for a long, long time. I don’t usually do something stupid and am always careful of others on the road.
One evening, on my way home from work, I sat idling at a red-light. I saw the light changing and dropped it into first preparing to go. As I released the clutch, my bike simply stalled. At that very instant, a Rooms-to-Go furniture truck came speeding through the red-light. Had I gone through the light, I would have surely been killed.
Psalm 37:23 – The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him.
The Lord guides us. He tells us where and when to walk and in what direction. He protects us and tries to keep us safe from harm. Sometimes we do stupid things making His task even harder but, nonetheless, He is there every step along the way.
Think about this. Think about things that happened to you and remind yourself, “That wasn’t coincidence, that was God!”
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Music
How motivating can music be and what does the Bible say about it?
Ephesians 5:19 “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
I don’t know about you but music can have a huge impact on my emotions. Not always good… sometimes bringing up a bad memory but, luckily and more often than not, it brings me inspiration.
So, does God use music at times to bring us solace? I think so. I can remember one particular case where I was still mourning over the loss of the woman I Loved. I was in tears, not sobbing but particularly sad and listening to the radio and I heard a new song from Carrie Underwood called “See You Again.”
It spoke about death not being the end just as the Bible has taught us. Coincidence? I think not… remember, there is no such thing!
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Our Dreams
How may here can say they have experienced this? How many times have we had a dream where we have no idea how that happened and why we dreamed of what we did. There are many references where God spoke to people through their dreams…
To the Magi after they had betrayed Herod in secreting Jesus’ birth place…
Matthew 2:12 – “And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.”
To Joseph after he feared being betrothed to Mary knowing she had become pregnant and without husband…
Matthew 1:20 – “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.“
Look for meaning in your dreams. Are they trying to tell you something? Are they answering a prayer? Remember, just because it isn’t what you wanted to hear or see it may be just what God wants for you.
Also, remember this… we need to stay away from the “bad dreams.” Dreams of evil doings, misdeeds and sinful things. We need to remember to ask God for a peaceful night before we sleep so He may protect us from the Devil praying upon our weaknesses.
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Prayer
We all should pray and pray often. We need to let God know we are thankful and that we think of Him every day for He is listening and He let us know it…
Psalm 17:6 – “I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.”
God doesn’t ask us to pray like the hypocrites and frauds…
Matthew 6:5-7 – “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”
Keep your prayers simple, not complicated where you yourself cannot even understand them. God will hear you even if you pray as simply as a child for their prayers, He Loves to hear.
In Conclusion
Talk to God. Tell Him your heart and listen for His response. If you keep an open heart He WILL hear and you WILL, at some point, begin to understand.
- Read your Bible often
- Ask your teachers and fellow believers
- Praise Nature and treasure your surroundings
- Understand your experiences and why things happen
- Find peace and harmony in your music
- Try and understand your dreams
- Pray every day… if for nothing else, give thanks to God!
Go with God; be good to one another; always stay humble; always stay kind… God Bless!