-Read Scripture-
Today we are going to talk about the biggest, life changing thing that has happened to me. (Regarding my relationship with God.) And that has been training myself to hear and respond to God's voice. Over the past 5 years or so, I would hear him speak to me, but it was sporadically. It wasn't until about a year and a half ago that I started hearing him regularly.
And it wasn't because he wasn't speaking, it was just that I wasn't listening.
"If you listen for Lady Wisdom, attune your ears to her, and engage your mind to understand what she is telling you, If you cry out to her for insight and beg for understanding, If you sift through the clamor of everything around you to seek her like some precious prize, to search for her like buried treasure; Then you will grasp what it means to truly respect the Eternal, and you will have discovered the knowledge of the one True God." Proverbs 2:2-5 The Voice
Attune your ears, sift through the clamor. I love these verses, they gave me the instruction I needed. Like much of the world today, I suffer from some form of ADD. I would pray, say in the car, then I would find myself mentally preparing my grocery list...or I would be reading the bible, then out of nowhere be thinking about the movie I watched the night before.
It wasn't until I started journaling where everything changed for me. I started journaling on my trip to Thailand in January of 2011 and never stopped. I journal and read every single morning. It has gotten to where my whole day feels out of sorts if I don't! Each morning, I start out journaling about what is going on in my life, family, friends, upcoming events or vacations. I tell him the funny story that happened the day before (this has also done wonders for my memory!) I ask him for help with problems I can't solve, etc.
Then I read some scripture, then I close by praying. I journal ALL of my prayers. It allowed me to focus and an amazing thing happened. As I'd journal, I would hear God answer or respond to me! So I started writing his responses down in capitol letters so I wouldn't confuse myself. Now, I'm able to go back and reread what he has said to me.
It's incredible to be able to go back a year and read the things God prepared me for and how they all came true. I get to see how God saw the whole picture way before I could! Now I do hear God other times, but when I "attune my ears, engage my mind, cry out to him, and beg for understanding...when I sift through the clamor," THAT is when I hear him best.
People have asked me how I know it's him, or what does it sound like. Now this is just my personal experience and I'm wanting to share it with you so that you will not be afraid to share your story with others. It's not a booming voice of God, he speaks through the Holy Spirit inside me. So it kind of sounds like me talking to myself, but I always know when it is him. There are two ways I know.
1. It's always something that I would NEVER say to myself.
2. It almost always moves me emotionally.
Whenever the Holy Spirit speaks to me or prods me, it is very overwhelming. It is almost as though I feel warm inside and on the verge of tears. It is, my absolute favorite feeling.
My challenge for you today, and the rest of this month, is to journal some of your prayers. Put your phone in another room, (mine has buzzed 3 times in preparing this study, talk about clamor!), sit it in a quiet place, and ask God to show up. Then wait. Don't think about anything else. (I've found the easiest way for my ADD mind to do this, is to visualize a picture of God I have in my mind and rest there.) Praise him, thank him.
And if he speaks, write down what he says. It may not make any sense to you at that moment, but I'm willing to bet that if you go back and read it later this month, it will. There is NO confirmation of faith like going back and reading God's personal words to you, especially when you've seen them play out! I promise.
Abba, may we open ourselves up to you. Let us forget about the world around us and ignore the clamor for just a moment. Let us be open to hear what you have for us and the truth about how you feel about us. We rely on you. Let us simply rest in your presence today.
Amen
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