If I said I believed that God still speaks to us today, some of you might shake your head in disbelief. Others might be open-minded, but doubt it. Still others would agree wholeheartedly.

I’ll admit it may be difficult to comprehend that the eternal, infinite, all-powerful God would speak to human beings like us. Now I can’t say God has spoken to me like He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, or Moses at the burning bush in the desert, or John the Baptist with Jesus in the Jordan River (Genesis 3, Exodus 3 and Mark 1). Elijah heard Him speak in a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12).

Richard Foster asks an interesting question in his book, Celebration of Discipline. “If God is alive and active in the lives of human beings, why can’t His Voice be heard and obeyed today?” He adds that God’s “Voice is not hard to hear, His vocabulary not hard to understand.”

“God often speaks loudest when we’re quietest….To hear the whisper of God you must turn down the volume of the world. Find time to disconnect from everything around you and be still in His presence today. He is waiting for you to draw near,” writes Mark Batterson in his new book, Whisper, How to Hear the Voice of God.

“I believe one of the most valuable lessons we can ever learn is how to listen to God. In the midst of our complex and hectic lives, nothing is more urgent, nothing more necessary, nothing more rewarding than hearing what God has to say. Only a few minutes of sitting before God who speaks can transform a life,” Charles Stanley states.

Maybe we need to know how God speaks. In his Bible study, Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby teaches that God speaks by His Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the Church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.

Have you ever been reading the Bible and the words of a particular verse seemed to leap off the page? God has given us His written, inspired Word. He speaks through the Scriptures, words of encouragement, guidance, wisdom or correction.

Prayer has been called a two-way communication with God, meaning you and I speak to Him and He speaks to us. Prayer is a relationship, and not a religious activity, according to Henry Blackaby. At times, a person or family keeps coming to my mind until I say prayer for them. Often, I find out later they were in need of prayer.

God shows us what He is doing through our circumstances and gives us His perspective on them. Lastly, we can hear God speak through the words of Godly ministers and teachers and other Christians.

One of my favorite Gospel songs says, “Amid the hustling, clamoring word, sometimes it’s hard to hear the voice of God speaking to my soul. But in my quiet time alone, when I approach His holy throne, His tender words fall gently on my ears. He still speaks.” Be still and know, that He is God.

 

Jan White is an national award-winning religion columnist. She can be reached at jwhite@andycable.com