Hearing God's Voice: The Next Step
When I was about 11 yrs old my brother Vince came home from college. At the dinner table he proceeded to tell my dad that he needed to be "born-again". That didn't go over too well with my dad, a devout Catholic. He believed that when he was water-baptized as an infant that he got born-again. Vince contended that each person had to make the decision from their own heart. I continued listening to this conversation for the next three hours. Everybody else had scattered early on, but for me there was something Vince was saying that was drawing me. I knew I wanted what he had.
Vince then continued to teach me about the Lord. Two years later I saw Vince at the dining room table writing in a steno notebook. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was talking to God. The interesting thing was, he said that God was talking back to him. I looked at his journal and asked, "Can I do that?" He said, "Sure, just get a notebook and pen, get off by yourself, pray and ask the Lord to speak to you." He said, "I usually start off by writing 'My Son...' then let the Lord fill in the rest."
I was so excited and full of faith. I knew if Vince could do it then I could too. I ran down into the basement where my bedroom was and started praying and asking the Lord to speak to me. I started writing and was so blessed by what I was getting. It was like I just knew the words to write. If it was anything like a voice it was more like a whisper that you have to tune into. It was more like a knowing than a voice.
I came running back up the stairs and showed it to Vince. I said, "Is this it?" He read what I had written, he said, "That's it, you heard from God." What a great sense of satisfaction I had. I was so glad to know that God loved me and wanted to talk to me. Vince told me, "God is always speaking, we're just not always listening."
I made it a practice everyday to get up, pray, read my Bible, then spend time listening to the Lord and write down what He said. He was (and is) amazingly faithful to speak to me and give me words of encouragement, direction, correction, vision, warning etc.
I really love the Lord.
I hope through these simple writings you can come to know Him better.
Love ya
Joe
Vince then continued to teach me about the Lord. Two years later I saw Vince at the dining room table writing in a steno notebook. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was talking to God. The interesting thing was, he said that God was talking back to him. I looked at his journal and asked, "Can I do that?" He said, "Sure, just get a notebook and pen, get off by yourself, pray and ask the Lord to speak to you." He said, "I usually start off by writing 'My Son...' then let the Lord fill in the rest."
I was so excited and full of faith. I knew if Vince could do it then I could too. I ran down into the basement where my bedroom was and started praying and asking the Lord to speak to me. I started writing and was so blessed by what I was getting. It was like I just knew the words to write. If it was anything like a voice it was more like a whisper that you have to tune into. It was more like a knowing than a voice.
I came running back up the stairs and showed it to Vince. I said, "Is this it?" He read what I had written, he said, "That's it, you heard from God." What a great sense of satisfaction I had. I was so glad to know that God loved me and wanted to talk to me. Vince told me, "God is always speaking, we're just not always listening."
I made it a practice everyday to get up, pray, read my Bible, then spend time listening to the Lord and write down what He said. He was (and is) amazingly faithful to speak to me and give me words of encouragement, direction, correction, vision, warning etc.
I really love the Lord.
I hope through these simple writings you can come to know Him better.
Love ya
Joe