I’ve discovered that the right answer begins with the right question. God is not offended by a sincere question; He loves an honest seeker. So, keep asking!
Dutch Sheets
Daily Christian Quote Website
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Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough. Not only have I found that when I talk to the little flower or to the little peanut they will give up their secrets, but I have found that when I silently commune with people, they give up their secrets also – if you love them enough.
God made us to hear His voice, encounter His presence and walk in intimacy with Him. Your relationship with Him is unique and others may not understand … but that doesn’t mean they get to discount your experience. You may not be as knowledgeable about God’s word but that doesn’t surprise or disappoint God. So if a leader makes you feel that way it’s not of God. Community enhances our relationship with God but it isn’t the foundation. God is. You can hear God. You can read His Word and receive revelation from it. You can make good decisions because you have the Spirit of the living God leading you.
We won’t get far in life without wisdom and common sense. And we see that both are gifts of God and that God Himself uses them. Yet so often, we find ourselves doing anything but listening. Wisdom is available and calling to us from everywhere. (Proverbs 1:20-21) But often, we’re either not paying attention or ignoring her in favour of our ill-considered choices. However, wisdom is a companion of God, and he has offered this companion to us. It is worth our time to consider the ways in which we continue to ignore her.
Some people think that those of us who believe in social justice don’t believe in prayer, that we don’t pray enough. They think that because they don’t really understand what prayer is. They think it’s something that you do at a set time; that it’s just asking God for what you want. But prayer is more than that. Prayer is listening for God’s answer. It’s that intimate practice of asking according to His will and moving as He directs. I love the words of this song, “Lead me, guide me, along the way. For if you lead me, I cannot stray. Lord, let me walk each day with thee. Lead me, O Lord, lead me.” That’s what prayer is.
These – and many other words – are used to describe God’s great communication skills. He answers, asks, assures, calls, commands, declares, directs, explains, instructs, mentions, orders, promises, replies, responds, reveals, says, speaks, swears, tells, warns, etc. All told, God’s great ability to communicate is mentioned nearly 3000 times in the Bible! No one communicates more abundantly than God. But are we listening? Are our radios tuned in? Do we need to posture ourselves, like Samuel, to hear with a servant’s heart?
Reading about nature is fine. But if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the very voice of God. I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour if we will only tune in.