The second quality of unceasing prayer is the quality of a listening heart.
McHenry writes about her study of the life of Frank Laubach. As she distills all that he had written and discussed about prayer the one quality that she came up with that revolutionized his prayer life was the quality of simply listening to God.
The testimony of Laubach’s life was that he knew he needed to listen to God and went through the exercises of working toward that end. He set a timer for 15 minute intervals but he could not carry through with the discipline. It took a real live encounter with the voice of God to change what was a duty like taking daily vitamins into enthusiastic expectation.
Today’s question for thought is this: Do you actually believe that God speaks today? Don’t answer that with the trite yes that religious training has ingrained in you. Do you really truly believe that God speaks today?
McHenry writes that perhaps the difference in Laubach’s experience was that he came to the point of expecting the LORD to speak to him.
Do you believe that God speaks today? Meditate and comment please!
2 responses so far ↓
PC // May 3, 2008 at 5:53 pm |
KH, I know for sure God speaks today, and He does it in many different ways. I have heard God speak to my spirit and loud, many times. Once was when my mother mentioned during casual dinner conversation that I was an accident-not planned at all. Even though a baby christian in my 30’s, I heard a loud voice inside say,
” I PLANNED YOU!” (Thank you Lord)
At times in prayer in a group setting I’ll feel a burden to pray for a need, and someone will start praying what I’m thinking! (no list covered or needed, the Holy Spirit knows)
Recently a friend had a mind picture of hot embers being carried to dry wood (revival), and I read the same reference from Rick Joyner on today’s Elijah list. So God also speaks though a confirming word. I have personally found, what-ever the Lord speaks, it will line up with His word.
midnightcry // May 5, 2008 at 8:33 am |
Thanks PC for a great way to understand what it really means to hear God’s voice. I think the part that we forget is that most of the time “hearing” isn’t as auditory as we think it is. I hear the Father talking to me and it is that interjection of a voice that isn’t our own thoughts into our minds. Like God just skips over the sound waves/ears/auditory nerves and simply lays His comments into our minds.
I am intrigued by your embers picture. I had that too about a week ago when my kids were watching Survivor Man on Discovery Channel. The guy on the show was in Alaska and starting a fire to keep him warm and to cook his food. He started a spark in a handful of loose, shredded wood and then carefully laid it into a prepared fire “place”. There were layers of small pieces of wood and then larger and larger logs in place. The voice popped into my head, “That’s important, mark it well.”
Then as last week went on, it made more and more sense as more and more people talked about revival being an ember or a spark that needed to be carried to the dry wood.
God, I love your voice!