Talking to me?

I am going to go out on a limb here and claim that many people are not comfortable saying that "God talks to them".  I can hear the "insults" already...Bible thumper, Jesus freak, weirdo, gone over the edge, crazy, and the list goes on.  Due to the "insults" this topic seems to bring about a quietness in people and credit is not given where credit is due.   

Let me explain.  The Lord is indeed talking to us.  In John 8:47 it states, "He who belongs to God hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."  Then in John 10:27 it says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."  This leaves us with one of two things.  Either we are not hearing God or we are not giving God the credit for what He has shared with us because we keep quiet that God talks to us. 

Karon Phillips Goodman states the conundrum quite well in her book, "You're Late Again, Lord!" (1984)  She states, "I couldn't hear anything over my own demands.  I didn't have time to belong to God - I wanted Him to belong to me." (pg.19)  One of the reasons we are not hearing God is because we don't want to hear what He is asking of us, we want it our way. 

Building a relationship with Christ is more than an hour a week in a pew.  Building a relationship with Christ is spending time in His word and sharing with Him our joys, agonies, worries, thanks, and whatever it is on our hearts.  Being in His word and conversing with Him opens our hearts to hearing Him and following His lead.

I keep a prayer journal, which is a way of keeping me focused when I pray.  I write everything out.  It also gives me the ability to go back and see how God has answered my prayers.  The other day, I was pouring my heart and soul out to God; pleading with Him for a clear answer and path that I was to take.  Then at the most unexpected moment He shared His answer with me.

You see, I was asked at the last moment to go to the movies with some ladies.  I am not one that does too many things on the spur of the moment.  I like life planned out.  However, there was no reason not to go to the movies and to spend time with amazing Christian ladies would be good.  So off to the movies I went.  I was watching the movie and about half way through, God relayed to me my answer that I had pleaded for just the day before.  In fact, the last half of the movie was time spent conversing with God and Him sharing with me what it is He is asking of me.

Yes, I know God is talking to me because I hear him!  Don't be afraid to share that God is leading your life!  He has amazing plans that go beyond our wildest expectations!  Be a bible thumper, Jesus freak, weirdo for Him!  You never know how he will use you to reach other people.

BTW - Ladies, the book by Karon Phillips Goodman is a great one to have in your resource pile.  It is one to pull out and reread, highlight, ponder, etc.  It is no longer in print but you can find used copies on amazon.com.

Thank you to the ladies who invited me and didn't know God was using them to speak to me!

Cheryl