God is Speaking

'In the past, God spoke through the prophets to our ancestors in many times and many ways. In these final days, though, he spoke to us through a Son. God made his Son the heir of everything and created the world through him.” Hebrews 1:1-2 (CEB)

This devotion is a result of a conversation I had recently. The individual I was speaking with made the comment that someone had contradicted that God would speak to a person audibly. Well, that may or may not be true. God is God and can speak to a human being in any way He wants to. When we look back at the Old Testament we can find many times that God’s voice was audible to the listener. There was Adam, Moses, Noah, Abraham and Samuel that come right to mind. It is possible there were other times that weren’t recorded. In chapter 9 of the book of Acts, we find Jesus speaks to Saul on the Damascus road and Saul is forever changed.

What has changed in today’s world? The Old Testament saints did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit as the New Testament Christians have been given. Those fathers of the faith also only had the Torah as today we have the full Word of God at our disposal. The Word is first on my list of how God speaks to us today. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all scripture is “God-breathed”.

There are several additional ways that God speaks to His children today. How does God speak…let’s look at the different ways He uses.

· Through His Son, Jesus Christ

· Through nature, His creation

· Through fellow believers

· Through song, music

· Through circumstances and situations

· His Spirit

· Prayer

We are unique as God’s children, no two are the same, therefore; God may use different methods to speak to Christians. In my experience, I have found that quite of few of my devotions come from things I see in nature. When I am seeing something unfold, sometimes a particular scripture pops into my head. Other times I’m composing a devotion from something I’ve read or talked about. I believe that is God speaking into my spirit with what He would have me to write. It may not work that way for somebody else.

God will use what each of us will respond to. And who knows what that is better than He? No matter what way God chooses to reveal Himself or “speak” to us today, remember that He will never contradict His Word.

Perhaps the following prayer from ibelieve.com will be helpful in getting in the spirit to hear God speak.

Dear Heavenly Father,

So often my time spent in prayer becomes a one-sided conversation. I talk and talk, not giving you a chance to speak. I realize that I haven’t intentionally taken time to listen to you, Lord. I confess my need for real change when it comes to my listening skills. Your Word says we should be “quick to listen” (James 1:19). I want to learn to listen well as I pray. Father, please help me become a better listener. I commit to setting aside time during prayer to just be still and listen. I pray as I embrace those quiet moments, I will hear from you in a fresh new way. I also believe through actively listening to you, I will be able to become a better listener for others. Thank you for reminding me to be still and simply listen.