Conversation is a Two-Way Street

Last night I retired to the shower, my favourite praying place, to speak to God.

Well, actually, when I said "speak to God", what I meant was I wanted to be in His presence and wanted to wait upon Him, to give Him chance to speak to me. I don't know if I'm not receptive enough yet or something, because I didn't hear anything.

I had heard at church in the morning that we must actually converse with God - not just talk to and at Him, but allow Him to respond and speak to us.

In order to attempt to do this, I left my iPod in the bedroom - I almost always have music in the shower - and just tried to be quiet and still, which is difficult when you're trying to wash your hair (maybe that's a point for next time; I won't try to do this in the shower when I actually do need to shower!) So I was standing there in the shower cubicle and I tried so hard to just shut my mouth and empty my mind. It wasn't working so I prayed a little.

I don't know why I have such trouble emptying my mind and relaxing, but I do. I tried standing in the stillness again and nothing. I closed my eyes, thinking, "maybe He speaks to me through images or visions" - still nothing. I'm not sure how long I'm supposed to wait like that. Probably until something comes, but as I may have said before in another post, I have a very active imagination and as soon as I started thinking about the kind of things God might show or tell me, my brain whipped up the images instantly and left me confused - did I create this or was it God? I'm pretty sure it was me because there was a whole thought process behind it.

I got out of the shower and there was a flyer on the floor in my bedroom - it was something I'd picked up a couple of months earlier in a "maybe this is my calling" moment. I asked the Lord if this was His doing or was it purely coincidence that it had fallen to my feet after I'd forgotten all about it? I guess I put out a lot of fleeces in fear of wanting something so much that I make myself believe God has said it.

http://markeverett.blogspot.co.uk

So I'm still working on being still in the presence. Unfortunately I'm also still very quick to feel upset and say, "God never speaks to me, or if He does, I don't know how to hear Him", and that's simply not true. God has spoken to me on numerous occasions. That small voice in the depth of my soul - some people may call it a gut instinct - I believe that was God prompting me. He prompted me to move out of a relationship which was hindering my progress in Him; He prompted me to return to church; to be baptised and to seek further infilling and knowledge.

So maybe God doesn't speak audibly to me, or maybe I'm just not at that stage yet where I can discern His voice. Or maybe I am but I'm just not allowing it to get through to me. I don't know, but He definitely does speak to me, and I'll bet He speaks to all of you, too. If you're at that stage where you're about to give in and say, "He never speaks to me; why doesn't He want to speak to me?" Just take a step back and think:

• How did you come to know Him if He didn't prompt you?
• How have you progressed in your faith?
• How have you made those big decisions (if any) without Him?
• How can you tell what's right from what's wrong?

and lastly,

• Have you given Him the chance?

Remember, His voice won't necessaily be a booming thunder. He often works through the Holy Spirit, who will kindle your own spirit and align it with that of the Lord. That still, small voice in the back of your mind or in your gut; your inner conscience; your yearnings and desires - have you thought that they could be signals from God, manifested in a way that you're capable of acknowledging?

http://spendomai.com

I'm going to make more of an effort to hear from God. I'm going to give Him the chance to speak to and respond to me in prayer. I'm going to find a quiet place and get my face on the floor, submitting all to God, and cry out to Him.

I think that this is what our generation is missing. We think we can get by with being christened as an infant; attending church for weddings, christenings and funerals; acknowledging that there "might be" a God and occasionally, praying to Him when we want or need something.

God doesn't work like that. He's not a 'take-it-or-leave-it' God; He's a living, loving, Master who longs to know and spend time with us; who longs to impart knowledge and wisdom into our lives. Why won't we let Him?

Remember, prayer isn't speaking to God; it's conversing with Him.

-Lisa