Hearing God…

So you think you’re hearing things do you??! (Sorry I just thought that would be a cool and weird way to start a post titled “Hearing God.”)

This morning as I was going through my morning routine of getting ready for the day, something very encouraging happened. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before, and it’s not like I’m the only one it’s ever happened to. It’s just that I don’t let it happen nearly enough… I actually slowed down in my head long enough to hear God! You know what I mean. No clouds parted, no deep voice from Heaven – just a clear press somewhere deep inside, allowing me to know he heard me and that he has things under control. I know he does, but it’s always nice to be reminded.

The interesting thing about it is how it happened…

As I was getting ready, I was praying for the day -- not out loud -- just silently praying for my wife, my daughter, friends, church, the election, that kind of stuff. As I was praying for Kendall (our beautiful daughter) I was praying for her life, health, friends, future husband, and things along those lines. What you need to know about her is that Kendall has a beautiful heart. She has the kind of heart that is easily touched -- and sometimes easily hurt. So I was praying for her heart. I was asking God to keep it soft, but to make her strong in him. At that very moment my wife walked through the room I was in, and said “don’t worry” -- in a teasing way -- and then continued about her business. I cracked up, she had no idea I was praying, and I certainly didn’t look worried to her, she just walked through and said “don’t worry” at the very moment I was asking God to bless our little girl.

Well, I couldn’t leave it alone – so I enquired as to why she said it? It turns out that she and Kendall were watching a cartoon in the family room together. In the cartoon one of the characters was in trouble and needed to be rescued. It was at that moment she left the room Kendall was in and teasingly told me not to worry… she said “I was just being silly with you, so I said ‘don’t worry’ -- referring to the cartoon.” I went back to my prayer and I simply said, I hear you God. And I did!

Now, I know this could open up a bit of controversy on hearing God, and how exactly we do that. Well, I don’t really know what to say to that. I don’t know any recipe for hearing him except that one actually listens. We need to learn to listen to him when reading the word, in prayer, or in quiet moments of meditating on the word. I also believe it’s important as we go through life – to stay close enough to him that if he chose to move or press us to get our attention… he could do so, and we would know it was him.