Today I want to encourage you to listen more intently to the Lord as he speaks to you. God loves communicating with those who seek him. Sadly not all christians listen or even believe that God speaks to his children today. I assure you, it is his pleasure to communicate with us just as he always has. He is the same yesterday,today and forever more. He is unchanging.
Its easy to get caught up in "life" and what is going on around us. I've noticed that if I take the time to start my day in prayer and mindfulness of the Holy Spirit my whole day is much more peaceful. When I say be mindful of the Holy Spirit I am referring to being aware of the presence of the Lord. Listening to what He has to say and being sensitive to what He may show you through out your day.
God speaks to us through his Holy Word
When we spend time in the word of God we are aligning ourselves to commune with Him. Meditate on what scriptures you are reading and allow God to speak to you through the bible. He will guide you through the verses and chapters. I love the way I can read a scripture one day and get an understanding of what is being said and then later go back and read it again and get something new from it. The word of God is truly alive. Let Him speak to your heart and show you ways to apply his word to your life.
God speaks to us during prayer
I believe it was Billy Graham that once said : "Prayer is simply a two way conversation between you and God" Many people rush through their prayers, spouting off all of their requests and never experience the joy of that two way conversation they could be having with their Maker. Its not the length of your prayers or the eloquence of your speech that make for an effective prayer. The most powerful prayers are those who come before the King with a humble heart and child like faith. Those who would also listen with their spirit in prayer. These prayers are always more effective, as God will show you things that need to be lifted to him in prayer.
He speaks while doing the dishes
I love the way I can be doing dishes, cooking supper or even taking a shower and feel the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit. As you draw nearer to Him in prayer and through his word these instances occur more. God will often give revelations or words of knowledge at different times. Remember he is a creative God and he may speak to you in a different way than he does someone else. Whatever he shows you pray about it and know that it should line up with the word of God. In other words, if you believe you heard something from Him it shouldn't contradict what the bible says. I have found in my own walk that the closer you become with Him the easier it is to distinguish your thoughts from the enemies and those that are from the Holy Spirit.
The Lord speaks as we slumber
This is the primary way God reveals things to me. In dreams. Not everyone will have dreams from the Lord. Some may have one every now and then, and others still, have them very often. If God has given you a dream or vision I highly recommend writing it down. I am trying myself to make it more of a habit to open my journal and jot everything down even if I wake in the middle of the night. If you have a dream and write it down you can look back over it and pray on it. The best way to explain knowing your dream is from God is that you will feel it in your spirit. It will have a sense of urgency,importance and meaning. You will not be able to forget it either. At times God gives me a dream and it is strait to the point but more often than not I have to pray and wait. He ALWAYS reveals the meaning and gives the interpretation. Sometimes, slowly over time and sometimes quickly.(Ill be blogging more about dreams and visions in upcoming posts)
So as you can see Jesus loves to speak today to his flock and the ways he communicates are many. Listen with your heart and with your spirit. Doing so can help you gain victories you never thought possible. He is longing to have you draw nearer to him. I challenge you to move from the "ordinary" walk with Christ to an extraordinary one. God Bless!
***Angela Jennifer***
