So…..you say that God is not listening.
You say that he never speaks to you.
You say your prayers go unanswered.
You say you don’t experience a daily dialog with God.
Well, if you are expecting the clouds to part and a 20 story tall head to speak to you in a Charleton Heston voice, you may be looking for the wrong thing. God’s voice is “written on your heart”. When he speaks to you, it is usually in the form of a gentle “tug” on your heart. This happens to all of us…..just about every day. We sometimes call it our conscience. We call it our morals. We sometimes say, “Where in the world did that come from?” Sometimes it is inconvenient, maybe even costly. We often ignore it. We often ignore HIM…….but that does not mean that he didn’t speak to us.
True stories:
I knew a man who was an alcoholic…….l’m sure that one of the times that God spoke to him was the last time he drank. There was a tug at his heart. It said “Don’t drink the vodka, it’s bad for you!” “It’s bad for your family!”
A husband and wife got way behind on their gifts to the church……and I mean many years behind. They talked, and prayed and decided to make a sizable “catch-up” gift. This was unusual, maybe revolutionary, for them. They just felt that “tug” on their hearts. Some time later, the pastor told them that the church had been in budget trouble. He had been praying for help. They thought…..”no big deal…..it’s a pastor thing”. Then he told them about the shortfall that he was praying over…………it was the same amount as their donation……. to the penny.
A guy wakes up at about 4am to do his daily Bible reading. He sees a Facebook post about a friend whose husband is in the ICU. Responding to a “tug”, he drives over to the hospital at about 5am. His friend is out front, in tears……..her husband had just passed away.
The problem between you and God may not be that he is not speaking to you. The problem may be that you don’t recognize him, ignore him, or even defy him.
God is talking to you. He is talking to me.
The point is that God often speaks to us through a little “tug” on our hearts. Sometimes the tug is a response to our prayers. Sometimes it is a response to the prayer of someone else…… possibly a stranger.
God speaks to us…..he answers prayers……. sometimes ours…… sometimes the prayers of a stranger.
God IS listening…….God IS speaking……..am I responding?……are you?
So, my challenge is this. Pay attention to that little tug on your heart. Test it against the truths in the Bible……..because we are masters at taking something that we want and convincing ourselves that it is something that God wants. If it is consistent with the Bible, then act on it. God will use your act……even if you never see the results.
I believe that someday, in paradise, somebody that I have never met will walk up to me. They will give me a hug and tell me how their life was changed for the better………because of some act……..something that I don’t even remember doing…….. something that began with a little tug on my heart…….. something that God grew into something big.
I am certain that I have failed many times to act on that “tug”……but I am convinced that when we do respond to the “tug”, God will use it.
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Moses, NIV
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Jesus, NIV
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Jesus, NIV
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
Isaiah, NIV