“In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.” – 1 Samuel 3:1
In our day and age, it isn’t that God isn’t communicating with us, it is that we aren’t good listeners. I don’t think “the word of the Lord” is “rare” today. I think we have gotten complacent in our listening. We pray for God to guide us but do we really expect Him to act on that? We pray for God to direct us but how do we think God does that exactly? Does God make us a bit smarter? Does he somehow make one option seem better to us? Does God open the right doors and close the wrong doors? Or does God inform us in any more direct of a way than any of that? Is it possible that not only should we pray for God’s direction but that we should also stop to listen for it? Shouldn’t we, who ask for divine guidance, do our best to focus on God and look for God’s answer?
I don’t pretend to have all the answers to how God answers our request for guidance. I do believe God can and will do whatever He wants. So I am trying to not just be a faithful asker for guidance. I am trying to become a faithful listener for God’s answer. I am open to God doing that in whatever way God wants to do it.
There is a story in the news right now about a prominent televangelist who said God told him he needed a fourth jet (valued around $50 million) so that he could share the Gospel with every creature. Stories like these make us skeptical of how God communicates to us today. As N.T. Wright once said, no one is turning down all $100 bills because a few counterfeits exist. The fact that there are abuses doesn’t mean every instance is illegitimate. The fact that there are dishonest, misguided people doesn’t mean God has finished talking and communicating today.
So let me ask you this – how have you experienced God’s answering your request for guidance and direction?
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