Have you ever had a prompting from God that you tried to dismiss?
I've never heard an auditable voice from God but there have been many times that God has 'spoken' to me.
I remember such a time when I 'heard' a distinct message from God: you go and I'll meet you there.
I was sitting at the lunch table of Promise Keepers event, listening as the host promoted an upcoming Clergy Conference in Atlanta. As he spoke, I distinctly heard, you go and I'll meet you there. That Friday at noon and I guess I dismissed it, not giving it anymore thought through the weekend.
God spoke to him in this way. (Acts 7:6)
The voice spoke to him a second time. (Acts 10:15)
On Monday I received another clear impression from God: Did you hear me? You go and I'll meet you there.
Immediately my mind returned to the information I had heard about the Clergy Conference but I also found myself offering excuses as to why I could not or would not be able to go. It's not a good time, it's not something we can afford and even if money were not an issue, it's probably too late to register and even if I could get registered, I might not be able to find accommodation. In my mind I had presented a reasonable argument; surely God would understand.
A few days later I again received the same prompting, you go and I'll meet you there. This time I decided I would be best served by checking into the conference. I was able to register and through a contact with a friend in ministry, I was able to join a group of pastors in the area that were going; they had a room available at a motel three blocks from the Georgia Dome where the event was to be held. On Sunday of that week an anonymous gift came to cover the cost to attend the conference. I was out of excuses!
So I went and it was an historic gathering of 40,000+ pastors, mostly from North America, but literally from all over the world. It was a powerful time of worship and coming under the Word of God; I was blessed just to be there. But then there came for me a defining moment in an afternoon session when it became very clear this was the moment when God wanted to meet with me; to speak into my life. It was a moment of worship and surrender that was life-changing. I knew this was why God had prompted me to go.
I can't explain exactly what happened in that sacred meeting with God, but when I left Atlanta and returned to our church and ministry in Hamilton it was immediately evident that God was at work in new and exciting ways. That encounter with God launched our church into a season of unprecedented growth, the launching of a seeker service and incredible stories of men and women coming to know Christ. In a period of just over a year from Mother's Day of one year to Father's Day of the next year we baptized over 50 new believers as God poured out His blessing among us.
Throughout my journey with God I have been blessed and inspired as God's Spirit has 'spoken' and prompted and led; it is a rich part of my walk with God.
Frederick Buechner has observed: If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and church, then I think that he speaks to us largely through what happens to us. If we keep our hearts and minds open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize, beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear him, he is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, his word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling.
I've never heard an auditable voice from God but there have been many times that God has 'spoken' to me.
I remember such a time when I 'heard' a distinct message from God: you go and I'll meet you there.
I was sitting at the lunch table of Promise Keepers event, listening as the host promoted an upcoming Clergy Conference in Atlanta. As he spoke, I distinctly heard, you go and I'll meet you there. That Friday at noon and I guess I dismissed it, not giving it anymore thought through the weekend.
God spoke to him in this way. (Acts 7:6)
The voice spoke to him a second time. (Acts 10:15)
On Monday I received another clear impression from God: Did you hear me? You go and I'll meet you there.
Immediately my mind returned to the information I had heard about the Clergy Conference but I also found myself offering excuses as to why I could not or would not be able to go. It's not a good time, it's not something we can afford and even if money were not an issue, it's probably too late to register and even if I could get registered, I might not be able to find accommodation. In my mind I had presented a reasonable argument; surely God would understand.
A few days later I again received the same prompting, you go and I'll meet you there. This time I decided I would be best served by checking into the conference. I was able to register and through a contact with a friend in ministry, I was able to join a group of pastors in the area that were going; they had a room available at a motel three blocks from the Georgia Dome where the event was to be held. On Sunday of that week an anonymous gift came to cover the cost to attend the conference. I was out of excuses!
So I went and it was an historic gathering of 40,000+ pastors, mostly from North America, but literally from all over the world. It was a powerful time of worship and coming under the Word of God; I was blessed just to be there. But then there came for me a defining moment in an afternoon session when it became very clear this was the moment when God wanted to meet with me; to speak into my life. It was a moment of worship and surrender that was life-changing. I knew this was why God had prompted me to go.
I can't explain exactly what happened in that sacred meeting with God, but when I left Atlanta and returned to our church and ministry in Hamilton it was immediately evident that God was at work in new and exciting ways. That encounter with God launched our church into a season of unprecedented growth, the launching of a seeker service and incredible stories of men and women coming to know Christ. In a period of just over a year from Mother's Day of one year to Father's Day of the next year we baptized over 50 new believers as God poured out His blessing among us.
Throughout my journey with God I have been blessed and inspired as God's Spirit has 'spoken' and prompted and led; it is a rich part of my walk with God.
Frederick Buechner has observed: If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and church, then I think that he speaks to us largely through what happens to us. If we keep our hearts and minds open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize, beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear him, he is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, his word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling.
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