Prayer is not a monologue (“Hello wall!”), it’s a dialogue, a conversation involving both talking and listening. God does speak to us if we’ll simply listen. Expect it! He’ll converse through…
- His written Word, the Bible
- Reading
- Worship
- Counsel of others
- Unprompted thoughts/words/impressions
There are many instances of this in my journal. For instance:
- While I was speaking in church, a parishioner (Steve Suitt) saw on my forehead the words “Youth Pastor.” In less than a year’s time I became the youth pastor at that particular church (Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Temecula, CA).
- During the long waiting period when I was being considered to come to Agape Bible Church (Willits, CA) as their pastor, we were becoming anxious for news one way or the other — things were literally getting down to the wire for us and we really had to have an update. While I was working, not in prayer or even thinking about God, suddenly a sentence popped into my mind like toast popping up in a toaster: “Within one week you will hear from the church.” Sure enough: Within the week we got a reassuring call from Allen Owens, one of the Elders at ABC.
My point? God knows we need guidance and encouragement — which He gives in the ways we need it when we need it. We just need to be in a place to receive from Him.