How does God talk to you?

[backtothefuture]

Hi,
I have been thinking a lot about the question, How does God talk to you?
I have a friend whose mom is 81 and waiting to hear from the Lord on the issue of selling her house. This woman has made a lot of bad decisions, based on what God was telling her.
So I started thinking about all the times I thought God Answered my prayer and things turned out disastrous. Has that thought ever entered any one Else's mind? You thought you were being pulled in a certain direction and then afterwords things were a mess.
So I guess my question is more, if God talks to some of you, how does it manifest in your life? How do you hear God?
Does God really still answer prayer or is this life really in our hands, and we reap what ever, good intentions and bad?
Would appreciate your feed back.
Thanks,
Nancy:biggrinbounce:

[davo]

Hi Nancy... big question -- I guess good ole' fashioned common sense and trusting that God has your best interests at heart isn't a bad place to start. I think sometimes we can get into the "weird out there" kind of stuff when it comes to "hearing God". There is always wisdom in the counsel of many, and then it comes down to filtering that through what might fit most appropriately for you -- now IF we can't trust God to help guide us in all that then it's probably not worth entrusting ourselves to Him in the first place. JMO of course. :) .

And just because "some" things some times go amiss doesn't mean we got it wrong [though that can be a possibility], or that God failed – it just means that's how life pans out at times beyond our figuring – and much to our consternation – but I think that's all part of being human.

[Laren]

Great question. God is all in all. So why do we need to pray? I've often wondered that. Does prayer change outcomes??

For me, the more I dwell on it, I think prayer changes my side of the outcome (how I perceive the events). The physical will happen according to how God has chosen, prayer strengthens my trust in Him, and my belief that God is love, even in difficult situations.

How does God still talk to us? Great question.


A lot of times, I hear him through others. In fact the more I think about it, the more I think that's his main way for me.

[Paige]

Davo and Laren both listed some great insight into this topic.

Davo said:


And just because "some" things some times go amiss doesn't mean we got it wrong [though that can be a possibility], or that God failed – it just means that's how life pans out at times beyond our figuring – and much to our consternation – but I think that's all part of being human.

So true. I'm not sure we can truly judge the outcome of things as we often don't see the whole picture. We may experience some negatives from our perception, but someone else may experience something quite different through us. Hoping I'm communicating clearly here.

And Laren said:

For me, the more I dwell on it, I think prayer changes my side of the outcome (how I perceive the events). The physical will happen according to how God has chosen, prayer strengthens my trust in Him, and my belief that God is love, even in difficult situations.

That is my experience as well. Its not that God took anything out of the equation (by my prayers), but rather I was strengthened through it. I know that when others have prayed for me, I have felt truly blessed, encouraged, and more at peace.

Paige

[backtothefuture]

Thanks all for the answers to my question. I sometimes loose touch with the fact that God is still in control. I still struggle with the fulfillment issue and what does that mean for me now. I am hoping to learn some great things in the transformation class coming up.
Just because certain things are fulfilled, I worry that God does not answer prayer now, or I don't need to pray and how do I really hear him now that I know certain things in the Bible don't pertain to the time we are living in now.
As a recovering fundamental:) its still hard for me to not just take a verse out of the Bible and name it, claim it and watch it happen:D
Does anyone have a list of what pertains to us now as to our relationship with God since the time of fulfillment?
Thanks,
( I do know that you guys here are one way I hear God:clap2: )
Nancy

[Amie]

Nancy,

I don't know of any list. It, as you know, has been an ongoing conversation here, and at presence.tv as well.

I think that God is love, and that whenever love speaks in your life, it is his voice that you hear.

Amie

[ozark]

Nancy,

One of the central aspects of fulfillment is that we now dwell in God's presence. It is hard to believe God would be so near and not hear or do anything. He is not just an observer!

Btw, concerning hearing God, I would say it is important to be more confident in God's ability to speak than in our ability to hear. Often folks who get into trouble are the ones that consider themselves better at hearing God than others.

[backtothefuture]

Doug and Amie thanks for the reply.
Doug, why is it more important to be confident in God's ability to speak than our ability to hear?
The Bible says, my sheep hear my voice?
Do we now hear by seeing or by acting out in the Love now that we know is here?

I do think that hearing God can be abused. I have witnessed that myself. I guess I just would like to know, do some people now really hear from God. Is that a possibility today?

I use to beat myself up, because I never seemed to get all the messages that other people seem to get. That made me feel less important and kind of abandoned by God because I wasn't "hearing" anything. Made me feel like I was doing something wrong. "Not the chosen".

I don't really feel that way now. But still wonder if there are people who really hear from God.

Thanks,
Nancy;)

[ozark]

I believe it is more important to trust in God’s ability to speak than my ability to hear for the exact reason you talk about. If our ability to hear is the only factor, we will be left thinking that some are able to hear better than others, God is closer to some, etc. This is a matter of perspective of course. Jesus did talk about ears to hear, etc. Yet, aren’t ears to hear also a gift from God?

I think the fulfilled message calls for a new paradigm. We live in God’s presence, so maybe asking when God speaks is not the appropriate question. Maybe we should ask when is He not speaking? When is He not giving Himself to us? Maybe He is always speaking just as He is always near. He is speaking through the circumstances of life. He speaks through the creation. He speaks through others. He speaks through the scriptures, and I believe sometimes in that "voice" inside us.

[Amie]

Nancy,

When you felt like you had a lesser ability to hear God, was their a part of you who knew that wasn't true?

Amie

[backtothefuture]

Amie,
Up until I came here I still felt lesser because I couldn't hear God in the way my fundamental background heard God. I thought that was the reason I eventually left organized religion. I just was a failure at it or something. Everyone else in the church was getting messages from God all the time.
I have prayed and talked and wept before God my entire life, and I have had no light-bulb moment like these others in church had. So eventually I became cynical and left religion to find God.:)

Since I have been learning about grace and God's love everywhere, I don't feel as much that I have a lesser ability to hear God. But sometimes there is a part of me that wishes I had that magic moment when I got a real feeling of it. Maybe thats still part of that Cinderella syndrome I talked about, wanting to be rescued.

We use to sing a song called, Where can I go from your spirit. I don't think now there is anywhere I can go that God isn't there. If Hearing is possibly a gift though, I would like it! Or at least Recognize that I all ready have it:biggrinbounce:

Love you guys,
Nancy

[Amie]

Nancy,

I think that we do already have it. I truly believe that God's voice = love's voice. I think that you can even ask love questions -- "How does love answer..?"

I didn't really attend church, ever. I did sing to God though, from my heart. This conversation reminds me of one of them..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z9OGfBGOCpk

Amie

[RayleneK]

Barry - First of Hi and nice to meet you.

I can't participate in this conversation with the use of scripture because I am just not that smart hahahahaha I can only answer with what is in my heart.

So here is a bit of my opinion presented in laymen terms :)

God is with me everyday - I am a part of him and he is a part of me - we walk together thru my life - my life is his life.

Do i hear God? Well a voice has never come from a burning bush and spoken to me lol and in this day and age - if i heard voices in my head they would probably give me a tablet and call me psycho.

But i see Gods answer to my prayers everyday. I hear him thru my eyes and my heart.

A long story that i will cut very short for privacy reasons - one day i prayed to God thru my heart and my tears - to make me a mumma - 7 days later i held my child in my arms.

How do i pray now? I never beg for a thing - I do not say Oh please God let this happen or please God show me a way. I pray as if it has already happened - therefor i pray with thanks and i believe in my heart that God has given me that which i asked for.

Here is an example - Thankyou for allowing me to pay my electricity bill. I put it to God with thanks that i have already received that which i needed.
I have never ever been let down by God.

Even when the worst of times have come upon me - I have always considered this as 'Unforseen circumstances befall us all' and i have never blamed God for my troubles - I just give thanks that he has led me out of my negative times and i believe that my prayer has been answered.

Again - I have never been let down by God.

Raylene

[RayleneK]

P>S> My apologies for calling you Barry - see old age is on me and i am only 42 hahaha I was thinking of Barry as i typed. My apologies Nancy.

[backtothefuture]

Hi, (Nancy here:biggrinbounce: )
Thats OK.
I hope your are finding this forum helpful. Those light bulb moments will start going off!!
Nancy