Do You Have a List of All the Times God Spoke to You?
So often we go through life thinking, “I would be more than happy to do what God wants me to do, if I only knew what he wants me to do!” The easiest way to know what someone wants of you, including God!, is, of course, if they tell you. And, we know that, Biblically speaking, God will tell us what to do, and that He does so in a variety of ways. In fact, a little bit of research will reveal that the ways God speaks to us include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- Dreams
- Visions
- Angels
- Still Small Voice
- Discernment
- Through His Word
- Through Laying out a Fleece
- Through Others
- Burning Bush
To suppose that God only spoke to people in Biblical Times would violate Heb. 13: 8, which says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” In my life I have been blessed by having God speak to me in several of the above methods (No “Burning Bush” yet, but who knows….). Some of the times this occurred was when I was seeking a word from Him, sometimes it just came “out of the blue.” Further down is a chart reflecting when I was spoken to; how I was spoken to; what the message was and the result of that message. Inasmuch as some of the instances need more explanation than the chart allows, I have expounded on them further along in the article.
It is not unreasonable to assume that hearing from God is going to be a pretty monumental event – even earthshaking one might think. Fortunately, it appears God anticipated that we in the 21st Century would think that, so he gave us I Kings 19:11-12, “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” As you will see, the “Still Small Voice” occurred a number of times in my life!
| DATE | METHOD & MESSAGE | RESULTS |
| April, 1963 | Vision: As I and my fellow 8th Graders discussed what we intended to do with our lives I proclaimed, “I’m going to win the Pulitzer Prize.” I immediately went to the Library to see what that particular Prize was given for! | From that point on I had aspirations of becoming a writer! As a result I have written and published four novels; been a staff writer for several magazines; been the Asst. Editor for a number of publications; had literally hundreds of articles and short stories published and now, in semi-retirement, am a full-time writer! NOTE: I have not yet won the Pulitzer! |
| Sept. 1969 (A) | Dream: Showed me the horror experienced by the father of a baby that is aborted. | Became a staunch Anti-Abortionist, and have penned numerous articles for Pro-Life that have appeared in CELEBRATE LIFE and other Christian Publications. |
| July, 1977 | Discernment: Be leery of the “Wonder Chair.” | As new parents, we were invited to a demonstration of a “convertible” chair for babies that did everything but change their diapers! They were a rocker, a crib, a highchair, a car seat, and so on and so forth. And, all of this for only $399.00 (Today’s equivalent – $1625.00!). We opted not to buy, and shortly after read a report of what a rip-off this would have been. |
| Oct. 1982 (B) | Q & A: After losing Margaret, I asked God why we had to suffer the test of Job. | I wrote an article about this event, and it became the most published article I have ever written! |
| Oct. 1985 (C) | Still Small Voice: “As I have given you more room than you know what to do with so shall I give you more money than you know what to do with.” | Yet to be fulfilled. |
| Aug. 1994 | Fleece: When offered a teaching position at a Christian School, I told God I would know it was His will if, at the job interview, they would offer me a raise over the salary offered. | When I went in to meet the School Board for my interview the first thing they did was offer me a raise!!!! |
| Nov. 2001 (D) | Still Small Voice: Channel 3 TV needs a Bible Guy. | I became the Bible Guy and have made over 30 appearances as such. |
| May 2004 (E) | Q & A: I asked, “Have you considered my retirement?” | God replied “Yes.” |
| April 2005 | Q & A: I asked God why He had chosen me to be the Bible Guy. | He quoted I Cor. 1:27 to me: “For God hath chosen the foolish things in the world to confound the wise.” This was a double blessing for me, for not only did I receive the answer to my question BUT I also discovered why God Created me the way that He did! |
| Aug. 2014 (F) | Still Small Voice: “It’s time to start making arrangements to move in with Melissa.” | We now live “with” our daughter and her family! |
| Des. 2015 | Still Small Voice: While at church a verse was quoted and I asked myself, “I wonder how the King James Version words that?” | God spoke and said, “If you would bring your Bible to church you would know!” I now take my Bible to church each week! |
As I alluded to earlier, several of the items in my chart need a little more explanation. As a result, I will take time to share that additional information with you now.
A. My college years were from 1967-1971, and there was an immense amount of social change taking place. One of the really “hot” issues was “Abortion on Demand.” Though a Christian, I didn’t have a firm stand on the issue. One night, however, I had a dream where somehow I KNEW I was the dad of an unborn child (No DNA back then, so “knowing” would have been a miracle in itself!).
In my dream, my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) said we could adopt the baby and raise it as our own. I jubilantly went to the mom, only to be advised that it was her decision and the baby would not be born! I woke up still feeling the emptiness I had felt in the dream, and my course was set for life.
B. In 1980 we had a little girl born to us, Margaret, who lived for only three days. Our prayer was that we would be given the test of Abraham, but would accept the test of Job. When I asked God why we had to take our baby, He explained that often people have so much Faith in Him that He has Faith in them. By sharing all this in article form, we have no idea how many other lives we spoke to and helped through a similar ordeal.
C. In 1984 we moved from a 900 sq. ft. home to one that had 2300 sq. ft. I often advised people that God had given us more room than we know what to do with. One Sunday as I woke up from an afternoon nap, God shared with me about “room” and “money.”
D. In 2001 the top TV morning show in Arizona was Channel 3TV’s GOOD MORNING ARIZONA. They had a number of “Human Interest” regulars such as “The Car Guy,” “The Garden Guy” and so on. God spoke to me that they needed a “Bible Guy,” I contacted them and, lo and behold, I became The Bible Guy!
E. Having taught in Christian Schools most of my teaching career, I had no retirement fund accrued. When I talked to God about this he shared two things: 1) The Bible says nothing about retirement and 2) He had taken care of me the first fifty-five years of my life and things were not going to change!
F. I have two daughters, one married to an attorney the other to a doctor. I constantly kidded them that Mom and I intended to move in with them “when we get old.” In August of 2014 God spoke to me to make arrangements to move in with my oldest daughter, and at the same time spoke to her and her husband separately to make arrangements for Mom and I to move in with them! As a result, they took their garage and an addition and made us a beautiful in-law suite attached to their home, where we are now living “happily ever after.”
I trust that by sharing my experiences you might recognize those times that God spoke to you, or that you will be encouraged to know that you can talk to God and He will, in turn, talk to you as well!