5 Different Ways God is Speaking to You (Part 2 of 2)

Ever felt like God speaks to some people but not others....specifically not you?  Have you ever tried talking to the Lord, and did your best to listen, but heard nothing?  Me too friend.  Today I want to continue our journey on learning how much the Lord is actually speaking to us all the time, so we can learn His ways and hear His voice continually throughout the day. Ready?

Matthew 7:7-11 tells us, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"

God is a good Father, and if you draw near to Him, His Word promises in James 4:8, He will draw near to you.  So go ahead and reject all doubt and disbelief that God won't talk back!  Erase any past thoughts you've had (probably lies you've believed) that God didn't talk back or wasn't listening.  Let me ask you this, if your child talked to you, would you ignore her or would you respond to her?  Yes, of course you would respond!!  Well, God is a much better parent that we could ever be, so His Word is your promise that He is listening and will respond!

As a continuation of last week, here are 5 more ways I have heard God speaking to me:

6.  When Someone Prays for Me:  When someone I trust prays for me, as I open my heart to the Lord and listen to the words being prayed over me, the ears of my heart will pick up the "highlights" of what the Holy Spirit is encouraging me with, comforting me in, teaching me on, correcting me in...so forth and so on.  I feel God's love flowing to me through the beautiful words of another brother/sister in Christ. What a beautiful way God unifies both us to Him and us to others!  The next time someone prays for you, listen for what God is saying to you through them!!

7.  When I Pray for Someone Else:  Every time I pray for someone, I submit myself to the Lord to allow the Holy Spirit to pray through me to another.  And as I pray over the person, I also listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to that beloved child of God.  Many times, the prayers for that person also encourage and speak to me as I listen in on the conversation of love that God is having with this person, I also have the ears of my heart open to receive a similar lesson for myself as well.  If God loves this child so much to say this to Him, He also is speaking and reminding me of this loving message as well.

8.  By observing Things of This World:  So many times as I go throughout my day, the Lord will highlight things I see and whisper lessons from His Kingdom as a parallel.  For example, one day recently I was on a run in my neighborhood.  It was trash pickup day and the street was lined with lots of green trash bins.  The garbage truck was slowly making it's way down the road picking up and emptying the bins.  As I finished my run, I realized I had not yet put my trash bin on the street and quickly wheeled it out.  The Lord whispered that in order for Him to take my "heart" trash each day (my sin, my worries, my fears, my problems) I have to bring them to Him each day and give them to Him.  Just because they are there doesn't mean He will take them.  It is my act of faith to bring them to Him, confess them, and allow Him to pick them up.  In an instant, God connected the physical world (trash pickup day) with a principle of His Kingdom, and my heart was full from our conversation.

9.  Listening to Podcasts:  Praise the Lord for technology on our phones!!  Man do I just love listening to YouTube Sermons and Podcasts.  So many times as I create jewelry I listen to these and as the messages are being delivered, I hear the Lord whispering loving lessons, corrections, encouragements or whatever else to me. I am so thankful for the boldness and generosity of so many brothers and sisters in Christ who take the time to share the messages God lays on their hearts so that I can be blessed by them and have a conversation with the Lord about these things as well!

10.  Random Thoughts Throughout the Day:   I try to always keep my heart surrendered and positioned towards the Lord all day long so that whenever He wants to speak to me, I can hear!  So many times when I am doing something like driving, working, cooking, exercising...whatever...I will just hear or see a random thought or picture pop into my mind and I know it's God.  If it's loving and encouraging not condemning or discouraging, I usually find confidence in the random thoughts because I know they are from God because I could not have thought that up!!  Whenever this happens, I pause and ask God what else He wants me to know...and then it's like we go on a journey or scavenger hunt to discover the more of what He wants to talk to me about!  It's so fun!  Don't discount the random, but press into it!

Talking and listening to God is the most wonderful priviledge we have friends.  We have the honor of talking to the One that only death bows to...the Miracle-Worker, Way-Maker, Life-Changer!  Begin your own journey today by being brave and patient enough to discover how the Lord communicates with you and you will be on your way to the most fun and rewarding adventure of your life!  

Many blessings Friend!

xo, Ashley