Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Where does God speak to us?

When we think of prayer, we must first realize that "God does and always speaks first". Prayer is how we enact our decision to say "yes" to God. We come to prayer because God has first talked to us.

Thomas Hart, author of The Art of Christian Listening, poses the question "Where does this speaking of God take place?"

He gives the following examples:

Nature: "Prayer arises spontaneously in the presence of creation...it arises from what I enjoy, what I marvel at, where I experience depth."

Events of my life: "The things that happen to me can be starting points for prayer...my experience of work, my relationships, the things I wonder at, the restlessness of my heart, etc. These things...are the very stuff of prayer."

Scripture: "Our God is a living God and the revelation he has made of himself in scripture is a revelation of who he is always."


We as followers of Christ must discern how God speaks to us. This in itself is part of the discernment process we go through as our relationship with God deepens. We become more and more aware of how God is alive and present in our lives and how God speaks to us as we continue to say "yes" to God and speak with and listen to God in prayer.

This Lent, as we continue to make a turn towards God, let's take the time to ask ourselves: How does God speak to me?
Where do I hear, feel, sense God's voice?

Becky E.

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