Is God Speaking To Us Still? - II Peter 1:21

II Peter 1:21 NKJV

"For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

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I believe that God speaks to us in many direct and tangible ways today such as: His Word (the Bible), Creation (this world), prayer, and other believers.  A few years ago, I read a book called "Hearing God" by Dallas Willard.  It talks about how God speaks to His believers, but that in order to hear his message, we need to be mature people (in our faith), and in a close loving relationship with Him.  The book also warns though that as we hear from God, we need to test what we hear against scripture to ensure that what we are hearing is not from Satan, or is not even just a selfish desire (e.g. God is telling me to buy a new car).  This verse in II Peter echos this point that prophecy (or a message from God) does not come out of the will of men, but mature Christians speak as they are spoken to through the guiding of the Holy Spirit.

A few days ago I received a social media notification about an old colleague and friend who is a Christian living in Chennai India.  Her name is Sumala and we both used to work for Software AG.  She is a faithful believer and we have shared our walk over the years, and prayed for each other from time to time.  Well I just felt called to reach out to her and let her know what was going on in my life right now.  She responded to my email almost immediately and she shared that over the last few months (since Kay has been sick), she has been praying almost daily for me and was waiting to hear from me.  After she got my email in the afternoon, she went about praying what she should respond to me with and this is what happened that evening (in her words):

"At around 8 pm, we get a call, from a distant relative, she says she needs to come to our house immediately and give us a book. We are puzzled but we say ok, please come. She is a Hindu, and in 5 min she arrives and gives us a christian book given to her by her friend. She says her friend gave it to all as she has become a christian who received healing from the Lord. We then talk about 30 min about kids and stuff. Just as she is about to leave, I ask her what healing did her friend receive from the Lord. She answers "From breast cancer" and she leaves."

What an amazing, timely, and encouraging story!  This is a great example of how God can speak encouragement to us through other believers.  I am so thankful for Sumala's friendship and for her obedience and faithfulness to God.

I encourage you to listen intently for that "still small voice" of God speaking through His word, His creation, His believers and through our dialog (prayer) with Him.  We have direct access to God and he wants us to approach his throne boldly.  Take your petitions and praises to God today...this minute!

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!