One morning, I had woken up when suddenly a voice said "Read Your Bible", It had really shaken me up because I was not looking to God at that time in my life. Because of those words I started reading my Bible, I even decided I needed to go to a church and I picked one. Strange spiritual things were starting to happen, also.
I started getting a lot of dreams, which I hardly ever had. I got feeling that seem to mean something. Perhaps you call them premonitions, or deja vu, or something like that. Anyway I knew it was all spiritual, but it was so strange. Was it really God, I wondered, because I had never gotten the impression from going to church that it would be like that. The churches I had always gone, which was mostly as a child, were rather conservative churches. So I had decided to ask for the gift of tongues because the Bible said it edified you. And amazingly I got the gift. I had been woken up in the middle of the night and something went down my throat and burst on fire. Oh, this was really, really, strange.
I had the gift of tongues and I didn't know anyone who had it, at least that I knew of. I told my church during a period they were considering my application for membership and denied my membership for that reason. The elder that ran the Bible study I went to told me that it would be denied if I let it out that I had the gift. He was right. I wasn't going to hide the fact. I told them at the membership interview. It appeared everyone else, about 50 people, had been accepted. Anyway, it is not about people. We don't battle with them. It just had the effect of me asking God for another church, and He worked it out.
"Worked it out", might have been a good way to explain things then. I would ask He for things, and they seemed to work out. But at that point I had only heard the words "Read Your Bible", with one possible exception. I once thought I had heard a small voice say, "Your not ready yet", about something I was asking. But that voice was so quiet in my head. I wasn't sure, but it did get me thinking about something.
I was asking myself, "Who would put it a one way telephone line?" I mean, that would be stupid wouldn't it? So why does everyone seem to think we can talk to God, even in our head, and He knows what we say and acts on it, but nobody seems to believe He can be heard from? I mean the church is always saying ask God and see if He doesn't answer your request, but they are not meaning that He will answer you like a person would, in that He will respond right then to what you say. We are preaching a one way telephone line!
Anyway, I was thinking about this on the way to work one day and came up with a test to see if perhaps there was a two way line to God in my head. I decided to ask God what lane of the freeway I should drive in, because I didn't care. I just wanted to know if He would answer. So I asked in my head, "Lord, what lane of the freeway should I be in?" The next thought in my head was, "Your ok"
That was my thought, wasn't it? But why did I think, 'Your'? Shouldn't I have thought, "I'm ok", not "Your ok"?
So I tried it again, and the same thing happened. It was very inconclusive. But a little farther down the freeway, about seven big rigs were coming onto the freeway in front of me. I was about to get over to the faster lanes to get around them, when I remembered my game.
So I asked, "Lord, which lane of the freeway should I be in?"
The quite clam thought came back, "Get in the right lane."
"I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THE RIGHT LANE. IF I get in the right lane I'll be slowed down by all those trunks", I was instantly fuming inside.
The next thought I heard was again extremely calm which I was not. It came back, "Well, do you want to listen to Me or not."
It froze my thinking right then. I was talking back and forth with God. It was clear that there was me, who wanted to move over to the left lanes, and Him who was asking me to get in the right lane. So I did. I got in the right lane. It would only slow me down, I was thinking to myself.
But all the trucks got over one lane causing even the fast lanes to slow down, and at the same time leaving only one car, the one with me in it, in the right lane. I passed up everyone. Passing everyone up was not so important, finding out that I could have conversations with God was massive. That changed my life. I was a new person.
The three words "Read Your Bible" had gotten me to read my Bible and even go to church, but this knowledge that I could actually hear from and have conversation with the Lord changed everything! If you know you can indeed talk to God and He will also talk to you, what are you not going to talk to Him about.?
I talked to Him about what lane of the freeway to be in and it changed me life. So I started talking to Him by faith about everything. Nothing is to small for Him to talk to you about. Nothing.
I started getting a lot of dreams, which I hardly ever had. I got feeling that seem to mean something. Perhaps you call them premonitions, or deja vu, or something like that. Anyway I knew it was all spiritual, but it was so strange. Was it really God, I wondered, because I had never gotten the impression from going to church that it would be like that. The churches I had always gone, which was mostly as a child, were rather conservative churches. So I had decided to ask for the gift of tongues because the Bible said it edified you. And amazingly I got the gift. I had been woken up in the middle of the night and something went down my throat and burst on fire. Oh, this was really, really, strange.
I had the gift of tongues and I didn't know anyone who had it, at least that I knew of. I told my church during a period they were considering my application for membership and denied my membership for that reason. The elder that ran the Bible study I went to told me that it would be denied if I let it out that I had the gift. He was right. I wasn't going to hide the fact. I told them at the membership interview. It appeared everyone else, about 50 people, had been accepted. Anyway, it is not about people. We don't battle with them. It just had the effect of me asking God for another church, and He worked it out.
"Worked it out", might have been a good way to explain things then. I would ask He for things, and they seemed to work out. But at that point I had only heard the words "Read Your Bible", with one possible exception. I once thought I had heard a small voice say, "Your not ready yet", about something I was asking. But that voice was so quiet in my head. I wasn't sure, but it did get me thinking about something.
I was asking myself, "Who would put it a one way telephone line?" I mean, that would be stupid wouldn't it? So why does everyone seem to think we can talk to God, even in our head, and He knows what we say and acts on it, but nobody seems to believe He can be heard from? I mean the church is always saying ask God and see if He doesn't answer your request, but they are not meaning that He will answer you like a person would, in that He will respond right then to what you say. We are preaching a one way telephone line!
Anyway, I was thinking about this on the way to work one day and came up with a test to see if perhaps there was a two way line to God in my head. I decided to ask God what lane of the freeway I should drive in, because I didn't care. I just wanted to know if He would answer. So I asked in my head, "Lord, what lane of the freeway should I be in?" The next thought in my head was, "Your ok"
That was my thought, wasn't it? But why did I think, 'Your'? Shouldn't I have thought, "I'm ok", not "Your ok"?
So I tried it again, and the same thing happened. It was very inconclusive. But a little farther down the freeway, about seven big rigs were coming onto the freeway in front of me. I was about to get over to the faster lanes to get around them, when I remembered my game.
So I asked, "Lord, which lane of the freeway should I be in?"
The quite clam thought came back, "Get in the right lane."
"I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THE RIGHT LANE. IF I get in the right lane I'll be slowed down by all those trunks", I was instantly fuming inside.
The next thought I heard was again extremely calm which I was not. It came back, "Well, do you want to listen to Me or not."
It froze my thinking right then. I was talking back and forth with God. It was clear that there was me, who wanted to move over to the left lanes, and Him who was asking me to get in the right lane. So I did. I got in the right lane. It would only slow me down, I was thinking to myself.
But all the trucks got over one lane causing even the fast lanes to slow down, and at the same time leaving only one car, the one with me in it, in the right lane. I passed up everyone. Passing everyone up was not so important, finding out that I could have conversations with God was massive. That changed my life. I was a new person.
The three words "Read Your Bible" had gotten me to read my Bible and even go to church, but this knowledge that I could actually hear from and have conversation with the Lord changed everything! If you know you can indeed talk to God and He will also talk to you, what are you not going to talk to Him about.?
I talked to Him about what lane of the freeway to be in and it changed me life. So I started talking to Him by faith about everything. Nothing is to small for Him to talk to you about. Nothing.