BLOG POST 33: God's voice
As a child, I always thought that to hear God's voice meant to hear God's voice in its literal sense! I recall pleading, complaining, and praying to God to just speak to me like he spoke to little Samuel in the bible. At some point, I remember losing my faith in God because he never spoke to me. And it's astonishingly true that it took me several years to understand that God's voice spoke through our minds, through the people and objects around us, and through symbols and signs.
The Bible stories we are taught when we were kids depict stories where God actually spoke with his voice. Some stories I vividly remember are when God spoke to Moses on the mountain, when God spoke to Daniel in the lion's den, to Samuel when he was just lying down at night, and so on. In all these instances, God's voice is pictured as just thundering out from heaven and the earth-shaking. As a kid, I believed that God would speak to me the same way he did to them.
God has spoken to pregnant women who have considered abortion due to their circumstances. They received calls from unknown numbers. On the other end of the line, a baby babbled making this mother want to reconsider her decision. God has spoken to the bedridden through the care they receive from their caregivers making them want to keep living. God has spoken to the poor by blessing them with little happiness along the way. God speaks to little children every day through their parents, friends, and through his very word the Bible itself.
If you want God to speak to you in your troubles, in your despair, and even in your happiness, pray to God and ask for wisdom to hear his voice. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5)