Experiencing the Reality of God in Life
“How do you know God is real?” someone asks.
“I talked with Him this morning” cones the reply.
Is God real in your life? Can we expect to personally experience God in such a way that His presence is an undeniable reality? As we read the scriptures we certainly see that God speaks to people and such conversations are common place. “And this is what the Lord said,” or some similar statement is found over 1500 times in scripture.
Is God still speaking today? I think it hard to imagine that Almighty God who created us and loves us deeply would stop talking to us. How does He speak to us?
First and foremost God speaks to us through His Word. The Bible is not just ink on paper. It is the living word of God. The Holy Spirit inspired the writers of scripture to pen the words they did and these words have life in them. The Holy Spirit is present to quicken the word as we read it literally making it a life-giving word to us. Do you want God to be real in your life? Do you want to hear Him speak to you? Read His word.
God also speaks to us by His Spirit. Elijah heard God speak in a still small voice. (1 Kings 19 :11-18) The voice of God will often come as a thought, an idea, an impulse or even a picture in our mind. We may often dismiss such things but we shouldn’t. With practice and discipline we can learn to distinguish His voice. Jesus confirmed that we can hear His voice in John 10:27 where He said, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me.” One of the greatest thrills in life is to hear the voice of the Lord.
Let me add another element to distinguishing the voice of God. It’s found in 1 Kings 8:23-24 in Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple.
“LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. “
God will speak and then he will confirm it with His hand. He does something that we can see that confirms His word to us. I have been praying this prayer on a regular, even daily basis for a time now, “Lord, I’m listening for Your voice and watching for Your hand. Speak to Me” My awareness of God’s voice and my joy in experiencing God in my life has grown immensely because of this. You can do it too. If you desire to experience God in your life on a daily basis, devour His word and talk to Him often in prayer and as you do tell Him, “Lord, I’m listening for Your voice and I’m watching for Your hand. Speak to me” Then, start listening and watching! Pay attention. You will begin to see God’s hand at work in your life and you will know the joy of an experiential relationship with Your heavenly Father.
Then, if someone asks you, “How do you know God is real?” you can reply with confidence, “I talked with Him this morning.”
Pastor Dan