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My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
John 10: 27 ESV
My Sheep Hear My Voice
Recently I was on my daily walk, very focused on getting my best time, when God spoke to me. Not an audible voice but His voice nonetheless. How did I know it was His voice? Because I am one of His sheep.
And I Know Them
At a time I was focused on something completely different, I felt pressed upon to pray for someone who is an acquaintance I hardly know. I prayed for her for quite awhile, knowing that this wasn’t something from me. Later that day as I was about to cross paths with her, I felt like I was being told to share with her I had prayed for her that morning. Truth be told, I was really uncomfortable with that at first. You never know how someone is going to react. I passed her office and it was filled with people. Ah, the perfect excuse! A few minutes later I had to pass by her office again (still filled with people) and I felt the same prompting.
And They Follow Me.
I just couldn’t ignore it! So I politely interrupted and shared with her how I had prayed for her. She looked shocked, and everyone in the room was staring at me. Then she shared with me her brother had died that morning. Both of us were in awe of God’s provision that day. What a blessing it is to know that God can use us, even when we are just out for a walk. And from her perspective, what a blessing it was to know that in her worst moments, God called even those who didn’t know her to pray for her.
Thankful for a God Who Speaks
As widows, we are overwhelmed with decisions and new challenges, when all we want to do is crawl into bed and stay there forever. But even on the worst days, God is working. On the day my husband was killed by a drunk driver, I was prompted to pray for his travels. It was an intense, very heavy prompting in the middle of a busy day at work. My hand reached out immediately for the phone to ask my prayer partner to pray. As I reached for the phone, I felt God tell me to pray myself before asking others to pray. I prayed for my husband and then called my prayer partner, and we prayed together. Later as the day unfolded, shock set in, and I had no memory of that prayer time.
A little over a week later, as my children prepared for their five hour trip home, we went out for a last lunch together. As I prayed over their meal, I also prayed for their safe travels — then had a complete melt down in the restaurant, wondering if I had prayed for my husband if it would have made a difference. Later that day I called my prayer partner and shared what had transpired and the thoughts that had caused my meltdown. Complete silence and then she uttered the words, “Don’t you remember?”, and instantly the memory came flooding back in. What a huge blessing to know God prompted me to pray that day as well as allowed the memory to be restored in such a profound way! I am so thankful for a God who speaks to us!
Is it God Speaking?
Sometimes we struggle with wrapping our mind around the thought that the God of all Creation, our God, is actually speaking to us. Here are a few quick questions we can ask ourselves to check if it is our desires or God speaking.
- Does this thought line up with what I know to be true in scripture?
- Does the motivation seem to line up with God’s purposes or is this something I want?
- Is it a strong, persistent thought or just a fleeting thought because of something I’ve seen, heard or done?
- Will following through on this thought be consistent with loving God and loving others?
Proof of His Love
Dear sisters, I pray that today you are encouraged by remembering the Great I AM will speak to you and you will know His voice! It might not always happen when and where we want but it is an incredible gift every time it occurs. We have an awesome God who loves us so much He speaks to us!