Let's start with a logical discussion before we draw a conclusion. There are many people who do not believe that God speaks with His people, so this discussion becomes critically important when those people are considering this particular lesson.

The Bible is the Word of God

First, let us assume that there really is a God and the Bible is His Word. For a Christian, that should not be much of a leap. According to the Bible, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. That means that He does not change. He spoke to His people in the past, and He spoke to His people at the time of Christ and during the Book of Acts. How might be conclude that He no longer does so?

Experience Shows...

We might rely on experience and the many, many times people claim that God spoke to them or claim that they speak for God. We know that most of this has to be false simply because of the contradiction, but does that mean that every single event MUST be false? It's sort of like the fact that there have been tens of thousands of religions throughout history, how can we assume that ours is true when many of the others are clearly false? It's simple. Just because there are many wrong answers does not mean there are no right answers.

Didn't Miracles End When the Bible was Finished?

If we want a Biblical basis to dismiss the presence and individual leading of God, we might use 1 Corinithians 13:8-10 that speaks of the partial things passing away when that which is perfect comes. Some people think that means that when Christ returns, miracles will end. Others argue that it meant the completion of the Bible. However, simply looking at what the consequences of "the perfect" will be helps us understand that it is something else. Not only does it refer to many things passing away, but it goes on to say "now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known." The implication is that it is a time in which we are face to face with God and have complete and perfect knowledge. Because "the perfect" is feminine, it is not likely to refer to Christ coming here, but considering that the feminine form can be used to describe an abstract "perfect," it would seem to refer to our perfection when we are brought to God in Heaven cleansed of our sin by Christ's sacrifice.

Last Days for 2000 Years?

Acts 2:17 tells about Peter quoting Joel, explaining that in the last days that God's Spirit would be poured out on all flesh, or all peoples. The description says that there will be prophecies, visions, and dreams. If the last days had a start then, and the days have not yet ended, is it not logical to conclude that we are still in that category?

If He Lives in Our Hearts, Why Can't He Speak?

Christians routinely accept that we are "indwelt" by the Holy Spirit. If He's here, living in our heart, is it unreasonable to conclude that it would be possible for Him to speak if He so chose?

Why Might He Be Silent?

If we conclude that God could speak to us if He chose, then a separate question arises about why He would remain silent most of the time? One key reason is that we simply would not listen. If we won't listen, there's nothing to say. If we aren't interested in His guidance, then why should He provide it? Most of us reserve the right to second guess God rather than simply try to understand what He's saying and why. If we do not desire His truth, then there would be nothing to say. A few people have reported hearing Him, or something, intervene at a critical moment, but for the most part, we do not expect to hear Him, and many of us would not listen if He did speak.

Nathan Daniel's Lesson

Pastor Nathan Daniel (Grace Fellowship, El Cajon, CA) taught me a vitally important lesson about "hearing God's voice." He said that if we wanted to receive God's direction, it was fairly simple. If we could go to God in prayer and honestly say this prayer, God would communicate with us. This was the prayer:

"Almighty God, I promise that I will do anything You ask me to do to the absolute best of my ability to obey, no matter what it is. Now speak, Lord."

I prayed that prayer every day for three weeks before one day as the words escaped my lips it stuck me... I really meant it that time. No matter what God said, I would obey to the absolute best of my ability. That's when I heard Him. That's when prayer became something more than just me talking to Him, when it became an opportunity for Him to speak to me. Hearing Him did not become a regular experience, but it was no longer this far-off "I-wonder-if-it-really-happens" thing that happens to great men and women of God. The only question, of course, is always whether or not it is Him.

John Anderson's Lesson

Pastor John Anderson (Peaster, TX?) said a simple, profound Truth. "Pray Trinitarian" was the core of His lesson. Almighty God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father is seated in Heaven and the Son is seated at His right hand, the Bible says so, though we learn in Acts that when Stephen was being stoned that Jesus stood at the Father's right hand. God Almighty that is here now, with us and within us, is the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father when Jesus ascended. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be our Helper. The Holy Spirit is he who brings to our remembrance the Scriptures (to "remember," we must have at one time learned). We know that Jesus is Emmanual, "God With Us," but now that Jesus Christ has ascended, it is the Holy Spirit that is with us and we are the Body of Christ here on Earth.

So John Anderson's admonition was fairly simple: Pray to the Holy Spirit. He's here, so talk to Him. Ask Him questions. Ask Him to participate fully and completely in every aspect of your life, and submit yourself completely to Him. When we pray to God, it is the Holy Spirit that intercedes to Heaven for us and it is through the Holy Spirit that we receive from God, so if we address our prayers specifically to a person of the Trinity, shouldn't we talk to the Holy Spirit at least as much as Father God and Jesus Christ?

For myself, I have found it transformational to my prayer time. I know that God is omnipresent, but the Bible seems to indicate that in the persons of the Trinity, that the Father is on His throne, and the Son (or the "Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament) is likewise located in a particular "place" (however that applies to God - I don't really understand either of these concepts completely, I just know what the Bible says), but I know that Almighty God lives within me, taking my body as a Temple, and He is everywhere in the person of the Holy Spirit. When I ask a question, I have a much easier time conceiving that God inside and all around me will answer. Perhaps it is my faith that He can and will answer that makes all the difference.

The Sound of God's Voice

So what does God sound like? For some people, they "hear" an actual voice, but they know there's no sound. This is how I describe it. When you clearly remember something someone said, you remember it in the form of sound, but when you're remembering you know that there's no sound at that moment. So the "sound" you are "hearing" when you remember someone's words, or you remember a song or a tune, is "auditory information" but without sound. That's what the "voice" of God sounds like to me. It's like remembering someone speaking, but you don't remember the sound of the voice, only the words they spoke. So in my time with God, there is no "voice" to remember, only words.

Visions are similar, I imagine. The information is clearly visual, but you haven't seen it with your eyes. It's like remembering a dream, seeing things your eyes have not seen. Yet, whether God's voice or a vision, it all happens in "real time," like remembering the present.

Clarity or Confusion?

For some, that description will bring clarity. It may provide a way to describe for others what we have experienced for ourselves. For others, it might only make it more confusing. A voice without sound? Sights without seeing? Think of it as a waking dream, except God is on the other side guiding the dream so He can speak to you through it. No one can see or hear but you because there is nothing to see and nothing to hear, but your brain understands what it receives as sights and sounds.

Going Beyond

If you're already read "Total Faith, Total Trust" then you know that we've gone a bit beyond that simple, but incredibly profound prayer Nathan Daniel first taught. It is truly a leap of faith, but it is a leap of faith into the arms of a God we know we can trust. It shows what we really think of the God we call Lord.