The Last Time the Lord spoke to me?

The Last Time the Lord spoke to me?

A question that any one of us might ask ourselves when the pressures of life appear to get the best of us.  Ask anyone about their discomfort or disappointments that seem to pop up without warning and it’s like looking in a mirror and viewing the same sort of attacks upon your peacefulness.  

However, if we are walking with faith and really believe the Lord is close by, the ultimate signs of how much Christ really listens to our quest regarding these common yet antagonistic events are heard and he will speak to us.

The discernment is knowing what is Christ’s voice or an unconscious thought of a desire to be clear of the current hostile events.  Caution must be used when we do hear the Lord and we are told to change our approach to his concern and ignore the obvious answer.  Be patient and allow the voice of the Lord to guide us in faith.  

There may be moments when what we are looking for is an instant response as in choreographing our prayer and expecting an immediate answer without delay.   Often people who have workers under their control may feel as if their quests are expected to be an immediate response without any grumbling.  A fast and certain result will be, “have patience and trust in my total concern for you, my child.”  

Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  (Jas 1: 2 - 4).

It can  be compared to a quip that has a man falling off a hilltop and grabbing onto a tree root.  He yells for someone to help and hears a  voice saying, “let go”  When he asks “who are you,” he hears ”it is God. ”Then he yells out again,”is there anyone else there?”  A humorous dialogue but sometimes similar when the Lord asks us to wait and he always hears our cry for help.  When asking for a response from our prayer we are usually adding our imaginative answer to eliminate the problem.  

Another story of a man who is in a hurry to get  his flight and suddenly has a flat tire and misses his plane.  Upset and adding some cursing, he later hears the plane crashed and all the passengers were lost.  God didn’t cause the crash but kept this passenger from being on the plane.  Never ignore the unsuspecting events that might become a detour in life that the Lord has a better or safe opening for our answer to a prayer.  

While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died, why trouble the teacher any longer?”  Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, just have faith.”   (Mk 5: 35 - 36).  It isn’t the speed that God uses to answer our prayers, he will respond in his manner and time that is best for us.  Remember, the Lord always answers with what is best for us even when the result appears as if he isn’t listening.   

Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You have faith in God, have faith in me.  (Jn 14: 1).  This trust is a remedy for anxiety and fear.  

Ralph B. Hathaway