And Samuel said [to the Lord], “Speak, for your servant hears.” (I Sam 3:10)
I want to hear from you, Lord. I don’t want a life in which you are far off. I want your presence, your voice, your direction, your will for my life.
God still speaks.
Some people want to deny the voice of God today, but He speaks nonetheless. He has spoken to me concerning my career, education, wife, children, faith, parents, and friends. He has given me direction concerning my entertainment and health, concerning how to spend my time and His money. He has spoken to me about my sin and prayers, about the Scriptures and His character. I would venture to say that God has spoken to me about virtually every aspect of life worth talking about.
The reason God speaks to His people is that He made us ultimately for relationship with Him, and relationship involves communication. In fact, I would go so far as to say that God’s communication with His people is a necessary consequence of His restoring us to Himself. Whatever words you wish to use – salvation, redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness, justification, and more – I would argue that the end result of those words is to restore the relationship that existed in the garden before sin entered the world. The purpose of those acts is to make you an adopted son or daughter of the great king, to unite you with Christ as a bride unites with her husband. God is your father. Christ is your groom. Those are intensely relational concepts that demand ongoing communication.
I fully understand why nonChristians question the idea of God speaking. They have no real relationship with God at all, and consequently, can have no deep experience of hearing God’s voice. But sometimes people who identify as Christians talk as nonChristians do. This is a bit disconcerting because these people claim salvation but disclaim the relationship that their salvation is supposed to procure. We are saved so we can be with God and He with us, but if God never speaks anymore, for all practical purposes we are on our own.
For the Christian, this should never be. When your sin is gone, God comes to live inside you, and you may approach the throne of grace with boldness. When your sin is gone, expect a new relationship with God. Speak to God and let Him speak to you.
This new relationship with God through Christ requires an investment on your part. You get out of your relationships what you put into them.
