Listening When God Speaks
a devotional by
Olivia Rae
Recently I wrote a devotion on overcoming negative
thoughts and persevering even when things don’t go your way. One of the points
to overcome the negative is to listen when God is speaking. Immediately after
the devotion was posted I received comments from a woman asking, “How can God speak to you through others? How can
we discern when that happens? What are the qualities of God's voice? Can
listening prayer/meditation help?”
My first reaction was,
wow. I never thought this was a struggle with people. Then I sat down and
thought about it. How does God talk to me, and how do I know it’s Him and not
the devil or my own negative self? Yes, all three exist and all three want me
to follow them. But only one stands apart and carries me through the good and
the bad times. Since God is my go-to-guy in every situation, here is what I
have learned.
I always start with
prayer. I come to God with my praise and requests (even though he already knows
what I need and want). God wants a relationship with you. It’s like He’s
standing right next to you shouting, “Hey, come talk to me.” The Bible says we
should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16), I know that sounds crazy
because nobody can do that. But think about some of the places you do pray—the car,
while in a group and you are silent, in a sports stadium, on a lake, at the
playground with your kids—the point is we all pray in many different places and
those around us don’t even know it. Some would call this meditation. I guess if
I am going to have to clear my mind, why fill it with anything else other than
God? I don’t need the middleman or middle-me. I just need God.
Usually after I pray,
God comes on strong. His message may come through scripture I’m reading. Often
I’ll go to church on Sunday and the pastor’s messages might be on the same
passage. Once I saw the same Bible passage in five different places in one
week—through scripture I was reading, through a pastor’s message, a passage on
Facebook, quoted on the radio, and this last one sent the chills down my back,
but I found the same scripture written on a piece of paper in a drawer I was
cleaning out. You can call it coincidence, I call it God banging me over the
head to wake up and listen.
Sometimes God talks
through others like a friend, a family member, an acquaintance or a stranger,
who says or does something profound that sticks with you. BTW, this will never
be negative, but it will make you think. Often, it’s not what you want to hear.
Sometimes it’s just God
speaking. No, it’s not someone else’s voice, it usually sounds like your own. It
comes out of nowhere, like a whisper or a loud shot. It is always calming and
uplifting, but it is never judgmental or exonerating. God never says you’re right
just to make you feel better, but will encourage you when you are wrong. He’s
waiting to fill you with the Holy Spirit, all you need to do is ask. So slow down your busy life and listen. He is
talking to you, just listen.
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you
great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3 [NIV]
From award-winning author Olivia Rae comes a story of
forgiveness, faith, and a family restored.
They only want what is best for Joshua—but disagree about what
that is.
When Dr. Sam Morgan’s
estranged wife dies in a tragic accident, he returns home from a months-long,
overseas surgical mission to discover his disabled son, Joshua, does not
remember him. Sam is convinced that he and Joshua can only overcome their
heartbreaking memories by leaving their decaying small town and starting over
somewhere else.
Nicole James runs a
women’s shelter where Sam’s wife fled with Joshua, claiming Sam was not the
saint he appeared to be, but a physical and mental abuser. Nicole is determined
to protect Joshua by legally preventing Sam from leaving Cedar Ridge with his
son until she can get at the truth—is Sam Morgan an abuser or the victim of
lies in a marriage that went terribly wrong?
As Sam and Nicole are
forced to work together on Joshua’s behalf, they begin to gain a grudging
respect for one another. But will mutual distrust prevent them from realizing
that the best thing they can do for Joshua is to fall in love?
Olivia Rae is
an award-winning author of historical and contemporary inspirational romance.
She spent her school days dreaming of knights, princesses and far away
kingdoms; it made those long, boring days in the classroom go by much faster.
Nobody was more shocked than her when she decided to become a teacher. Besides
getting her Master’s degree, marrying her own prince, and raising a couple of
kids, Olivia decided to breathe a little more life into her childhood stories
by adding in what she’s learned as an adult living in a small town on the edge
of a big city. When not writing, she loves to travel, dragging her family to
old castles and forts all across the world.
Olivia is the
winner of the New England Readers’ Choice Award, a Buyer Best Book Award
Finalist, a Kindle Book Award Semi-Finalist, I Heart Indie Award Finalist, and
Grab Me Award Finalist. She is currently hard at work on her next novel.
Contact Olivia at Oliviarae.books@gmail.com
For news and sneak peeks of upcoming novels visit:
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