It was a recommendation from a fellow blogger, Big Mama, who is full of unending wit. Apparently she knows Pastor Matte personally, and hence, recommended the book.
I’ve almost put it down several times because it was a little elementary for me. I’m a pastor’s kid and leader in my church. I’ve heard thousands of sermons, and a lot of them have stuck with me. Coming from that background, the book has been a great “introduction” to finding God’s will, but nothing I hadn’t heard before, and nothing said in a terribly new way. But I give a book until the last page before a final verdict, so I’m still reading.
And to Gregg’s credit, I’ve finally hit on something making a new Cosmic Shift in me.
Finding God’s will is a long-term investment. The more time you spend seeking it, the more likely you are to gradually discover it.
The more frequently you listen to the voice of God, the more likely you are to recognize it when it comes.
My dad recently shared something he heard God say during devotions. He ended the story with the comment, “But sometimes I’m not sure if when I hear things like that, it’s really God speaking, and not just my own head.”
He was using the ACTS-L model of prayer. You spend five minutes (or longer) praying through each of the five acronyms. Five minutes for each letter. If you journal your thoughts/prayers, it is a great tool to stay focused. And each five-minute segment goes by pretty quickly.
Adoration: “God you are good. Your holiness is pure, and I have seen your power expressed in my life.” It’s not thankfulness; it’s telling God Who He is. Not because He needs to hear it, but because WE need to hear it.
Confession: Speak or write what comes to mind you know has grieved God, or made a pang in your heart when you did it.
Thanksgiving: Thank the Lord for specific things going on in your life, or others’ lives. No matter how dark things are, there are always things we can thank Him for.
Supplication: Make your requests known to Him.
Listen: Up to this point, it’s been a one-way street. Turn it the other direction by taking time to listen for God to speak.
The “L” is the part my dad was hesitating over. He regularly uses this model, and has heard clear things from God consistently. But this day, he was questioning what he “thought” he heard.
My mom and sister Priscilla quickly replied, “The more you do it (ACTS-L and especially Listen), the better you will get at knowing what really IS Him. You get better at listening.”
My sister Esther’s husband’s family lives in Minnesota. I’ve met Daniel’s sister twice, both times briefly. If she called me on the phone, I wouldn’t have her number in my caller ID. I probably wouldn’t recognize her voice. If it sounded enough like Daniel’s voice, I might think she sounded familiar, and even guess that it was her, but I wouldn’t really be sure.
This is what I do sometimes with hearing the will of God. I think I can dial him up a couple times during life when I REALLY need to make the right decision, or know which way to go. Then I have a clear expectation that He will speak, and I will recognize His voice.
There’s a good chance I won’t.
And it won’t be because He’s not speaking.
Knowing His will, knowing His voice, is like getting to know a person intimately. If my mom calls me, even if she’s sick and her voice is raspy, I know in a word or two that it is her. I know her voice that well because we have spent hours and hours talking, and years of life together. Because I talk to her every day, and she talks to me every day.
My expectation is that when she speaks, no matter how hard it is to hear what she has to say, I know what her heart and intentions are, and I can trust her. And I can trust that it’s not the voices in my head speaking, it’s my mom.
If I want to know the will of God for my life, if I want to know His voice, this is what it takes.
Not an annual session when I hit a crossroads and HAVE to hear His voice. A regular, consistent, getting-to-know-Him conversation.
Several times in the last five years, Benjamin and I have gathered trusted pastors to pray with us over a “big” decision. It was really helpful.
In perspective of this Cosmic Shift though, I think those times are helpful because I trust those folks to hear God’s voice more than I trust myself. They hear, they know, and they recognize Him because they are listening to Him all the time. Making space for Him consistently. Listening to Him talk for hours and hours, and years of life together.
Not that I don’t need their help as pastors. The wise counsel of leaders in authority over us is actually another Scriptural method for knowing God's will. It's just that this crisis prayer meeting should not be the ONLY time I pray. The only time I show up asking God to speak His will to me.
My ears just aren’t that good.
It’s going to take time. Hours and hours, and years of life together. Time quietly listening, and time actively listening by journaling. More time together.
Usually I would pick up a book titled “Knowing God’s Will” when I am at life’s crossroads. I need a big answer, and a quick answer. I have no time to waste and no time to wait. Then I get frustrated when “God doesn’t speak.” Because “all I want” is to do “what He says.”
Then I’m going to have to start listening a lot more often.
