People of Purpose

Do you believe that God speaks?  

Now, first, let me say, I'm not aiming this at peeps who don't believe the Bible is true.  I would need to have an entirely different discussion with those people.  This question is for my brothers and sisters who have settled the issue of Bible validity in themselves and KNOW that God is who He says He is, that the Bible is inspired by Him, and that God has preserved the Word for all time.  

So...to those who truly say they believe...do you really believe God speaks?

John 10:27 says  My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 

Here is the truth.  He speaks. We listen and follow.

God still speaks to us...through the Word which is living and active, through other people by the Holy Spirit, through our spirit from His Spirit...

And do you believe God listens to you?  Do your truly believe that He cares and He hears you?

Psalm 4:3 says  You can be sure that anyone who serves the Lord faithfully is special to him. The Lord listens when I pray to him.

The Psalmist was sure!  

In conversations I have had with other Christians though, it seems many who call Him Father may believe He hears their prayers, but they aren't too sure He speaks.  

They also aren't sure He cares about what matters to them...or maybe He cares only about the "big" things.  

Some even think they shouldn't "bother" Him with their concerns at all.

This is just the enemy trying to take away gift of power in the life of a child of God!

Think about how God created communication.  He created our organs and our senses.  It seems that He went to great lengths to make us able to communicate by talking AND listening.  Clearly He intended both, and both we see Him doing with Adam and Eve in Eden.  He called it good then, so I believe His desire is to communicate with us this way still.  Jesus made that possible so don't forfeit this gift!

Living proactively instead of reactively requires us to communicate with God regularly.  It requires more than us throwing some begging words out into the air and wishing for the best.  The Bible shows us that the enemy roams around seeking whom He may devour.  The rebellious angels don't seem to be resting, but we think we don't need to be purposeful to raise up a standard against them???  Doesn't make for much of a battle plan on our part, does it? 

I wonder how much grief and trouble we just endure because we don't live proactively.  I wonder how many fiery arrows could be thwarted if we did things a little differently on a daily basis.

We need to be people of purpose (committed to a specific task) and people of faith (being confidently assured of what we can't see with our eyes).

We can and should purposefully choose to:

*know what God's Word says about us and what authority we have in this life (many Christians don't even read the Bible for themselves)

*take our thoughts captive and line it up with the Word (many of us let our imaginations run away)

*pray over situations according to the Word...(many of us don't take prayer seriously or only see it as a last resort)

What changes do you sense God is leading you to make?