heard the Lord , a repeat of a message already written in the Bible two thousand years ago . I now realize that this moment gave me my calling . The eyes of the Lord had ranged “ throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him ” ( 2 Chronicles 16:9 ). When He looked over at Texas A & M University in 1987 , He saw a naive college kid whispering in a dark closet and said to a nearby angel , “ Hey , watch this .” With just the four words “ While you still can ,” He laid claim to my whole life . From that moment , I knew one thing for sure : I must waste no time in pursuing my purpose . God had made me for something .
Those words crashed into my life like thunder . I recognized in that message an opportunity to give myself away to Him forever . I still mist up whenever I remember it . Nothing like it happened again for a very long time .
What if you could hear God speaking ? What difference would that make in your life ? I don ’ t mean hearing an audible voice . Instead , I mean receiving a message from Him as a thought in the mind . Even the deaf have access to this kind of “ hearing ” because our powerful God can speak into any human mind in any language , including sign language .
The hearing I have in mind refers to receiving internal guidance from God , the leading of the Holy Spirit deep within us .
Such hearing used to be limited to a few prophets gifted with the Spirit . But now all of us who follow Jesus have access to that same Spirit . Not only do we have the possibility of hearing God , to serve Him well , it ’ s a necessity . We need the instructions that Isaiah described : “ Your own ears will hear him . Right behind you a voice will say , ‘ This is the way you should go ,’ whether to the right or to the left ” ( Isaiah 30:21 , NLT ). We need the fellowship that Jesus promised : “ Here I am ! I stand at the door and knock . If anyone hears my voice and opens the door , I will come in
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