You’ll never get a busy signal with God
Every discipline has a language that is uniquely theirs; that is, they have some terms that are meaningful to them, but not understood by others. I recently had a delightful conversation with an astrophysicist. I didn’t understand what certain expressions he used meant to him. Some sports jargon is not comprehensible to a non-sports person. The medical field, law and agriculture all have their “languages.”
The church also has its language that can be confusing. The terms “God told me,” and “God said to me,” have long concerned me.
Though there may be current occasions God has overtly articulated to an individual, I have never heard an audible voice I considered the actual voice of God. God has never spoken to me, but He has “spoken” to me. Note the second use of the word spoken is in quotation marks. By that I mean I have never heard His voice though I have felt an overwhelming compulsion regarding a decision, and by that it might be said He spoke to me.
The key to the misunderstanding that led to Joy Behar referring to Vice President Mike Pence’s faith being a form of mental problems is what is meant by the use of the word “spoke.” Most Christians use it in a metaphorical sense, not a literal sense.
People praying often experience an overwhelming conviction certain conduct is proper. Weighing it against scriptural principles and realizing it does not violate any of them, they conclude God is guiding them to take certain action. Some describe it as “God said to me ... ” Knowing that to be confusing to non-believers there are better ways of expressing it than saying, God “spoke” or God “said.”
One individual expressed what he perceived as God guiding him as, “He ‘spoke’ to me more clearly than if it had been an audible voice.”
A counter confusing expression is “I talked to God about it.” Most people using that expression simply mean they prayed about it. Prayer not only has spiritual value, it is also therapeutic for the person praying.
These terms are part of the “language” of the faith community and, in most instances, understood by people of faith. However, it would help those not of the faith community understand what is meant if terms they understand were used.
Most people of faith believe God hears prayer. By that is not meant God hears voices. It means He understands a believer’s petition. Prayer is a form of communication of the highest order.
It would be foolish to say I understand all there is to understand about prayer. However, I believe in it and do it because the Bible says do it. The psalmist said: “In the day of trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me,” Psalm 86:7.
I believe He answers every prayer in one of the following ways: “Yes.” “No,” after all that is a prayer. “Wait a while, give Me time to be God.” “You have got to be kidding” (just kidding). Perhaps the saddest response might be, “I thought you would never ask.”
A second reason I pray is that through the years I have seen so many supernatural answers to specific prayers that could not be attributed to anything else.
In case you would like to use it, here is God’s phone number: Jer. 33:3, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Give Him a call. You will never get a busy signal.