God will tell you all that you need to know. He will not
always tell you all that you want to know. These are a few simple suggestions
for people who are willing to make an experiment. You can discover for yourself
the most important and practical thing any human being can ever learn—how to be
in touch with God. All that is needed is the willingness to try it honestly.
Every person who has done this consistently and sincerely has found that it
really works.
Before you begin, look over these fundamental points. They
are true and are based on the experience of thousands of people.
1. God is alive. He always has been, and He always will be.
2. God knows everything.
3. God can do anything.
4. God can be everywhere—all at the same time. (These are
the important differences between God and us human beings.)
5. God is invisible—we cannot see Him or touch Him—but God
is here. He is with you now. He is beside you. He surrounds you. He fills the
room or the whole place where you are right now. He is in you now. He is in
your heart.
6. God cares very much for you. He is interested in you. He
has a plan for your life. He has an answer for every need and problem you face.
8. God will help you do anything that He asks you to do.
9. Anyone can be in touch with God, anywhere and at any
time, if conditions are obeyed.
These are the conditions:
–
To be quiet and still
–
To listen
–
To be honest about every
thought that comes
–
To test the thoughts to be
sure that they come from God
–
To obey.
So, with these basic elements as a background, here are
specific suggestions on how to listen to God:
1. Take time
Find some place and time where you can be alone, quiet, and
undisturbed. Most people have found that the early morning is the best time.
Have with you some paper and a pen or a pencil.
2. Relax
Sit in a comfortable position. Consciously relax all your
muscles. Be loose. There is no hurry. There needs to be no strain during these
minutes. God cannot get through to us if we are tense and anxious about later
responsibilities.
3. Tune in
Open your heart to God. Either silently or aloud, just say
to God in a natural way that you would like to find out His plan for your life—you
want His answer to the problem or situation that you are facing just now. Be definite
and specific in your request.
4. Listen
Just be still, quiet, relaxed, and open. Let your mind go
loose. Let God do the talking. Thoughts, ideas, and impressions will begin to
come into your mind and heart. Be alert and aware and open to every one.
5. Write!
Here is the important key to the whole process. Write down
everything that comes into your mind. Everything. Writing is simply a means of recording
so that you can remember later. Do not sort out or edit your thoughts at this
point.
Do not say to yourself:
–
"This thought is not
important!
–
This is just an ordinary
thought!
–
This cannot be guidance!
–
This is not nice!
–
This cannot be from God!
–
This is just me thinking!"
(etc.)
Write down everything that passes through your mind.
–
Names of people
–
Things to do
–
Things to say
–
Things that are wrong and
need to be made right.
Write down everything:
–
Good thoughts—bad thoughts
–
Comfortable thoughts—uncomfortable
thoughts
–
Holy thoughts—unholy
thoughts
–
Sensible thoughts—crazy
thoughts.
Be Honest! Write down everything—a thought comes quickly,
and it escapes even more quickly unless it is captured and put down.
6. Test
When the flow of thoughts slows down, stop. Take a good look
at what you have written. Not every thought we have comes from God, so we need
to test our thoughts. Here is where the written record helps us to be able to
look at them.
–
Are these thoughts
completely honest, pure, unselfish, and loving?
–
Are these thoughts in line
with our duties?
–
Are these thoughts in line
with our understanding of the teachings found in our spiritual literature?
7. Check
When you are in doubt and when it is important, what does
another person who is living two-way prayer think about this thought or action?
More light comes in through two windows than one. Someone else who also wants God's
plan for our lives may help us to see more clearly.
Talk over together what you have written. Many people do
this. They tell each other what guidance has come. This is the secret of unity.
There are always three sides to every question—your side, my side, and the
right side. Guidance shows us which is the right side—not who is right, but what
is right.
8. Obey
Carry out the thoughts that have come. You will only be sure
of guidance as you go through with it. A rudder will not guide a boat until the
boat is moving. As you obey, very often the results convince you that you are on
the right track.
9. Blocks?
What if I do not seem to get any definite thoughts? God's
guidance is as freely available as the air we breathe. If I am not receiving
thoughts when I listen, the fault is not God's.
Usually it is because there is something I will not do:
–
Something wrong in my life
that I will not face and make right
–
A habit or indulgence I
will not give up
–
A person I will not forgive
–
A wrong relationship in my
life I will not give up
–
A restitution I will not
make
–
Something God has already
told me to do that I will not obey.
Check these points and be honest. Then try listening again.
10. Mistakes
Suppose I make a mistake and do something in the name of God
that is not right? Of course we make mistakes. We are humans with many faults. However,
God will always honour our sincerity.
He will work around and through every honest mistake we
make. He will help us make it right. But remember this—sometimes when we do obey
God, someone else may not like it or agree with it. So when there is opposition,
it does not always mean you have made a mistake. It can mean that the other
person does not want to know or to do what is right. Suppose I fail to do something
that I have been told, and the opportunity to do it passes? There is only one
thing to do. Put it right with God. Tell Him you are sorry. Ask Him to forgive
you, then accept His forgiveness and begin again. God is our Father—He is not
an impersonal calculator. He understands us far better than we do.
11. Results
We never know what swimming is like until we get down into
the water and try. We will never know what this is like until we sincerely try
it. Every person who has tried this honestly finds that a wisdom, not their own,
comes into their minds and that Power greater than human power begins to
operate in their lives. It is an endless adventure. There is a way of life, for
everyone, everywhere. Anyone can be in touch with the living God, anywhere,
anytime, if we fulfil His conditions.
When man listens, God speaks.
When man obeys, God acts.
This is the law of Prayer: God's plan for this world goes
forward through the lives of ordinary people who are willing to be governed by
Him.
John E. Batterson
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