(Transcribed from a tape of the meditation)

Alison L. Barfoot

I have two cats, Toby and Elly. When I come home, we have a routine. I open the front door and call out their names, and then they come to greet me. Before I even take off my coat, I bend over, rub and pet them, and talk to them. Now, if a stranger comes into the house, they scatter and go off into deep hiding in places in the house only known to them! Not only do they know my voice, but they know the sound of my footsteps and how I put the key in the front door.

I want to finish this Quiet Day by sharing Five Ways to Hear God, or five ways that I have come to recognize God's voice.

First, and perhaps, the most important: Know what God has already said! Know the Bible. This comes through Bible study (not to be confused with Praying Scripture which we talked about earlier!). Bible Study is a very important companion to prayer and to hearing God. We must know the Bible because God is the "same yesterday, today, and forever." He will speak to us in the same way He has always spoken to His people.

In fact, He will never say anything that is inconsistent with what He has already said. He will never say anything that is contrary to what is in the Bible. For example, let's take a controversial subject like divorce. I have heard people say to me that "God called me to leave my husband/wife." We know in the Bible that God hates divorce, though it is permitted in the case of infidelity. It seems quite inconceivable to me that God could call someone to divorce. It may be possible for God to permit divorce. But, I don't see how God could call someone to divorce since that is contrary to Scripture.

Secondly, God will speak to us through Scripture which "burns within us." A couple of days after Jesus' crucifixion there were two disciples who were walking toward the town of Emmaus. They were dejected, disappointed, and distressed about Jesus' death. Jesus came alongside of them on the road, but they did not recognize him. They talked and he explained Scripture (the Old Testament) to them, especially the things concerning himself. It wasn't until they broke bread together that night that they recognized him. Only then did they remember how their "hearts burned within" them as Jesus opened Scripture to them.

I recently had this experience in relation to discerning where God was calling me to serve. I'd been in my present parish for five years and there were two very large, influential churches recruiting me to join their staff. They were very flattering invitations. As I prayed about it, a verse from the little book of Ruth came to my mind and impressed itself on me. It wasn't that I was reading the book of Ruth at the time, or that I had even been reading it recently. I hadn't! But, because I had read it in the past and studied it, God was able to retrieve it from my memory and "burn it within me."

The verse which spoke to me was this: "Wherever you go, I will go; whatever you do, I will do. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God." God said to me, "This applies to you and the people in your current church. They are your people, your kinfolk. I am their God, and I am your God." And, I knew that God was calling me to stay and put down deeper roots in this particular community.

Third, God will speak to us through what I call Direct Speech. I am not necessarily talking about the audible voice of God, though I wish He would use that more often! I have never heard the audible voice of God, but I have heard God's voice so clearly that it might as well have been audible! Think about occasions in the New Testament when God used Direct Speech: At Jesus' baptism and transfiguration, where God said almost the same thing: "You are my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased." Paul heard Direct Speech from Jesus as he was travelling on the road to Damascus: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

I've heard God speak to me in Direct Speech — not a lot, but I have heard it. Last December (1995) my mother called me to tell me that my father had put in for a transfer to the London office of his company. Six other people had also applied for the job, so it wasn't a sure thing that he would get it, but she wanted me to know that it was a possibility. And, she wanted to know what I thought about it. They live only 40 miles away, and as an only child with virtually no other extended family, we are very close.

One of the issues that I struggle with is anticipating extreme loneliness when my parents die and I have no more family left. So, I started praying about their move, and the Lord spoke very clearly and directly to me, though not audibly. He said, "They will move. And, their move is as much for you as it is for them." And, I knew instantly what He was saying to me: He wanted to show me that I would be alright without my parents nearby, that I would be able to make it when they die.

Several months later my mother called to tell me that his company had narrowed the selection down to two people — my dad and another person. They really wanted the other person because his previous experience more closely matched the requirements of the position in London. So, it looked like my father would not actually get the job. So, I went back into prayer. I was confused because I thought I had so clearly heard from the Lord. Perhaps, God just wanted me to be willing to have them leave, and once I was willing, then they would stay. Then, after another month, the word finally came: My dad had been offered the job and he had accepted it. I knew I had heard correctly from the Lord.

Fourth, God will often speak through visions, pictures, or mental images. On the day of Pentecost, Peter quotes from the prophet Joel, "And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." (Acts 2.17).

I am a very visual person and God often speaks to me through mental pictures, mental images, or visions. One time I was at home alone on a Saturday night, feeling very lonely and having a pity party! I was sitting on the sofa and I just started to cry. As I was crying, I started singing a song to myself which says, "O God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you. O God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you. I will seek you in the morning, and I will learn to walk in your ways. And, step by step you'll lead me, and I will follow you all of my days. I will follow you all of my days. And, I will follow you all of my days. And, step by step you'll lead me. And, I will follow you all of my days."

As I sang that song to myself, I suddenly had a picture in my mind of me walking along a dusty road in Palestine, following Jesus at the back of a crowd of followers. I was a dejected, discouraged, and sad follower, but at least I was still following. I did not have the energy to push my way through the crowd to be near Jesus, so I just hung back and straggled along. Suddenly, Jesus stopped walking; turned around and parted the crowd until he could see me at the back. He pointed his finger toward me and motioned me to come forward. I walked toward him, and when I reached his side, he put his left arm around me and we all started walking again.

Jesus spoke volumes of love, comfort, assurance, comfort, and strength to me in that "vision."

Finally, God speaks to us through nature. Scripture is considered by theologians to be Special Revelation, and creation is considered General or Natural Revelation. Jesus used nature to speak to and teach his disciples, and he can do the same for us today. Jesus said, "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is hear, at the very gates." (Mk 13.28-29).

Julian of Norwich was a woman for whom God spoke through nature. One day God spoke to her very clearly through creation. She wrote, "And God showed me a little thing, in the palm of my hand, round like a ball, no bigger than a hazelnut. I gazed at it, puzzling at what it might be. And God said to me, 'It is all of creation.' I was amazed that it could last and did not suddenly disintegrate and fall into nothingness, for it was so tiny. And again God spoke to me, 'It lasts, both now and forever, because I cherish it.' And I understood that everything has its being owing to God's care and love."

Shortly after my conversion, I was singing in a folk choir in my freshman year of college. The leader was also a freshman music major, but a dynamic Christian who knew how to pray. In the Fall, we had just finished a rehearsal and were looking out of a large picture window across a meadow and pond. Leo, the leader, began to thank God for the leaves which were falling off the trees because they reminded us of death. But, in the Spring, new leaves would emerge and resurrection would come. Being very new to prayer, I was very impressed that he was able to prayerfully relate death and resurrection to the season before us. But, in that instance, he taught me how creation can be a channel for God to speak to me. Two years later, I was walking through a beautiful gorge and waterfall in central New York, and God spoke to me through His creation and gave me a song about Himself.

These are five ways which God can speak to us and five ways in which we can hear God. I'm sure there are other ways, but these are five ways which God has used in my life. The important thing is to cultivate our relationship with Him so we can hear and recognize God's voice when He does speak to us.