Saturday, March 03, 2007

God Still Speaks

Excerpt from "My Conversation with God", ChristianityToday, March 2007.

"Does God still speak today? I know he does.

So what does all this mean? I'm a theologian, and I should know. But I can't spin out a fancy theological formula for God's guidance and provision. What I know is that God spoke to me and used a gift he had already given me to provide for a young man being called into his service. It all started when I said, "God, please use me!"

I wonder how many times I've passed up an opportunity to be used in such a way. I'm reminded of an old "camp chorus" from the 1960s: "To be used of God to speak, to sing, to pray. To be used of God to show someone the way. I want so much to feel the touch of his consuming fire. To be used of God is my desire."

I used to sing those words with passion as a teenager, but I was never sure God answered my sung prayer. All it took was a specific need and a specific plea combined with the determination to be obedient. I don't know if it always works that way, but it did this time for me and my young friend.

So what has this done for me? Probably more than for the young man bound for ministry. We now have a new roof, for one thing, which came under circumstances that can only be described as oddly providential—but that's another story. More importantly, my faith in a living, personal, loving, and providing God has been renewed and deepened.

Now I know, more than intellectually, that God still speaks."

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