Here is a list of possibilities I thought of while sitting in the club sauna this morning. If God were to answer a prayer of mine, he might...
1) speak aloud and I would hear him like I would hear another person speaking.
2) speak to me in a still small voice, still audible.
3) 'nudge' me, emotionally or intellectually, in a certain direction.
4) create a circumstance in my life where the answer would be obvious.
5) send an official emissary, like Gabriel or Michael (or Clarence), to speak for him.
6) speak through another human being in such a way that i would know it was not just that person speaking.
7) answer with silence, which means i would never know if he ever answered or not.
8) answer in some sort of encoded way that depends on me being spiritually tuned in to the right wavelength in order to get it.
9) communicate to me in a dream.
can you think of some others? any opinions on this list?
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2 comments:
This might be a variant of #5 or #6. He might speak through a non-human entity.
Balaam and the donkey (Num. 22:27ff.)
Peter and the rooster (sort of) (John 18:27 and parallels)
Moses and the burning bush (Ex. 3:4)
And "visions" might a variant of #9. In my mind, a dream is not necessarily a vision.
it should be noted that when people in the OT encountered either God or one of his messengers in conversation, they assumed their death was imminent. that sounds unpleasant. i don't know how to resolve the tension between 'terrifying God' and 'approachable God'. what do you do about that?
the 'nudge' idea may correspond with the influence of the Holy Spirit living in a person. i believe that happens, but i do not know how to distinguish between 'what i think' and 'whatever the HS injects into my stream of consciousness'. have you ever been nudged, or otherwise influenced by the HS?
in my experience, i can only recall maybe three times where God may have acted or 'spoken' in a way i could possibly describe as a God moment for me. no guarantees, though. it was an intellectual and emotional certainty i have rarely experienced. what about you?
the answer of 'silence' is not a valid prayer response. period. any explanations otherwise are bogus.
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