Posted by giveawayboy on September 29, 2002 at 09:17:27:
In Reply to: Querry posted by hbg on September 28, 2002 at 19:33:28:
:
: How do we tell the difference betweem God talking to us through our prayers and the yearning of our own heart to do what we think is his will ?
: - hbg
Well, I risk sounding cliche here, but alot of it would be in knowing his word, and in having an ongoing prayer life. These things get you used to hearing God's voice, but beyond this, there is spiritual reading, which can lift your gaze toward God and show you things more through his perspective. For instance, reading A.W. Tozer or C.S. Lewis or Saint Augustine, often conditions people's minds and hearts to accept the seed of his word when it gets planted. The other thing is unbroken fellowship w Christians. This helps as we hear god both individually and also as a family. So, I think all of these things can help us discern what god is saying. Finally, I would stop and think about times when I knew something was God's will and compare this type of thing to those. Not that it works everytime, but it is a helpful practice, to rehearse things God has done inthe past and to see the qualities of those events and the ways they unfolded. Chances are we will learn alot in such reflection. Remember, this is coming from a guy who has real nasty agnostic tendencies.
See you later, Bill