God is at work ‘in you’. What is He working on? Your ‘will’. What does He want you to do? ‘Act according to His good purpose.’ How does He accomplish this? Through your mind: ‘Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 2:5 NKJV). God can speak to you audibly, through circumstances, or through another person. But because God can give you His thoughts or guide your thoughts, your mind is the meeting room where He will most often communicate with you. That’s why Satan will try to place evil thoughts in your mind. If he cannot succeed, he will try to fill your mind with fear and worry. If that doesn’t work, he’ll settle for having you watch hours of ‘worthless things’ on television or the internet. The psalmist prayed: ‘Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things’ (Psalm 119:37 NKJV). In order to hear from God and recognise what He’s saying to you, you must make your mind a protected environment. And one more thing: your desire to hear from God must take precedence over every other desire you have. Social reformer Dorothy Day, who did much work on behalf of the poor in the twentieth century, spoke of what she called her ‘notions’ – ideas that had the unmistakable stamp of God’s authorship in her mind. George Fox and the Quaker tradition called them ‘concerns’. Others speak of ‘promptings’ or ‘leadings’. The good news is if you truly want to hear from God, and you’re willing to prioritise your life accordingly, He’ll speak to you.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.