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FYI, I am an 80%ish cessationist, not 100%. Not as hardcore as you seem to think. I'm not closed off to anything I could confirm with scripture.

I'm posting in part to get people to think about what they say in this regard. People can throw around phrases like the Lord told me this or that, when if they were honest, it was nothing more than a feeling they had, not the voice of God. That's part of my point here, to get people to use care when saying such things. To be very sure before they say such things because much damage has been done by this type of talk. I've lived through it.

So, by all means share a story of how you heard God's voice, if it's in line wit the OP: Is prayer a two way conversation?

I wasn't making a judgment as to whether you were hardcore or not, FWIW. I was simply making an observation about your apparent stance, and hopefully not misrepresenting it.

So okay … the example. It's LONG. I've typed it out before actually, so I'll just copy/paste … makes it easy I'll have to break it up into a couple of posts. This example will involve a detailed account about hearing a voice, specific things this voice said, and what the outcome of attempting to follow this voice was.

Back around 2000, my wife (at the time) and I, were living and working in Washington State. We were, at that time, exploring different aspects of Christianity, and it was very much the first time both of us had ever seriously done so. Up to that point, I had lived in various countries around the world, and explored different aspects of people's beliefs and religions; I had my own, very simplified set of beliefs, but by and large "Christianity" wasn't one of the religions I explored in depth. As a child, my father was an atheist/agnostic variety, and my mother was a believer but couldn't stand religion or being told what to think, so nothing was shoved down my throat "belief" wise, and one of the freedoms I had, was the freedom to ask questions, explore anything I could (I had friends from an interesting cross section of cultures). I did explore some things as a child, but it was limited in scope concerning "Christianity". So anyways, in Washington, my wife and I dove in head first, and we started with the "ancient" varieties: Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, etc. From there we branched out into anything else we could come in contact with: Unitarians, Lutherans, Methodist varieties. Some of these we explored very little, others we spent a bit more time exploring.

One thing we were looking for specifically, were those who claimed to have "the truth", and how that truth held up and reflected in reality. And also, we very much wanted to find a denomination that focussed on helping humanity. Serving the poor, feeding the hungry, helping the oppressed. I had lived as an expat for some time, frequently in dangerous situations, and I wasn't afraid to go to difficult third world countries and give my all. My wife had also lived in some similar situations with me, so we traveled good together, were both willing, etc. So, we weren't just looking for those who would claim to have the "truth" and whether this added up practically in reality, but we also wanted to find ways to join organizations that would put us in hotspots around the world. We were already comfortable living out of a bag, in dangerous situations, and so we thought not only would we be useful in such situations, but we could also make our affinity for that lifestyle count for others in need.

One thing lead to another, and we heard about a missionary organization, which we ended up joining. I'm going to make this part of the story short and get to the point: we ended up working, almost right away, at one of their main "bases" in Hawaii of all places. I mean, we had places like Sierra Leone in mind, the Sudan, Iraq lol ... but we ended up in Hawaii.

At this time, we were still very much questioning, exploring, etc. "Willing to try." We didn't want to discount, or discredit someone or something, until we walked it ourselves. So going to Hawaii may not have been what we had in mind, but we were willing to try anything, and that's where we ended up.

Almost immediately upon arriving in Hawaii, we were confronted by a side of Christianity we had never been exposed to yet, and that was the Charismatic/Pentecostal types of individuals. This was something that, in my all life, I had never directly been exposed too. To me, it was the equivalent of something one may see on TV at 4am in the morning: televangelist preachers putting on a dramatic show to swindle people out of money. It was akin to a circus, in my mind, almost to offensive levels. I mean, it offended my intelligence, my sense of, "Do you really think I'm this gullible to by into this sensationalized show ?" as well as my desire to actually *help* people in need. Seeing people "speak in tongues" was new to me. I had never seen anything like that before, apart from television mockery or television "snake oil". To me, it was no different than the babble of those who may were possessed in horror movies. And the running around, crying in front of others, throwing hands up in the air, constant repetitive prayers … what did ANY of that have to do with the hungry child in the Sudan ? Or the person caught up in the sex trade in Thailand ? Or the genocide taking place in the heart of Africa ? I just didn't see how any of it was relevant, and neither did my wife. And so, from almost moment one, we had almost settled on it being a mistake that we even go to Hawaii in the first place.

By only our third day there, we were seriously considering leaving and throwing in the towel. We had gone all the way there (and used up almost all our resources to do so, which wasn't really new for us, that was part of our lifestyle, but still), and we showed up, and gave it a shot ... but it seemingly had nothing to do with "truth". It seemed to have to do with people's personal artistic displays or something, and their confusion about what they could agree upon. Again, we wanted to serve those in desperate need, while finding out the "truth" about God, Jesus, Christianity in general, etc.

Well, it was the third morning or so, when before my work day started (as I said, I worked for this base, literally) my boss gathered some of us who worked there together for a "prayer meeting". There was about 6-8 of us maybe ? A small group in other words. They all knew each other, I was the new person. Anyways, they began to sing songs, close their eyes, sway back and forth and pray .... and some of them began to "pray in tongues". The incoherent version, where people "babble". In fact, one of them said, "We all pray in tongues in here, right ? Let's do it ..." and they just went into it.

At that, I was sitting there and I was more uncomfortable than I had been in a long time. And I had been in some situations already in my life involving war zones, etc, but this, I felt foolish, like I was wasting my time. And I was angry. If THIS is what "God" was about to these people, I didn't want to waste my time doing whatever-they-were-doing. There were people in need out there, and I was interested in helping them. Not sitting around and babbling and patting each other on the back while debating who was right and wrong.

I was angry at myself, and frustrated with the situation, and with them for assuming I was going to "speak in tongues" like them. I wasn't a rube, nor easily fooled, and I certainly wasn't going to put forth effort to fake something.

I was one second away from just getting up and walking out on them all, going to find my wife and telling her, "Look, can we please just get out of this insanity ? I'm not interested in joining a cult to find the truth or help people, and I can't tell if this is a cult or just people who eat too many cocoa puffs ....". I mean, it was also my own attitude. If that was the attitude I was going to have towards them, what possible benefit would I even be to THEM ? Did they really need someone who was thinking these things about them, working for them ? I didn't want to be a jerk to *them*. It just seemed like a win/win if I just left and started with that prayer meeting right there.

But then I remember thinking to myself, "If I actually am correct, that they are not anywhere near to knowing the "truth about God" and they are way off course, then I need to learn to deal with it. I need to learn to care about these people too, not just the ones starving and in pain and in need. I need to care about ALL people, including these, and so I need to adjust if I'm going to learn the truth about EVERYTHING."

And that's when one of the people in the group, looked up at me, and to my shock and surprise said this to me:

"I see a big question mark over your head. Like, a question mark. I think that God wants you to ask Him something. Almost like He's daring you to." And she said it with a smile, and then went back to closing her eyes and the rest of the group was just "talking in tongues" and singing songs and praying.

All of that, was the build-up and context for this:

After she said that, I remember thinking, "How dare her call me out, when she should already be able to clearly see that I'm not into what they are doing," ... when almost immediately, I began to experience something.

I began to get extremely hot. Like, there was a fire inside of me, except that it was accompanied by something: what felt like a wind. I literally began to feel like a hot, fiery wind began to blow into me. It's hard to describe .... I had felt this to some degree one time before in my life many years earlier (that's another story), but this was like that time, times 10. I could feel my own temperature rising, I was sure my face was flush, and this strong, fiery wind .... it was like it was filling me. As if someone was breathing into your lungs for you, except it wasn't just your lungs that was filling with the wind, it was your entire body.

And I began to cry. I don't know why. Whatever it was I was feeling, was like .... effecting me physically, almost to an overwhelming state .... and my response was to cry, from the overwhelming effect it was having on my body.

I tried to stop it, to focus, and I began to wonder, "What the bleep is happening to me ?" but I couldn't control it, or stop it. It didn't feel "bad" to me, I wasn't in pain, I was just overwhelmed, and the fiery wind ... it felt like an actual physical thing, and was unique.

I couldn't believe I was sitting there crying, going through this all of a sudden ... and that's when I heard the following:

I began to pick up a voice. It wasn't the same as when you "talk to yourself" in your own mind, nor was it with the audible ears. It was more like an in-between .... not in the place where one focusses mentally and can have a conversation with themselves lol, but "outside of it". I would describe it as in-between my audible ears. I read once about how waterproof headphones work under water, how they resonate the sound along the bone or some such … perhaps it was something similar to that. And the voice said, in a friendly manner, "Ask me something. Anything, just go ahead and ask me ...." and I could very clearly tell that it was .... almost jovial.

This voice became clearer and clearer, and my mind in response being cleared out almost with a clarity one gets similar to when they're "in the zone". And the voice kept saying it, over and over.

cont ...

 

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At this, I began to wonder if I was being manipulated somehow, or perhaps if I was now going crazy. I was still sitting there, feeling hot and on fire, I was certain my face was beet red, I was crying, probably sweating a bit .... and no one around me seemed to care or even take that much of a notice. And now, what seemed like a response to this person in the prayer meeting saying, "God wants you to ask Him something, He's daring you ...." I suddenly "hear a voice " that is basically saying to ask it something ? People who heard voices were *delusional*. Was I not delusional and one of "those people" ? I prided myself in my intellect and ability to think on my feet in difficult situations, to keep a calm head, to not be easily manipulated. I was willing to try things and explore things, but hearing voices ?

I tried to ignore the voice, and stop it, thinking that if I could "get control" of myself, then it would stop, I would return to normal, and I could assess things further. Perhaps I was getting caught up in the prayer meeting in a way I hadn't anticipated ? But that didn't make sense to me .... I was AGAINST what was happening. I didn't agree with any of it. I wasn't secretly wanting to participate, I wanted OUT. I wasn't even pretending to do what the others were doing when this started to happen, so what was it ?

After a few minutes of trying this technique, nothing changed .... the voice still there, the "fiery wind" still in me, filling me: that's how I would describe it.

So since it wouldn't go away, and I examined myself and I still seemed to have my faculties to the degree where I wasn't hurting myself or others, I decided to ask the voice a question.

"Okay, lets say this is "God". If this voice isn't just in my imagination, and this is God, since it won't go away, I'll ask something."

Well, from where I was sitting, we were on a second or third floor of a building where we could see the ocean rather easily. So I decided to go big or go home; cut through the nonsense and get right to the point.

"If this is God, then please part the ocean I'm looking at."

And at that, the voice insinuated without words .... I don't know how to describe it, almost like I was being told just, without words, as though the idea were being put into me"Don't ask something that proves whether or not I'm real."

At that, my heart sank. I felt very foolish. I thought, for sure, that the voice was now just something in my imagination, and I was a fool for even trying it and going along with it. I was told to ask, I did, and the result was no ocean parted, and basically "denied". It was bogus, a mind trick of some kind I had become susceptible too, something like that. But God ? No.

Yet the voice said, "Ask something else. Go ahead. Ask."

And I tried again to stop the experience from happening. To put an end to it. I was sure I was now "making it all up", though I couldn't tell why or for what purpose. But I had enough of my faculties to think as much.

Yet after a minute or so, the voice still wouldn't stop, the fiery wind, still there. So I decided, "Since it's not stopping, okay, I'll give the benefit of the doubt, and ask again something else."

This time I thought about my own needs. My wife and I were desperately low on funds. If the organization didn't work out, we wouldn't even be able to leave Hawaii. And we didn't want to end up homeless there. So I said, "If this is God, we need money."

And to that, I got a similar response like before: I was "told" this information, without words, like, "You're taken care of," like I didn't need to ask for that, I was either going to be taken care of at that time, or always. But, it was like a .... pointless thing to ask.

To which my response was even more, "I am making this up. I HAVE to be. I've asked two things now, both of which were denied."

I do remember being shocked a bit at my own selfishness to ask for money and resources. The first thing I asked: to see the ocean parted, I could understand wanting to see such an even take place. I mean, who really doesn't want to see something so mind blowing and fantastical as that ? We make movies about the stuff, and plus Moses did something along those lines, yes ? So I thought that was perfectly in line with what I knew at that time about "God". The money … I felt a little selfish, but I was honest. We needed resources, I was concerned and worried. I wasn't just looking out for me now .... there were two of us.

So I again decided I was making it all up. But still, the voice wouldn't leave, the wind/fire still there.

So I gave in one more time. I thought to myself, "Okay let me think about this. If I were going to do a "Christian" thing, I'd ask something for someone else. So let me think."

Well, there was this guy that the people in the group were praying for .... lets say his name was "Kevin" (for the sake of the story). Kevin apparently had cancer, because they kept praying for him to be healed of his cancer. I didn't know who Kevin was, I just knew his name because of these people. So I thought to myself, "Hmm .... maybe I can ask to pray for Kevin to be healed." See, at that time, whenever I did pray, I NEVER asked for things like that. I didn't ask for people to be healed, or anything like that. I didn't "pray for countries". Nothing. My philosophy, was that if there was a God, He already knew all of that anyways. What I needed to know, was what *I* was to do. What was *I* supposed to do on earth, today, right now ? God knew all of that. So asking God things like, "Please help us, help heal us," etc .... if God wanted to heal someone, He would have already. And I wasn't even sure if God could do such things anyways. So to be sitting there asking God ANYTHING was against even my own philosophy and concept of who God may or may not be.

So I asked the voice, if I could pray for Kevin to be healed.

At that, the voice said, "You may ask for that," and then suddenly the voice parted, and I began to see an image in it's place. It wasn't in the normal place one envisions things in their mind, rather, it was in that "in-between" place. Not with my physical eyes, but not in my mental construct zone either. It was like a "vision" .... and I saw quite clearly the following:

I was kneeling down, besides a bed with a man sleeping on it. It was a specific bed, with specific sheets and blankets .... every color of every piece of furniture, sheet, cloth, etc .... in the room I could see every color and detail, and pattern, and position of everything. And I was kneeling down by this bed, praying. And in the room, there was like a long sliding glass door or window, with these long pastel pink curtains draped to the floor. And there in the window, was the shining of the dying sun as it was setting, right in the part of the curtains that covered the glass. And in the room with me, were two people, but they weren't there like I was there. They were almost like wispy .. "ghostly". One of them was a guy I worked with, named Joe, the other was a girl I had seen on the base but wasn't that familiar with. The guy, was more solid than the girl, but still wispy. The girl was extremely wispy .... and ended up disappearing in the scene I was looking at. I was the only truly solid figure there.

This vision sort of got "seared" into my minds eye, so to speak, as I looked at each detail.

And once I had finished getting it "downloaded", is almost like the word I would use .... that's when the experience finally stopped. The heat in my body started to return to normal, and die down, I could feel the "wind" no longer blowing. The fire subsided. The voice left, and the place the voice seemed to "fill", it like .... closed. Like a part of yourself sort of, closing back up, like a shell. And I returned to normal. I stopped crying, I could feel myself relax, etc. The thing that "remained", was like .... something got flipped on in me. Like a switch. And the fire, there was still something there, like a "candle". A small fire. I didn't know how else to describe it. But when everything stopped, and everything returned to normal .... if people had on/off switches within them in some metaphorical capacity, something in me was switched "on" and I could tell. And the candle like feeling, was there.

I don't know how long all of this took. At the end of the prayer meeting, I still noticed no one had even seemed to notice anything about me, my tears, nothing. At the end of the meeting, I asked to be excused before starting work .... I wanted to go tell my wife what happened, and to ask her what she thought .... was I crazy ? Or did what just happen to me have ANY validity behind it ? I remember telling her all about it, and out of nowhere, I used a phrase I never used before and didn't know what it meant. If I got the phrase from someone subconsciously, okay, but I don't know when or where I would have gotten this phrase from. I said to her, "I think maybe, if this was real, that I was "filled with the Holy Spirit ?" .... again, I have no idea where I got that phrase from. Did I recall it from some memory shelf of mine ? Perhaps. But I was ignorant of the Bible .... in fact I basically stole a Bible at that base and it became the first Bible I ever read in depth. I don't ever recall being taught about "Holy Spirit", as my exposure was still limited to the denominations and whatnot that focussed on "the Holy Spirit" and Christianese speak along those lines. Again .... Charismatic/Pentecostal was as foreign to me as Greek the first time I heard it spoken. I had no prior expectations, conceptions, or even knowledge for that matter. But I used that phrase.

I could provide a LOT more context here, but I wanted to include the details of the experience itself, before I get to the validation of it. If I provided even more context, it would definitely make the story more interesting .... but to save walls of text and space, I'll skip to the details to sum it up.

So to make a longer story shorter ....;I told my wife everything that happened, and I *wrote it down*. The details, the voice, the vision, everything. That same day, I tracked down the two people I had seen in my "vision", and I wanted their input. Was this something that was common for Christians to experience ? Was I crazy lol ? What was their opinion ? I wanted to know if what I had experienced was all in my imagination, or had any validity to it. It was over now, so the experience itself had ceased .... NOW I could explore it. Dissect it. See if I had had a little psychotic episode of some sort lol, or if something else was going on. Maybe I had been influenced by the people in that meeting in some manner ? I didn't know.

So I found these two people, told them, and got their input.

The girl, looked at me like I was crazy lol. She actually got angry .... I didn't know it, but she was having a sort of emo existential crises at the time, and was in rebellion against "life" in general. Me telling her this, was like, icing on a cake for her to just make her more upset. "Why would God give a stranger a vision about me ?" She wasn't shocked, she was upset and angry. She didn't really want to give me an opinion on whether or not she thought I was crazy, legit, or what ....;she kept making it focussed on her. I wanted to know if it was real and what was true, not just my own mental state. But she kept turning it back on herself in some way. Long story short, within a couple of weeks, she would be kicked off the base for her conduct. I would never see her again, to my knowledge.

The guy, was a slightly different story. He told me he wasn't sure if my experience was real or not, BUT he had a story to tell. He was a native to Hawaii, and was working on his father's ranch one day during a storm. He said he was outside, when suddenly lightening (or something like lightening, I can't remember) struck him. He said he didn't fall down, or get harmed .... but he started to see his hands glow a green color, and he heard a voice tell him, "You are called to be a healer," or something to that effect. He said that is why he was at the base .... because he wanted to learn about God, and the voice he heard, and what happened to him. He said that people in his dad's church decided to help send him to this base there to learn more, and see if he had the "gift". I can't remember, but I think he said he needed to do it first or something, before he could use the gift and heal. Something to that effect.

He didn't claim one thing over another about my vision, but I told him, "Well, there's only one way to find out if the vision was real: find this Kevin's house, and go see for myself." and he said he was in agreement with me.

So I went back to the leaders, and before telling them about my vision and experience and the voice, etc, I asked them about Kevin. I had assumed, that what I had seen in this vision .... if it was real .... was his house or something. And that I could easily tell if the vision was real, by simply going to his house and verifying the details I saw. Everything should match, I could pray for him, etc. Well, I found out Kevin didn't live in Hawaii. He lived on the mainland. Not only that, but it was in the middle of the mainland .... Michigan.

cont one more time ...

 

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At this, my heart sank. Again, I began to feel like a crazy person. I was exploring a rabbit trail, that would be a dead end. Michigan ? I was in Hawaii lol, and barely had enough money to eat dinner for a week. How was I going to afford to go to Michigan to see if I had "heard the voice of God" ? It all began to sound even more crazy to me know. Not only was I considering imposing myself on some stranger's family while he was possibly DYING, but now I was considering trying to find a way to fly OUT of Hawaii to Michigan ?

I decided to tell some more people about the experience. I wanted more input. To my surprise, none of the people I told who were believers, none of them said, "Yes you heard God." A few of them said "Maybe," some thought I had gotten caught up in the moment or something. "You wanted it to happen." Still, none of those who presented themselves as "experts" seemingly, could tell me one way or another. All of these people who, as I noticed over the next couple of weeks, talked about God this and God that, couldn't even tell me simply if I had heard God or not lol.

And I told those people, whom I shared my experience with, the details. I did this, just in case, by some strange happenstance, that I could still have it verified somehow. That way, the details would be written down in advance, prior to anything I could possibly have fabricated myself. And, no one would have to take just my word for it. They could see the details written down. I wouldn't have a chance to change them if my memory changed, or be accused of retrofitting some explanation. The details would either match, or they wouldn't.

I also told some other people who weren't believers, to get their input, to see what they thought. All in all, no one could say "Yes you heard God."

Months went by .... and during that time, I almost completely forgot about the experience, to be honest. I got caught up in things at the base, living in Hawaii, etc and so forth. My attitude changed towards the people at the base radically, and I explored sides of Christianity I never had even realized were out there. I didn't agree with half of what I saw lol, but my attitude changed, and I was now more willing to learn and give things a chance. After all, legit or not, I DID have the experience that I did. If it was real, then perhaps there was something to be understood by this "circus" after all ? And if it wasn't "real" and was just the product of my imagination, then I still was no better than anyone there at discerning such things, because I had somehow fallen pray to similar delusional thinking. So who was I to judge either way now ? Plus, a LOT of things happened at that base .... all context which I'll spare, but important context nonetheless.

Anyways, after a couple of months of being there, an opportunity to work at a base in Germany came up. We had made some money there in strange ways .... random people would often come up to us and say things like, "God told me to give you this," or "God wants me to give you this," or "I want to give you this because I want a blessing." lol. It wasn't our style to take money from people, and we didn't ask for it, but we were trying things their way, differently, etc, so we took it. And so we actually had enough money to fly to Germany, after it was all said and done. Just enough.

A couple of days before our flight out, I had remembered the vision/experience/etc. I had, as I said, almost forgotten about it. The first few weeks after it happened, it was my main focus. I was almost obsessed with dissecting it. But I had moved on, and now I was remembering it.

I thought about it for a moment, and I thought, "Ha. I wonder if I could somehow get a layover in Michigan and still somehow find out if there was any validity to it at ALL ?" and so, for fun, I called the airline, asked how much it would cost to change our tickets with a layover like that. It was going to cost like 2-3$ extra or something, not just to change the tickets but also because we'd need to rent a car to drive there from the airport ! (I had found out where his city was). A couple of hundred more than we had. So that was out of the question. I mean, even if I wanted to .... we couldn't afford it.

And besides, I didn't even know if Kevin was still ALIVE for that matter ? Maybe he had passed already ? So I asked around .... he was still alive. Still in Michigan.

But over the last couple of months, IF it was really of "God", would I have almost forgotten it like that ? Wouldn't it have stayed front and center in my mind until I "obeyed" and did the thing ? And plus, where was the money for the flight ? Nothing seemed to make sense. The thing that made sense, was that it was most likely just imaginative thinking. And if nothing else, it helped to change my attitude towards others there. I was less critical, more open to ideas and importantly .... open to them.

Well, the next morning came around, and we had like, 24 hours or so before flying out or something. And we were checking our mail .... and lo and behold, we found a letter that had fallen to the bottom of the pile. Had been there for a couple of weeks, and we had missed it. We opened it up, it was from someone at the base we had come in contact with who was only there a short time.

It was a random check from them, for $200 or something. I can't remember exactly how much, it may have been $300. Regardless, it was the amount we needed to convert the tickets, rent the car, etc. So suddenly, there at the zero hour .... something I had all but forgotten, was now a possibility.

Did I really want to go through with it ? I had this simple rule of thumb I often lived by: "If I don't do this thing, will I live with a regret having not tried it ?"

I thought about it .... and realized that if I didn't go and see for myself, I would have a regret. I would always wonder, "What if". What if I had gone to Michigan ? What if the voice was real and not just imaginary ? What if ? There was seemingly only one way to find out, and that way had just opened up before me. It wasn't an easy red carpet to walk ....;I still had to be willing to look like a fool, use up our resources, etc .... but it was there.

I asked my wife, she said it was okay, we got the phone number of Kevin's home, called his wife, introduced myself to her, told her where I was and that I knew her husbands friends, and simply that I wanted to go and pray for her husband. She said it was okay. We called the airline, changed the tickets .. and bam. We now had a day layover in Michigan.

We got to Michigan, and our plane was delayed on the runway for like, two hours. We just sat there, unable to move, and we were losing time. One of the key elements to my "vision", was the sun: it's position in the window, the way it illuminated the curtains, etc. The way things were going, we wouldn't even get to this guy's house before dark. Plus, it was overcast. Cloudy sky. No sun. So already, things were looking like my "vision" was bogus, yet again.

We get out of the plane finally, get to the car rental, and head that direction. I'm feeling stupid. The sky is gray, we are losing daylight hours, and I feel NOTHING but fear, foolish, etc. No wind and fire. No voice. No confidence even. No peace. Nervous. Afraid. Worried I'm imposing on a family for my own need to not have regrets. I thought I was supposed to "feel peace" ? Feel clarity ? I had a million questions, confusion, etc.

We arrive .... there is still some day left, but the clouds are still there. No sun. There was maybe 20 mintues left of daytime ? But it was gloomy outside. I'm bracing for my disappointment and shame. We knock on the door, his wife answers, we introduce ourselves in person now, go inside and talk a bit with her.

Kevin is sleeping in his room .... after some brief chit-chat, she asks if I want to go pray for him now. I say yes.

So I get up, and go to his door, and open it, all by myself.

I open his door, and it's like opening a door into another world. There before me, was every single thing I had seen in my vision. Every detail, as I wrote it down, right there. Him, in his bed, the color of the sheets and comforter, the position of the furniture in the room and what was there and what wasn't .... and there, just as I had seen, was the long sliding glass door like windows, with the long pink curtains.

And they were illumined by the dying sun, which had now peaked out from the clouds, and I could see it clearly, almost like the sun were winking through the clouds.

I began to shake .... from fear, and overwhelming. I had one other experience in my life which had that effect on me, something that violated my sense of "reality" in such a way, it left me afraid. Like, life wasn't controlled like I had thought. Reality had elements that were beyond my ability to understand and control. This was similar to that moment, except magnified. I felt surreal, like what was happening wasn't supposed to be happening. It wasn't SUPPOSED to be REAL lol. It was supposed to be all a mental construct, imaginative thinking. And I heard the voice come back, and this time no fire .... just a little bit of that "wind". And the voice said, in the same way I "heard" it before … "Well done." and I stood there, just shaking from fear. I literally couldn't believe my eyes.

I also interestingly had this thought lol: "I am now one of those people, who are going to tell this story and people are going to think I'm making it up, or delusional, because it involves hearing a voice I thought was God." I actually stood there and thought that. And it made me feel strange, because I had never been "one of those people" before. I could always rationalize things easily. But this, I couldn't rationalize. For all intent and purposes, as far as I could tell in that moment, I heard God and received a vision of a detailed moment in time that there was no way I could have known, or predicted. Yet here I was. I knelt by his bed, and prayed a simple prayer. "God please heal Kevin." and then I got up, and left the room.

cont one more, sorry ...

 

[TillICollapse]

Last one:

There's a bit more to this story about what happened next, which would provide even more context, but I'll stop there for now. I like this story because it has a lot of elements going on. What I heard, is that he started to get better for a couple of months, but then took a turn for the worse and passed away. Now, if you look at the bare bones of all I just accounted ... the bare bones don't necessarily prove that "God speaks to people" or any of the other elements involved. I've known people who have heard that account and think that the story proves tongues are real, Charismatics/Pentecostals have it all correct, God speaks to people, etc and so forth. And of course, I'd heard the opposite: delusional, other spirits, etc. But the intellectually honest skeptic, could look at the individual elements and come to different conclusions. I realize that, I'm not an idiot And I'm not claiming one thing over another, other than what I said happened. I may have gotten a minor detail or two wrong, given memory recall and whatnot .... however the main crux is there and stands on it's own. One conclusion a person may draw, is that I did in fact hear a voice that was "God", and the information given to me was accurate, down to the details of the room, who was needed to actually heal the person involved (and that person who believed God "chose them to be a healer" did not go with me, by the way), etc. IOW … a person may conclude that God spoke to someone, showed them how a team effort could be used to heal someone, based on whom God had chosen, etc. One may even conclude that the story is an account of someone actually being filled with the Holy Spirit, the evidence being the voice, the vision, and the verification of it all, in detail, and the physical response of the body to the "wind", etc. Or, someone may conclude it was all nonsense, or some other explanation. Again, I like to let others conclude things on their own.

 

[TillICollapse]

and I'm not trying to be difficult lol
But the reason that folks would give different
answers concerning communication with God
is because it IS way different.
Because God is spirit..
Perhaps we're not communicating well


This is an interesting way to ask because I actually have been in that very situation.
But here's the thing.
it doesn't matter what they say.
All that matters is that we are pleasing
to God.
I am pretty sure i'm missing the meat of
your posts. Please forgive me.

I didn't think you were trying to be difficult, and yes I think you're missing the meat of my posts. No problem, we can chill from the discussion

 

[sunlover1]

Last one:

There's a bit more to this story about what happened next, which would provide even more context, but I'll stop there for now. I like this story because it has a lot of elements going on. What I heard, is that he started to get better for a couple of months, but then took a turn for the worse and passed away. Now, if you look at the bare bones of all I just accounted ... the bare bones don't necessarily prove that "God speaks to people" or any of the other elements involved. I've known people who have heard that account and think that the story proves tongues are real, Charismatics/Pentecostals have it all correct, God speaks to people, etc and so forth. And of course, I'd heard the opposite: delusional, other spirits, etc. But the intellectually honest skeptic, could look at the individual elements and come to different conclusions. I realize that, I'm not an idiot And I'm not claiming one thing over another, other than what I said happened. I may have gotten a minor detail or two wrong, given memory recall and whatnot .... however the main crux is there and stands on it's own. One conclusion a person may draw, is that I did in fact hear a voice that was "God", and the information given to me was accurate, down to the details of the room, who was needed to actually heal the person involved (and that person who believed God "chose them to be a healer" did not go with me, by the way), etc. IOW … a person may conclude that God spoke to someone, showed them how a team effort could be used to heal someone, based on whom God had chosen, etc. One may even conclude that the story is an account of someone actually being filled with the Holy Spirit, the evidence being the voice, the vision, and the verification of it all, in detail, and the physical response of the body to the "wind", etc. Or, someone may conclude it was all nonsense, or some other explanation. Again, I like to let others conclude things on their own.

Lot of tears over here!
God is so good.
Well done.
You like to hear other's conclusions?
I believe that there was more to Kevin's
story than you knew, but that you
did your part and got very acquainted
with the Father. Such a beautiful story
of love and power!

 

[sunlover1]

I didn't think you were trying to be difficult, and yes I think you're missing the meat of my posts. No problem, we can chill from the discussion

SO embarrassing!
Very well.
Sorry, we'll blame it on allergies lol.

 

[vinsight4u]

/

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Last one:

There's a bit more to this story about what happened next, which would provide even more context, but I'll stop there for now. I like this story because it has a lot of elements going on. What I heard, is that he started to get better for a couple of months, but then took a turn for the worse and passed away. Now, if you look at the bare bones of all I just accounted ... the bare bones don't necessarily prove that "God speaks to people" or any of the other elements involved. I've known people who have heard that account and think that the story proves tongues are real, Charismatics/Pentecostals have it all correct, God speaks to people, etc and so forth. And of course, I'd heard the opposite: delusional, other spirits, etc. But the intellectually honest skeptic, could look at the individual elements and come to different conclusions. I realize that, I'm not an idiot And I'm not claiming one thing over another, other than what I said happened. I may have gotten a minor detail or two wrong, given memory recall and whatnot .... however the main crux is there and stands on it's own. One conclusion a person may draw, is that I did in fact hear a voice that was "God", and the information given to me was accurate, down to the details of the room, who was needed to actually heal the person involved (and that person who believed God "chose them to be a healer" did not go with me, by the way), etc. IOW … a person may conclude that God spoke to someone, showed them how a team effort could be used to heal someone, based on whom God had chosen, etc. One may even conclude that the story is an account of someone actually being filled with the Holy Spirit, the evidence being the voice, the vision, and the verification of it all, in detail, and the physical response of the body to the "wind", etc. Or, someone may conclude it was all nonsense, or some other explanation. Again, I like to let others conclude things on their own.

That's some amazing story. It's 1:30 here, so I may not be so enthusiastic right now, but thanks for sharing it.

I have no way to know what it means. How could I? It would have been "cleaner" and straight forward had Kevin been healed, because it seemed as though that was the main purpose of what happened, if indeed God was in this.

Your story is vastly more believable to me than the stuff I've seen at the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches I've been to.

The beginning of your story left me wondering if you had become a Christian. You mentioned exploring various religions, but no conversation story. . .

 

[TillICollapse]

That's some amazing story. It's 1:30 here, so I may not be so enthusiastic right now, but thanks for sharing it.

No worries. Bravo for reading all of that.

I have no way to know what it means. How could I?

I suppose you don't.

It would have been "cleaner" and straight forward had Kevin been healed, because it seemed as though that was the main purpose of what happened, if indeed God was in this.

Indeed. Or perhaps. Even if Kevin had been healed, it still leaves many questions, imo, and doesn't necessarily equal a "positive God ID."

Your story is vastly more believable to me than the stuff I've seen at the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches I've been to.

The beginning of your story left me wondering if you had become a Christian. You mentioned exploring various religions, but no conversation story. . .

Almost as a rule, I choose not to self label. I typically let others decide for themselves whatever they may wish to categorize me as, since everyone seems to have their own standards by which they measure others to pass their muster. Also, I don't really like to cheapen or disrespect the focus of what I happen to believe.

 

[swordsman1]

No one has voted that God speaks to them in this manner, audibly.

I hope no one got the impression that I meant audibly when I've
shared accounts of hearing God.
I hear HIm in the Spirit.

That is the impression I got when you said:

Got the call from his sis, and hung my head
and headed towards prayer closet (master suite).. I was SO discouraged, and as
i closed my bedroom door I heard these words, "it aint over til I say it's over!"
It was a BOOMING voice of authority!
I lifted my head! and I began praying with fervor and mountain moving faith!

Sorry I am confused. Did you hear those words or not?

Or was it just a strong impression or feeling you got?

I often get a strong feeling about not wanting to go to work. Is that God telling me to quit my job?

I don't think so because Prov. 28.26 says "He who trusts his own heart is a fool."

Subjective feelings and impressions are the greatest of liars, not God's way of giving us instructions.

 

[Simon Crosby]

I myself have not been blessed to hear God audibly, and if I did I would apply the Galatians 1 test to make sure it was God. However, Scripture does say the Voice of God is a "deep wuiet voice from within" and that I have heard.

 

[Winter_Rose]

To me, I can hear his voice. Sometimes it's audible like "Don't worry" and "I'm here my love." Sometimes it's like a thought, such as "I need to buy a card for so and so" or "I need to ring so and so."

 

[RDKirk]

No one has voted that God speaks to them in this manner, audibly.

I hope no one got the impression that I meant audibly when I've
shared accounts of hearing God.
I hear HIm in the Spirit.

We only got one choice.

 

[RDKirk]

No, this thread is not about telling stories. This thread is about: The idea the God talks back to us when we pray has become so accepted that it's difficult to challenge, but is it true or a cliché?

You might want to begin another thread to tell stories.

So you're discounting the very method we have been called to use? You disavow the utility of witness? If I say God spoke to me, you're going to say you don't want stories, but if I say "Jesus saved me," you're going to accept that?

Why would you then even accept the witnesses of scripture--because that's all scripture is, just the collected accounts of witnesses--and those aren't even people you can question more deeply.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

To me, I can hear his voice. Sometimes it's audible like "Don't worry" and "I'm here my love." Sometimes it's like a thought, such as "I need to buy a card for so and so" or "I need to ring so and so."

So, you are among the first person to say that you have heard Almighty God speak to you in an audible voice, so I am full of questions for you about that!

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Almost as a rule, I choose not to self label. I typically let others decide for themselves whatever they may wish to categorize me as, since everyone seems to have their own standards by which they measure others to pass their muster.

Sounds like you've drunk too much Postmodern tea.

Standards of being a Christian are typically agreement with a creed. On CF it's the Nicene Creed:

The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

If you can't say yes and amen to the about, CF says that you may not participate in "Christian Only" subforums, and I would ask you where you disagree with the creed.

 

[Kenny'sID]

You disavow the utility of witness? If I say God spoke to me, you're going to say you don't want stories, but if I say "Jesus saved me," you're going to accept that?

Honestly, RD, I don't think that's what it's about, but since it's one of those things I can't put delicately enough, I'll just leave it alone.

 

[Winter_Rose]

So, you are among the first person to say that you have heard Almighty God speak to you in an audible voice, so I am full of questions for you about that!

What would you like to ask?

 

[jimmyjimmy]

What would you like to ask?

1) How many times has this happened?

2) What did the Almighty's voice sound like, was he an tenor or bass?

3) Was the direction of His voice from left, right, front, back or above?

I have 100 more questions, since you are the first person I've ever come across who has claimed to have heard God audibly, but I'll start with those three.