Experiencing an interactive friendship with God that gives direction and purpose to daily life.
God wishes to be in relationship with us. One aspect of this interactive friendship with God is guidance. Throughout the Bible we see God providing continued guidance for the rough times and the good. Today, we often think this kind of interaction is no longer possible, but that is not the case. As Dallas Willard writes, “Today I continue to believe that people are meant to live in an ongoing conversation with God, speaking and being spoken to. . . . Given who we are by basic nature, we live—really live—only through God’s regular speaking in our souls and thus ‘by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”1
These words from God can come to us in a variety of ways: through “the still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12, KJV), through others, through Scripture. As with so many of the disciplines, we often must cut through a lot of worldly static to hear God’s voice. Like Moses and Jeremiah, we often resist God’s will, in matters small and large.
But it’s also important to realize that guidance is not just discerning God’s will and direction for specific decisions, such as whether to marry a certain person, start a certain ministry, or pursue a particular career path. Having an interactive friendship with God means that divine will can pervade all areas of our life, so that even when we are not fully conscious of asking God whether to do a particular thing, we can still be within the scope of God’s will. As Willard puts it, hearing God is about who God wants us to be as well as what God wants us to do.
When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” —Isaiah 30:21
Day 146 Spiritual Practice: Hearing God
Day 147 You Shall Go
Day 148 Here I Am
Day 149 David Inquires of the Lord
Day 150 Through the Mouth of a Donkey
Day 151 Ananias Guides Saul
Day 152 Peter’s Vision
Day 153 You Are the Man!
Day 154 Guided by God’s Strength
Day 155 Guided by the Spiri
Day 156 Spiritual Practice: Finding the Way
Day 157 With Him I Speak Face to Face
Day 158 Asking for a Sign
Day 159 Seeking False Guidance
Day 160 The Fruit of the Spirit
Day 161 Asking for Help
Day 162 What Makes for Understanding
Day 163 A Mentoring Influence
Day 164 Guiding the Nations
Day 165 The Life God Wants for Us
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