Around our house we do our best to teach our children to pray and hear the voice of God. Some attempts are very successful and others are just, well, let’s just say we are enjoying the growing prayers. Such attempts brought me to a sweet moment this evening with my middle child, Joshua (6).
A little backstory, Joshua has been wanting to hear God speak for the longest time and has become pretty discouraged lately that God will not speak to him. He loves God and has a great desire to learn more about Him. He always is browsing the Bible and wanting me to read him Bible stories about God. This desire of his led us to a particular topic the other day. Snow. He said, “It never snows.” I immediately replied, “Why don’t you ask God to bring snow? I’m sure He will if you ask.” To that he concluded, “I tried, but He never speaks to me. Every time I talk to Him, He says nothing.” My heart broke for him as he genuinely wanted to hear from God. I encouraged him that God usually speaks to our heart and that we have to listen with our heart to hear Him. Joshua retorted, “I know. But, He never says anything.” So, I prayed with Him and we asked God for snow.
That day, freezing rain came. Nothing major. No accumulation. But, I told Joshua, “Hey, freezing rain is almost like snow. God must have been listening to you.” I was trying to get him to be positive and see the possible goodness of God. But he replied without hesitation, “It’s ice, not snow.” Put his head down and went inside.
A few days later (today), I was chatting with my Mother-in-law about it, and she suggested Joshua asking God a Yes or No question and listening to what God had to say. I thought that was a wonderful idea. That evening Joshua came and laid in bed with Madison as I was reading her a Bible story. I finished up with her and read some to Joshua in his bed. Karen came in while we were finishing up. We talked with Joshua about praying and began to share about thanking God for the different activities of the day. In the midst of this, I remembered my Mother-in-law’s suggestion. I said, “Joshua, would like to talk to God and listen to Him talk back?” He whined, “Yes, but He never talks back.” To which I replied, “Actually, I think He does. Perhaps, we’re listening for the wrong thing or asking the wrong question. Let’s try asking God a question and then let Him reply Yes or No.”
Joshua got real excited about that. He enthusiastically nodded his head.
“Wonderful!” I said, “what do you want to ask?”
“God,” he paused for a second and then continued. “God, did you have a good day today? Yes or no.” He closed his eyes and waited for an answer. He was very intently listening to his heart. After several seconds (which seemed like a good bit of time for a 6 year-old), he began to nod his head. “Yes,” he smiled. “God said yes.”
“Wonderful!” I replied. “Ask Him another question.” He was having trouble coming up with a question, so I suggested, “You know, Jesus just had a birthday. Why don’t you ask Him about His special day?”
Joshua really liked that. He began, “Jesus, did you have a fun birthday? Yes or No.” He closed His eyes, bowed His head, and anticipated an answer from God.
Karen and I smiled at each other, witnessing a powerful experience for Joshua – hearing God for the first time.
Joshua began to nod his head again and smiled, beaming, “Jesus said yes!”
Joshua asked three more questions including a “No” reply from God about how he should treat his sister.
I won’t take anything away from the simplicity of this moment. It was spontaneous. It was real. And, to Joshua, it was amazing. He has longed for God to speak to him, but he didn’t know how to listen from his heart. I am fully confident in order to grow in Christ one must hear from God. We can’t truly live without His spoken word. Sadly, such desires are unmet in many believers who just don’t know how to hear God beyond salvation.
This moment, with Joshua, taught me that we might not be asking the right question? Joshua was talking to God and asking Him questions, but he was not hearing anything back. His young, eager heart was expecting a full conversation. However, he was not familiar with God’s voice – he didn’t know how God sounded. He expected to hear it audibly. Then, he tried to hear with his heart and just was not getting anything – he didn’t know what to look for. This moment taught me that we have to learn how God speaks and to recognize His voice. This is best achieved through simplicity. By simply asking God, Yes or No, Joshua was able to clear away all the noise and listen for God’s one word response. Can you see the powerful implication? Joshua just heard the voice of God. It’s his first time, he will have to continue to ask God questions and listen to God’s response. The more he does this, the more he recognizes the voice of God and can differentiate between God and the noise. In time, the voice of God will become abundantly clear and the direction of the conversation will turn and require obedience from Joshua. But now, God is just introducing Himself to Joshua, and bless his heart, Joshua is responding and learning and enjoying the God that talks back.
Truly, a wonderful sweet moment with our growing boy!