by Os Hillman
An Audible Voice
Scripture records many occurrences when God spoke audibly to His children. God spoke to Moses face to face. When Adam and Eve enjoyed unbroken fellowship in the Garden of Eden, they had a two-way dialogue with God.
My mother tells of her own personal experience in hearing the audible voice of God. She was at a low point in her life after my father was killed. For months, she cried out to God in her grief and anguish. After learning that none of the insurance companies were going to pay, she was about to have a nervous breakdown. But one night while she was weeping, she heard an audible voice say, “Trust me, Lillian.” That is all she heard that night and it never happened again, but that one experience has kept her for more than 40 years.
A “Still, Small Voice” or Thoughts
Many people describe “hearing” God speak through a sense of “knowing” that often comes in their thoughts. That’s what happened for Angie in the story above, when 1 Thessalonians 5:24 popped into her head.
My good friend Dr. Victor Eagan, an orthodontist and leader of an international marketplace ministry, says, “I have found that God often speaks personally to me when I am not seeking to hear Him. In other words, I don’t often hear Him speak when I am having my quiet time. More often it is when I am in my car or in the shower.”
My friend Brenda found this to be true one time when she was on a flight. Words came into her mind that said, “There is a woman on the plane who you need to find. I want you to pray for her.” Not knowing what to do, she walked down the aisle to see if the Lord would show her the woman, and He did. Stepping out in faith, she approached the woman and said, “Pardon me, this is going to seem strange, but may I pray for you?” Without giving the woman much time to respond, Brenda began praying and found that she was being led to pray for comfort in relation to the woman’s husband.
After she had prayed, the woman shared with Brenda that her husband had just died. “Normally, my family would pray with me,” she said, “But due to the rush of getting on the plane, they could not. But my mother-in-law told me that someone would pray with me on the plane.” The woman was deeply touched and felt as if God had reached down from heaven to let her know that He cared about her.
Another friend, John Wright from England, told me about his conversation with a Muslim man as they walked together in the country. John wanted to share the gospel with him, but knew little about the man’s Muslim beliefs. The two men agreed they would each share their religious beliefs with one another. The Muslim went first and dominated the conversation.
As the man spoke, John asked the Holy Spirit how to share his faith with him. Suddenly, a thought came to him. “Do you consider your god to be your father who speaks?” he asked.
“Certainly not,” replied the Muslim man. “That is one of the big differences between your god and my God. I consider my God as my Father who speaks to me personally.”
“You cannot prove that,” retorted the Muslim man.
John again prayed silently, “Lord, how do I prove this to him?”
A few moments later, two young ladies came walking toward them. As they approached, John spoke to them and made polite conversation. Then he said to one woman, “I believe you are a nurse, is that correct?”
Startled, she asked, “How would you know that? I have never met you before.”
He replied, “I asked my Father and He told me.” The Holy Spirit had impressed the word “nurse” on his mind. The Muslim man had his proof.
Circumstances
God will often speak to us through our circumstances. It is easy to miss God speaking to us in this way because we are not looking for His special touches throughout our ordinary days.
Before we were married, Angie had an experience of divine direction that developed circumstantially. She was desperate to find a place to live after moving to St. Simons Island, Georgia, to work for a non-profit ministry. She had taken a huge cut in pay to work there and finding a place she could afford had proven to be impossible. Here’s her story:
I knew God had a place for me. One day as I was talking to Him about it, I said, “if only you could show me where it is.” I pictured in my head a neon sign lit up against a nighttime sky that said “here it is” with an arrow pointing to the place where I was supposed to live. Of course, I knew that was silly, but I wished God would give me that kind of sign.
With only a few days left in the condo the ministry had let me live in, I went to look at the only house in the area that I could afford to live in. The only problem was that it had huge gaping holes in the walls and was practically falling apart. (I later learned that it had been condemned!) The owner was not willing to do anything to fix it up, but it was the only option I had at that point. I went to look at the house one final time, and as I prayed I felt no sense of peace. So I walked out thinking, OK, God, you must have something else.
As I was driving away, I passed by a little side street that had a huge orange sign in the window that said “For Rent.” The sign was at least five feet wide and four feet tall. I slammed on the brakes, backed up and pulled in the driveway. The owner just happened to be inside and showed me around the most beautiful little beach cottage I had ever seen—and it was only 80 steps from the beach! I loved it, but I knew there was no way I could afford it. The owner gave me his card and told me to call him if I changed my mind.
My next stop was a little gift shop in the village. A sales clerk asked me if I needed help finding anything and I said, “I need a place to live.” Her response blew me away. “Well you’ve come to the right place. This is a place where miracles happen.” The store owner assured me that she would do everything to help me and told me about how she had found a place for her friend who had just moved there. At that moment, her friend walked in the store and she introduced us. The next thing I knew, I was having lunch with the store owner’s friend.
To make a long story short, I ended up living in the little cottage with the lady I met in the store, and we are still friends today, 10 years later. God gave me the “neon sign” I was looking for and a wonderful roommate so that I could afford it. God demonstrated His love and care for me through some amazing circumstances. That taught me to always be on the lookout for Him in the “everyday” things.
Prophetic Words
I came from a church background that did not expose me to ministry that involved prophecy or words of knowledge. However, God has brought people into my life who clearly operate in these gifts, and I have come to see them as valuable tools to affirm Christians in their faith and calling.
The word “prophecy” comes from the Greek word propheteia, which means, “the speaking forth of the mind and counsel of God.” A further explanation in Vines Dictionary states:
Though much of old testament prophecy was purely predictive, prophecy is not necessarily, nor even primarily, fore-telling. It is the declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means, it is the forth-telling of the will of God, whether with reference to the past, the present, or the future. Scripture encourages us to eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 14:1); and to not treat prophecies with contempt, but to test everything and hold on to the good (1 Thess. 5:20-21).2
These are God’s methods of communication to us through others. Such communication from God does not have to be presented using terms such as “prophecy”; it may come in a simple conversation with another person, who might say something that strikes a chord in your spirit, perhaps confirming something you heard from someone else. Be alert to these types of situations. God is using them to communicate important information to you. Let me give you a couple of personal examples.
When Angie and I met for the first time, she told me she was called to the mission field. The moment she said that, I heard in my inner spirit, She is called to the mission field, but it is not what she thinks. I did not mention this to her. However, when we were together the following week, she asked if I would pray for her. She was about
to sell all of her belongings to go to the mission field, but was unsure where she was to go. That’s when I told her, “You’re called to the mission field, but it’s not what you think.” She actually got upset with me because she thought I was trying to date her and disrupt her calling. But a few days later, she called to say that whenever she felt God giving her direction, it was never what she thought it was.
Nine months later, we were married. One night, as she was lying in bed, this thought came to her mind: You thought your mission field was somewhere overseas when it is actually six inches away, beside you. Angie has worked alongside me in our ministry since we were married. Now she realizes that she is indeed called to the mission field, but it definitely is not what she thought it would be.
I was strongly encouraged by prophetic words around this same time in my own life. One came as an e-mail from a friend in another state, which read:
I believe that God is saying that the worst is over for you and that you need not fear any repeat of the pain of the past. You are not a second-rate son, as the enemy of your soul will try to tell you. Lift up your eyes and see your Father smiling at you. From now on, you will work with God, rather than just for Him. He will show you the plan and the steps. You have learned to wait for His voice. There is a latter rain for your life. It will refresh you and cause you to forget the dryness of the past. Even now, the clouds are forming. There will be new crops, new fields, new harvests, new plantings, new partners in your life.
This was echoed and confirmed when, at a conference, a man named Bradley Stuart came forward with a word of prophecy for someone in the audience. The minute he read his words I knew they were for me. Here is the message the Lord gave him:
The past few years have been times of deep preparation where I have allowed you and your business to be torn and smitten. But this is the season where I want to start to restore and heal you. However, right now, as you are about to be restored, it is a time when I want you to allow me to show you what I have been teaching you. The seed is about to spring forth, so simply wait and rest in me. I am in control, I am working on the seed and it shall come forth as I send the gentle rains.
Among other things, the first message was also another confirmation to me about Angie, whom I would marry eight months later, and who represented a new planting and new partner in my life.
Visions and Dreams
The Bible is full of examples of God speaking to people through visions and dreams. God can use dreams to give us specific direction or revelation about something in our lives.
In Acts 10, a man named Cornelius had a life-changing vision one day at about three in the afternoon. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” The angel instructed him to send some men to get a man named Peter in another town. The following day, God gave Peter a vision in which He instructed him to go with some men to the house of Cornelius. The obedient responses of both men to the visions God gave them resulted in immediate conversions and the beginning of the spread of the gospel to the non-Jewish world.
God still speaks through visions and dreams. Our five-year-old nephew came over for a sleepover. When he awoke the next morning, he told Angie about a dream he had had the night before in which a bulldozer came down our driveway and knocked our house down. Angie was thrilled! Our home was literally falling apart. For three years she had had to wash her hair in water heated on the stove because otherwise the water turned her hair green. Our home had been for sale as commercial property and we were waiting for a contract to go through. We both sensed this was God’s way of telling us it would sell. Six months later, the deal closed and we became debt-free—and the house was bulldozed a few months later! Angie’s nephew had no idea that any of this was in the works.
The Difference Between Religion and Relationship
In Psalm 32:8, God speaks through the psalmist to tell us that He indeed will give us direction and instruction: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” In the Church today, we often think the only way God speaks is through the Bible. (Someone once said, “You would think some churches think the Trinity is more like the Father, Son and Holy Scriptures.”) There is such a focus on the Word of God to the exclusion of the other ways God speaks that it is no wonder we do not find out what God wants us to do.
Because so many of us do not know how to listen for God’s voice, we’re not able to hear Him in our places of employment. In order to hear, we must believe and take the time to listen. We must depend not only on our logical reasoning, but also leave room for the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The difference between hearing God’s voice and not hearing it is the difference between having a relationship with God and just having a religion. God wants to have an intimate relationship with you to enable you to hear His voice speaking to you. Ask Him to give you sensitive ears to hear and the courage to obey His voice.
How About You?
1. Intimacy is developed by spending time with the person you want to be close to. List some ways you can develop a greater level of intimacy with Jesus.
2. When was the last time you sensed that God was speaking to you? List some ways you can begin today to better listen for the voice of God in your life.
CHAPTER 9
INTERCESSORY PRAYER IN THE WORKPLACE
Epaphras, who Paul states to the Colossians “is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus…. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”
COLOSSIANS 4 : 12
Because we’ve been entrenched in the “secular versus sacred” model for so long, it can be difficult for us to view our work as a ministry and workplace believers as missionaries in the 9 to 5 Window. However, God tells us clearly that we are to glorify God in all that we do (see Col. 3:17, 24). One way we can do this is through intercessory prayer, which can be characterized as an intense type of prayer for others (see Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:12), the priestly calling of all believers (see 1 Pet. 2:5; Exod. 19:6) and the Holy Spirit praying in us (see Rom. 8:26-27). Having people pray for us to fulfill our purpose and calling in our workplaces is consistent with the will of God for every individual.
Imagine if all corporations had a director of corporate intercession as a paid position. I am pleased to tell you that in at least one case, this is already happening. Darlene Maisano is a full-time intercessor for the marketplace and a paid intercessor for several businesses. She is paid as a consultant would be paid. She sits in business meetings, quietly praying and “listening.” She has authored the only resource I know of on the subject, Breaking Open the Doors of Success Through Marketplace Intercession. Here are her thoughts on the importance of workplace intercession:
Through the birthing and establishing of the Church, nothing has ever been accomplished on earth without prayer and intercession. And with the restoration of the workplace, intercession is a key to bridging the gap, making a way and nullifying the shortage of laborers in the Kingdom.
Whereas we once thought of those involved in politics, economics, religion, and the military as the ones controlling the earth, today we recognize the enormous influence wielded by those in the workplace.
As a workplace intercessor for numerous national and international businesses, I have experienced the importance of interceding on their behalf. Favor, wisdom, financial gain and well-being have been manifested and evident in peoples’ lives and businesses. I am also seeing a growing number of work-place intercessors stepping up to the plate saying, “That’s my calling.”1
While the idea of a workplace intercessor may be a new concept for us, we need to remember the examples we find in the New Testament of believers praying for one another. One such example is Epaphras, who Paul states to the Colossians “is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus…. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured” (Col. 4:
12).
Let me give you a modern example of what I am describing as intercessory prayer in the workplace.
Intercessory Prayer in an Optical Company
Colin Ferreira is a friend, a board member for our ministry and an owner of an optical business in Trinidad. I first met Colin in 2001 when he invited me to speak at a Caribbean workplace conference that he was organizing. I have watched Colin develop into a Kingdom business leader whose vision is to see his nation transformed.
For many years, Colin considered his business to be a Kingdom business as well as his primary calling to ministry, even though he had also been in church leadership. At his workplace, he would have weekly prayer meetings and exercise prayer in business meetings whenever he felt the need. For eight years, he led his management staff in a weekly study of the book of Proverbs from a business perspective. The biblical principles they discussed together caused them to change the way they operated the business.
Eighteen years ago, Colin and his management staff made a decision to use a minimum of 10 percent of their profits (before tax) for building the kingdom of God. God blessed their business greatly, and they have been able to support many ministries and provide significant leadership and administrative support to some of those organizations. However, through a series of struggles common to most businesses (made worse due to apparent spiritual opposition), Colin began to recognize the need for more prayer coverage. One of the organizations for which he had been supplying financial and leadership support maintained a House of Prayer. Colin asked the minister who headed the organization to intercede for him and his company on an ongoing basis, and she gladly agreed.
