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by Petrina Kent, a Christian Artist from the Isle of Man who loves to worship God through paint and prophetic sound on violin.

My daughter is now in Sydney and for us that means she is actually the other side of the globe. She couldn’t actually be any further away.

Every day I scour the phone for anything from my girl; is there an email? A text? Facebook? Anything?

Does she have anything to say? Does she need me?

Today when I checked my phone, it was turned off! I turned it on to find one message: ‘Come on line!’

She was trying to communicate, but I was switched off.

My thoughts were these — If I keep my phone turned on and check it often for words from Gina because I love her, I should make the same effort with God because I love Him too and want to hear from Him!

Gina was talking to me but I couldn’t hear her. It is the same with God and us; He is speaking, but we need to be switched on, and, I believe, we each must find our own personal way of listening.

Does God do facebook? What are God’s email messages?  What are his texts?

Facebook tells us who people are; their posts reveal their character. This is equivalent to the word of God; it shows us who He is; it is there, the whole revelation God, and His plan for salvation. But. He posts things daily through his Word, too. We get fresh chats from God through His word whenever we log on. Sometimes his message for me will leap out of the page; other times his message comes clear after meditating on his words.

What about God’s email messages? These are more akin to personal messages, assignments, or particular things God wants us to know. They might come simply by reading someone else’s blog, or by having a God given dream or sometimes by listening to a friend’s wisdom and encouragement.  We can receive in many different ways, or by combination of them all.

Texts? These are a bit like the opposite of arrow prayers; they come in as thoughts, words or ideas. This can be triggered by seeing something in the natural, by seeing a picture in the mind’s eye, or by simply having a word or Scripture come to mind.

These are all ways in which God communicates to us. We have to learn to discern the difference though, between our own thoughts, God’s thoughts and Satan’s. This comes with time and commitment to the art of hearing the voice of God. One thing is certain, all things from God are pure, lovely, uplifting, and in line with Scripture. Everything has to be tested against this.

I learnt a long while ago to be asking God questions, these being: What are You up to in this situation? Am I seeing or hearing this for a reason? What are You saying? Is a prayer needed, or maybe an action?

I might see something odd, a week later hear something that reminds me of what I saw, then, maybe, while innocently walking down a street I overhear something else connected. I join the dots and get a picture. I have learnt that this is God showing me something; it is God speaking to me.

It’s a matter of being switched on and learning our own way of hearing God’s voice.

How might I be switched on? I believe the answer is, by wanting to be. I wanted to hear from my daughter so I switched my mobile on.

My daughter is a very long way away, but we are connected.

God is near, very near, and we are connected. He is talking but we do have to listen.

Let’s be like Samuel and say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ~ 1 Samuel 3:9

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