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Does God still speak today?

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As I was driving home the other day I was very surprised to hear a well known Pastor/Bible teacher explaining that God no longer speaks directly to people today.  According to him God will only speak through the bible now, His already revealed Word.  What a sad thing to teach and believe.  If this man had said that God will never speak contrary to the bible, I would be giving a big, "Amen!"  If he had been telling us to test everything by God's Word I'd wholeheartedly agree.  But that is not what he was saying; he was instead claiming God has stopped communicating in a direct fashion with His people.

Really?  When did God ever say He was done communicating directly with us?  Isn't the whole bible a love story about a God who desires to be our Father?  Who sent His Son that we could be reconciled with Him; and be adopted as His very sons and daughters?  Aren't we always told that this is, "not about religion, but having a relationship with Jesus"?  How do you have a relationship without communication?  What kind of father stops talking to his children?  Certainly not our Heavenly Father!

The "Song of Songs" portrays Jesus and His bride.  And what do we see there?  A duet!  They're both singing about, and to, each other!  In fact, as a single man in the Lord, God used this scripture when I was praying for a wife.  He said, "It's not a Song of Songs unless both people are singing it!"  (You see, I was the only one singing the song, the woman I was interested in wasn't!)  Well, in the Song of Songs, Jesus and His bride are both singing!  They're constantly talking back and forth to each other. 

From the very beginning, and all through the pages of the bible, God is found speaking to His people.  He had a conversation with Adam as the LORD God walked through the garden in the cool of the day.  Isaiah tells us that, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "this is the way, walk in it."  (Isaiah 30:21)  Some will say, "This comes from the Old Testament. In Hebrews it says, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son." (Hebrews 1:1-2)  They will emphasize this last line as proof that God no longer speaks as He once did.  But that's not what it says does it?  It never states that God stopped speaking directly to His people.  In fact, in Acts chapter eight, God speaks directly to Philip saying, "Go south to the road- the desert road- that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza."  Pretty detailed stuff there, and it kind of ruins the argument that God stopped speaking directly after Jesus was glorified!  A read through Acts makes it clear that He went right on speaking, just as He always has.

I'm personally grateful that God has spoken to me directly on many occasions and in various ways about my life.  He has given me guidance, (sometimes very detailed and specific), and sometimes less so.  He has said, "No!" and "Yes" and communicated His heart to me about decisions I've faced and plans I've made.  He is after all the Living God!  Should it be considered at all strange that a living God will speak?  He is also my Heavenly Father.  Why should it be considered unusual that my Father would talk to me?

The bible doesn't tell us that God stopped speaking, it tells us to test the spirits to see whether what is spoken is of God.  We have the written word of God as the plumb line.  We are to take what we feel God has spoken and test it by the written word of God.  God, after all, is not the only one speaking, and we need to be sure what we're hearing is from Him.  (This is where many people go wrong.  They fail to test and get in trouble.  God will not speak contrary to His written word.)

Understanding that we need to test everything by His written Word, I am all the more baffled by people who preach and teach that God has stopped speaking; it's His very Word that makes it clear that God still speaks today!  So, to answer my question, "Does God still speak today?"  I can only say, "Yes! Are we listening?"

Tags: God still speaks today, hearing God, relationship with God, song of songs