The song says, “And He walks with me; and He talks with me; and He tells me I am His own.” Does God still speak to us? My answer is a definite “Yes!” But, along with this statement, I make one important stipulation: any and all means must be tested by the Word. If there is a conflict, the latter cancels out the former.
God can, and does, speak to His people on various occasions by, for example, outward providences and/or inward impressions. But often our humanity hinders us from discerning His voice. We are emotional creatures and are prone to go by our feelings; but, when we do, we fall into emotional quicksand. Thus, falling from our pinnacle of expectations, it is easy to mistake emotional impressions for Divine illumination.
Once we garble God’s message to us because of our human limitations, we are apt to prefer complete silence rather than the risk of hearing from Him again. We feel the experiences are too embarrassing and painful, thus we turn a deaf ear to God.
We need to be like little Samuel of old and keep coming back. He believed, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” To save ourselves from disappointment and embarrassment, it is good to follow Mary’s example, whenever we sense the Lord speaking to us: “[And] Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Let us wait and watch how God fulfills what He tells us (Ruth 3:18).
by an Aged Saint
Amen!