How does God speak to you?

“God is not going to tell you to brush your teeth in the morning, although you probably should,” said youth pastor Ryan Harmon at the fourth chapel of Spiritual Emphasis Week at Smithville Christian High School. “God is not going to interrupt your life to take away your free choice.” 

But God does speak to us and God does have something to say.

Using the story of the boy Samuel as a young priest-in-training at the temple, as found in 1 Samuel 3, Harmon said there are some key ways in which we can prepare ourselves to hear what God has to say.

1. Get close to God’s presence. 
2. Humble yourself before God. 
3. Do what God says. 

We need to be reading the Bible and we need to surround ourselves with the people and activities that put us in God’s presence, Harmon said. Be prepared to separate yourself from the noise and ask God to speak.

And just as Samuel responded to God with “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening,” we need to be humble and know that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and God’s ways are not our ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s thoughts higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8, 9), Harmon said. This is difficult for us, but we need to let God know best.

Finally, we have to be prepared to heed God’s nudging in our lives, and do what God is telling us to do. Harmon said he will always regret not reaching out to the high school friend who struggled with addiction, who ended up dying of a drug overdose.

“Act on those moments when you feel God speaking, tell your parents what is going on, offer encouragement to a kid at school,” he said. “You could change someone’s life.

“I live my life now aimed in the right direction, waiting to encourage someone,” Harmon said. “Most of what I hear from God are words of encouragement.”

As an example, Harmon invited two students up to the front, one at a time, and asked the rest of the audience to pray silently for 30 seconds and then share what God was putting on their hearts about their friends.

God wants us to know the truth about ourselves and we can be the ones who speak God’s truth into the lives of others.

“Hearing God’s voice and speaking it out is not as hard as we think,” he said. “Speaking God’s word over somebody is not difficult, it is life-giving. All that matters about you is what God says about you, who God says you are."

Student praise team, "Renewed Roots," led in worship with "Glorious Day," "Come As You Are," and "Who You Say I Am."

There's one more chapel of Spiritual Emphasis Week! Join us Friday morning at 9 a.m. for student-led worship and the word of God.