Hearing God

I'm not ashamed to admit that I sometimes struggle in my personal prayer life. I'm usually pretty good about telling God the things I need to say or ask for, but there are times when I forget that honest communication with God is a two-way street- talking, but also listening.

But God still finds ways to get my attention. 

Lately, God has spoken to me on my morning run...through the iPod feature on my phone. I noticed this a few weeks ago when I started a run and used the "shuffle" feature. It seemed like each song in the session built on the next in order to help me get clarity on a problem I was facing. 

It was sort of random the first time. Now, I intentionally pray to God with a specific question and asked him to speak to me while I run. The songs don't always fit together, but today I felt like God gave me a very clear answer. (I'm not going to get into the details. Even though this blog is public, my prayers are still private!)

Please don't misunderstand. There's much more to a faithful spiritual life than the blips, bytes, dots, and dashes of our electronics. Faith requires more than just hearing a few songs and thinking we have our answer. 

At the same time, I believe that God can and does reveal himself in wonderful, surprising, mysterious, and sometimes very common ways. As long as the foundation of our faith is Scripture, then our experience of God's presence, the traditions of our faith, and our own reason can work together to help us gain a deeper understanding of God's leading in our lives.

When we ask God for guidance, it's important that we set ourselves in a position to actually listen and receive that guidance whenever and however it comes to us. Then we confirm what we've heard by getting back into God's Word and having conversations with people we trust. 

I'm grateful for a God who loves us and meets us where we are, a God who truly does want to be in relationship with us each and every day.  

Can you think of a time when you asked for God to speak to you and actually heard something?

The Hero Who Finished Last

Yesterday, South African runner Oscar Pistorius finished his semifinal heat in the 400m race in the London Olympic Games in eighth place. Dead last. 

Most other athletes who finish at the back of the pack disappear into obscurity. But Oscar is not your ordinary, everyday also-ran. He just happens to be the world's first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics. (He was kept out of the Games in 2008 because some thought his prosthetic limbs game him a competitive advantage. Read more about that here.)

He said that his goal was to make the semifinals, which he did on Friday by finishing 2nd in his preliminary heat- completing one lap around the track in 45.44 seconds. After the semifinal race, one athlete (the man favored to win the gold medal) asked Oscar to trade name bibs- a gesture of respect from within the tight-knit competitive racing community. 

Oscar may have come into the Olympic Games known mostly as "that runner with no legs," but he's leaving with millions of new fans- myself included- who appreciate talent, determination, and genuine hard work and respect people who refuse to be held back by their circumstances.