Has your God ever spoken to you directly?

Question

I breifly saw a preacher on sky yesterday and he said that God had spoken to him directly. At the time I dismissed him and laughed along, but it has made me think.
I have no faith, but I am intrigued.
When a religious person says they speak with God, are they being rhetoric or do they (you?) actually converse?
As an uptight Englishman, the larger than life USA preachers remind me of an Eastend market trader, and I cant take them seriously, but do ordinary religious people converse with God?
And I do mean converse, not just talk TO. Get answers too.
And what is that like?
Go into a bit of detail if you can. Dont just say "I do and thats cos Im a Christian" or something.
I am genuinely interested.
Is it just the devout that have access to their God?
Dont bash me. Im just asking.

Answer 1

I grew up as a child in a dead church. That means they taught all about God, but their central teaching was that we were all automatically Christians when we were infant baptized.

So they spoke to us like we were already Christians and besides the neat stories, we didn't have any real connection with God. We were spiritually dead. Hence the name "dead church".

When I was 18 years old, I was in the US Navy. I was assigned to shore duty during my first 3 years. I smoked pot and partied at night and I was late for work much of the time. This resulted in my being put into the Navy Brig, called Correctional Custody Unit.

Just before I went in for the second time, a party friend of mine, told everyone he got saved. Mostly I remember he had a big bible with him and his eyes were pure white. I knew something had happened to him. I listened to him some and he gave me a Bible.

So when I arrived at the brig, they put me in solitary confinement. I had cigarettes and the Bible from my friend. I read the entire New Testament in the first week in solitary. It had every answer in it for why everything was happening to me. As I read it I began to respond to every word Jesus spoke. Something happened inside of me. The Jesus from the Bible began to speak the words from the Bible in his own voice. He became alive as a person inside of me. We talked about my childhood and everything that had happened to me. It was a dialoge, not just one way.

I didn't even realize what all had happened to me until after a couple of months and I reread the parts of the Bible that talked about God's Spirit becoming alive inside me. And how I was born again. Born once as a living person and born again by God's Spirit. I was saved and truely a Christian for the first time.

I even went back to that church I grew up in and told the Reverend what happened to me and I wanted to know why he didn't tell me about being saved earlier. He said it was a false teaching to believe you have to ask Jesus to be your Savior. That was all taken care of when you were infant baptized. Then he pushed me aside and I walked away.

The only answer I can give for what happened is because the Bible really is true and Jesus really is alive. And the most important part is that He can really be found, if you are at the end of your own way, and as a child you look for Him. That's what I did, even though I didn't understand what happened to me at the time.

I have been serving Jesus Christ for 27 years now, this August 15th, and He talks to me in many ways. Through His Word, the Bible. Through others, even non-believers. Through the preaching of the Word. Through my wife or kids. Sometimes it is really clear, sometimes it is more feelings.

I look at it like this, God doesn't have to hold me so tight like a little baby, like when He first became alive to me. Now I have grown up and I am committed to Him forever. We have a relationship like brothers and I know He is always with me. I am able to help to guide others, I don't always need Him to carry me like at first.

Answer 2

It is not like you and I talking to each other on the telephone. We speak to God through prayers and he chooses when to answer them.

It has been my experience that the more faith you have the stronger and clearer the conversations are. As your faith grows stronger you will find the answers come faster and clearer. An example is I always pray and ask God to watch over me when I am driving. Several years ago just after finishing such a prayer I saw a vision of me being in an accident. Because of that vision I decreased my speed. I still had the accident less than 30 seconds later but because of the decreased speed it was not as bad as it could have been. The best I can explain it is intiution. Have you ever just had a feeling something was going to happen and it did? Well this intiution for those of faith is an ongoing constant thing. I have also had dreams fortelling the future. I have not yet learned how to change the ones I do not like yet. Wouldn't that be great if I could.

Something many christians have a hard time with is we do not always get the answer we want. Sometimes when we ask for something the answer in NO. We, as human beings, don't like NO. But as our faith grows and our experiences increase we learn to trust God and know all our needs will always be met.

These "larger than life" televangelists have to live a higher standars and frequently fall. The higher you are the harder you fall kind of thing. One excellent preacher is Billy Grahm. There are many other excellent and truthful preachers too. There are also some who one would wonder if their faith is in God or the money, fame and glory their position brings.

I do not know what preacher you are refering to so I can not give an opinion as to weather I would believe him or not but I do know there are many I know personally of great faith that God has spoken to directly.

Non believers bash believers based on the text of the Bible. Believers pay them no mind because faith does not come from a book. Faith comes from beleiving, experienceing and growing. If I were to learn tomorrow that every word in the Bible were a lie it would not change my beliefs or faith one bit. My faith is based on real life personal experiences.

The stronger your faith the closer to God you are the more clearer the conversations so it is only logical that those of no faith would not have access to God. They do not have the real life experiences people of faith have so they could not possibly comprehend.

I hope this answers your questions.

Answer 3

I do not hear God audibly, which is what I think you are asking. Sometimes when I am praying or having a hard time I open my Bible and it opens to the perfect scripture verse that I need at that time. That can be a way of God speaking to you. Sometimes I will be thinking or praying about something, and its like your conscience answers you back. Some people may say its just you but the answers are not usually something I would think of. Sure you think, was that just me? and sometimes it is, but sometimes I know it wasn't. Sometimes it is just a feeling, a pushing towards a direction you would not normally go. I moved across half the country to go to school again, and I would never have done that without the urging of God. My mother says she hears an audible voice but I can only speak from my experiences. Mother Teresa also said she spoke to God. Maybe that answers your question, maybe not. I definitely don't think its a science or anything, hence the faith part.

Answer 4

People say they talk to aliens, people say they talk to God. The first lot are called nutters, the second lot are called religious.

There's a lot of money to be made out of religion and it has become a well rehearsed play over time. Religious people also pray (talk) to fence poles and cheese sandwiches.

Christians are below average intelligence and tend to be very gullible, that's why when a fence pole or a cheese sandwich has an imprint that looks like a religious face, such as Our Lady, millions will flock to the spot and worship. It's also known as sheep to the slaughter syndrome.

All religions are just fantasy or mythology or cults, call it whatever you wish. The main religions also have magic tricks which are called miracles in Christianity.

Just watch what happens when another magic trick occurs, for example, the fence pole or cheese sandwich image starts to weep. Just watch how the flock of followers behave. People find it hard to accept reality so escape into fantasy and that’s what religion satisfies. Miracles are all in the mind and are nothing more than trickery.

Answer 5

i loathe organised religion - bunch of brain-dead brain-washing dead beats with nothing better to do in their spare time.

BUT, was driving home one October night after Halloween party when kids were young. Stopped at traffic lights to make usual turn, but had this immensely strong feeling to go the alternative route which takes me along a back road where a car was stranded.

I ignored it as just a daft random thought but as i was about to put the car into gear to make the turn, this daft random thought became overwhelming.

I thought i was losing my mind. And decided ok ill go over the bloody back road and there will be nothing there and i will phone the doctor in the morning to let her know i was paying attention to a random thought that i knew was random.

In tears i went over this back road and found a car that had broken down. It was driven by a mum and her two small kids. It was a ford fiesta and the distributor was nearly gubbed. I knew how to fix this cos i used to have one. I took off the distributor cap and scraped the carbon with my key and dried the thing with a cloth and WD40. Car started. She was so glad someone had stopped cos she was afraid being stuck out here with no phone and no light. I was just happy to help another family. But i found it scarier than i would have to found nothing there at all.

Was this God? I have no other explanation. But not a voice. A strong insistant feeling and image. This is a true story and probably shows im a loony.

And i still dont go to church.

Answer 6

Anyone who says they converse with God is either a fool or a liar.

The preacher was lying. He is in a position of apparent authority and for some reason thinks he better than the fools who listen to his sermons, and claims he has direct access to God because of his position. He was a liar and probably a pedo.

The only other option was that the preacher was suffering from some sort of schizoid disorder and had become dangerously delusional.

That fact that God is a man made, fictitious character proves this.

Answer 7

Every time I read the holy Quran God speaks to me directly because the Quran is the true preserved real words of God in the Arabic language.

"Over a period of many months the Koran has been my constant companion, the object of my most attentive study. Though many can certainly claim to have read the Koran, indeed over and over again, and to know it well, I think it may be reasonably asserted that their understanding and appreciation of the book will always fall short of what may be attained by one who undertakes to translate it in full and with all possible fidelity. I had myself studied the Koran and perused it from end to end over many years, before I embarked upon making a version of it; assuredly the careful discipline of trying to find the best English equivalent for every meaning and every rhythm of the original Arabic has profoundly deepened my own penetration into the heart of the Koran, and has at the same time sharpened my awareness of its mysterious and compelling beauty. For this reason, if for no other, I think it is justifiable to adopt the unusual procedure of adding a separate preface to the second installment of a two volume work. I suppose I shall never again recapture the freshness and excitement of the experience just now completed; the passing months and years will inevitably blur the image; this is the moment, or never, to attempt to record the impact which a sustained and concentrated exploration of the Koran has left on my mind and my heart”. Professor Arthur J. Arberry is a scholar who translated the Quran into English.

Answer 8

If a person is genuinely saying that he did speak, then know that it was one way conversation.
What could be the language in which God would speak ! Multi-lingual ? Then how about dumb and deaf ?
Well, God is every where, so, he has to be within you too. And residing right within you, where is the need to speak. Just feel Him the big way, but for that, you need to silence the mind, and wait , listening with every fiber, cell, the whole being, very very alert, aware, conscious, and with implicit trust. Try, no cost involved after all !

Answer 9

1 Kings 19:11-13 Talks about listening for God to speak to you, The Lord said "Go out and stand on the mountiain in the prescence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and pwerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it , he his cloack over his face and went and stood at the mouth of the cave."

God doesnt not need to reveal himself in mirculous ways. To look for God in something big (rallies, churches, highly visible leaders) may be to m iss him because he is often found in the quiteness of the humbled heart.

Answer 10

People tend to see what they want to see.
This includes communication.

Like a voice in their heads kind of thing.

Experts say that anybody who really is conversing directly, would likely be more than human and would likley be able to do much more than talk.

Most are getting what they think to be voices in the heads or signs of communication (some of which is cocendential).

Not that I dont think it happens, but that most mis-interpret life and events and assign 'god' to what they see or hear... including images in food or other that really isnt there.

Answer 11

When I lost my mom to cancer and the vicar came to arrange her funeral he asked me was I angry with god and I said no grateful that he took her pain away and didn't let her suffer, he was shocked that I wasn't angry for god taking her from us, I said you know it is alright to talk to god and get these things sorted before the anger sets in isn't it, he said of course its alright to talk to god, I said so if he answers you are you nuts, he laughed and said no blessed, so though I haven't actually heard god speak openly he has answered lots of my prayers over the years I can honestly say I haven't actually heard him speak to me in person he just seems to help me, but then again how would you know if god had answered you when you do speak to him, has anyone any idea what he sounds like, I am not a person that goes to church but I do believe god answers your prayers if you ask even if he doesn't actually tap you on the shoulder and say, "Your wish is my command".