Asking God for a sign
Jeremiah 33:3; Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Danielle 6:27: He Rescues and He save us; He performs signs & wonders in the Heavens and on Earth.
Is it OK, to ask God for a sign? Sure, of course. You can ask God for anything, he’s thrilled to hear from you. Ask yourself first, why am I asking for a sign? Are you asking for something that’s self indulgent? If you are, you should redirect your thoughts. While these requests may seem OK to you, God desires to develop loving relationships with us. Discovering God’s will is a natural result of a beautiful relationship with him. As God’s children, we first need to establish an intimate relationship with him. Don’t monopolize all the prayer time, take some time to let him speak. Then God may choose to talk to us through the Bible, a Church sermon, a song, through a friend or even a sign now and then. In all of these ways, you will be able to recognize his voice, because you will be used to hearing him speak to you.
Prayer is the #1 place to start. Whether your decision is huge or small, ask God to help you understand his will. As I am praying for something specifically, I usually say a prayer like this: Dear Heavenly Father, I pray and ask that I hear your words clearly. As I seek for your wisdom, let my mind be perceptive, my heart be open and my ears be alert. Once I receive your words please guide my feet and mind in the right direction. The key to prayer is to pray while patiently waiting. Have faith that God hears you and he will answer you in his due time. As humans, we tend to want things quickly, we want to know what to do right now. While sometimes you may get your answers quickly other times you may not. In some cases you may be weighing a couple options, in this case after praying and no clear answer arises, then use your best judgment. God May be letting you know that he is pleased with any of your options.
How can you know for sure if you heard God Correctly? You can trust your Father to show you his will. So, in prayer and time in his Word, ask the following questions: God, is this genuine peace that I have in my spirit? If not show me what you desire more of me. Jesus, does this fit in your overall plan for my life? If you feel at peace, listen to your inner Spirit and go with it.
If the issue drives a wedge between you and the Savior, then you know it’s not his will, it’s Satan trying to intervene. If you made a decision based on what you thought God intended for you and it doesn’t work out, and you now are questioning; did I hear him right? Pray and ask for direction to the right path that he intended for you (I have done this many of times). Continue to listen carefully and do not ignore his messages. Do not let doubt, fear or sin to keep you from obeying him. Continue to seek his face until you are absolutely confident you’ve heard his voice. This all takes patience and faith.
Psalm 25:4; Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.
A note from my journal: 5/10/18 My AM prayer: I prayed for God to keep working on me, keep showing me signs, keep directing me. I know you have great plans for me Lord, I feel it in my soul. Thank you for directing me and blessing me with your love.
In our desperate times when we don’t know what to do, we may ask God for a sign. I have done this on numerous occasions, sometimes I got a sign sometimes I didn’t. It’s up to God to determine if we really need a sign or not. Most times, the answers are right in front of us and we just don’t see it.
The first time I heard God speak (just to clarify, I never heard his voice). Sometimes it’s a vision, sometimes I feel the Holy Spirit moving through me, sometimes it’s a quiet speaking to my heart, a repetitive number, and sometimes it’s an obvious big ole “smack in the head” sign. How many of you have thought you heard God talking to you but weren’t sure? So you ask him to speak louder or show you a different sign to verify the first. LOL, I know I have! Or are you a person that needs a “smack in the head” sign to know it came from God? Whatever it may be, it’s all good because you had faith to ask for it in the first place. When you seek God wholeheartedly, he will answer. I have had many of signs over the years, below are some really memorable ones.
The first obvious sign was the night my Dad passed (in 1996). I was in my room crying, I asked God to please let me know that heaven is as beautiful as my Dad thought it would be, golden gates of majesty. At that moment, my Bible that I had sitting on my dresser, flew off onto the floor. It was late October, no windows were open and this never happened before. When I told the story to my then Pastor, he asked me…what page did it open to? I could kick myself for not thinking to look, after being startled I just closed the Bible and I saw my Dad’s handwriting, as he gifted it to me. To me that was a good enough sign!
The second time was after I left my Ex for the first time in 2003. After I left, he continually called me apologizing and begging me to come back. I prayed daily for a sign to tell me if I should give him a second chance. Well, this is one of those “big ole obvious” signs…Bam, found out I was pregnant for the first time. Even though it didn’t work out, I know that God wanted me to experience what I was about to go through.
The third time was when I miscarried. I was devastated for months. I was depressed and angry, asking why me Lord? What did I do to deserve this? You had me get pregnant to only come back to this situation to loose my baby? About a month later, I had a very vivid dream. My Dad was in a rocking chair holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket, with nothing but white behind him. He told me “Don’t worry honey, I have her. I am taking good care of her for you”. This was my most favorite dream to date. See how great our heavenly Father is? I was angry at him, I questioned his sign and he still showed mercy on me. He gave me a sign that he knew would help heal my broken heart, he sent me my Daddy 🙂
The fourth time was in 2010, when my Sister Patricia passed. She sadly dealt with mental retardation her whole life. She was violently injured while she was in a state facility awaiting for home placement. After 6 months of hospitalization, being on a ventilator and living as a quadriplegic, we got the call from Hospice (Sepsis set in, her organs were fastly failing). It was a very tough decision that my Mom and us Sister had to make. Due to the high fevers, she normally was asleep (lethargic) when we went to visit. The night before she passed, she was so alert, we had such a nice visit with her which made it so confusing. We just signed the papers for the vent to come out earlier that day. Naturally, we questioned if were we doing the right thing. We prayed, a short time after a nurse came in to clean her up. When she did so, my Sister was moaning and gasping for air as she couldn’t breathe on her own. She was in so much pain, her cry’s and sounds were horrible. My Mom said, do you see this as a sign? I think God is telling us, it’s time. Before I left that night, I asked Patricia if she dreamt of Daddy lately, she said no. The next morning when we gathered in her room, she mouthed to me to come closer to her. She said “Daddy”, she saw our Dad! I cried, and told her…don’t be afraid, he’s waiting for you. Give him a big hug for me. That was a sign that me, my Mom and Sisters needed to hear. God comforted us with our decision and her passing was peaceful. Mom, and us 4 Sisters held hands circled around her bed. We prayed and sang her favorite Church hymns, it was a beautiful passing. You felt the presence and love of Jesus so strongly, even the hospice nurses said that they never experienced anything like it and they have been working as hospice nurses for a long time. God gave us a good night with her before she passed, this was all in his plans.
The fifth (Sept. 2017) He directed my car back to GCC Church, the morning I was looking for another Church (because at the time I wasn’t sure if I was meant to be elsewhere). I woke up with a bad headache this morning, I believe that God pulled me out of bed, to show me that GCC Church was where I was meant to be. The sermon was definitely meant for me to hear. It was a powerful message about not holding grudges and the need to forgive yourself before you can forgive others. It moved me, I cried the whole sermon and was prayed over at the end. See at this time in my life, I let my Ex poison my mind, he filled me with lies about my Sisters and it put a wedge in-between us for almost a year. I was told to act on my feelings and to call my Sisters right away, which I did when I got out to my car. We talked, I asked for forgiveness. All Glory to God, I got my Sisters back! Then a song came on called “Point to you” by We are Messengers. The first verse was “How can I forgive, when I can’t forgive myself, How can I move on when all I have is Regret”. This has become one of my songs that I replay over and over again, it has so much meaning. Give it a listen, you will love it! No doubt in my mind that this was God talking to me, I get chills reflecting on this day!
The sixth was when I got the signs to leave the 23 year toxic relationship.
The seventh was in 2018, a week before I moved out. I was driving to work and while at a red light, I had a vision of myself. I was standing on a platform telling women about my story. This is when I knew that God was telling me that he wanted me to turn all the bad and hurt into something good for others. I got more signs after this also. Once I was moved out, I kept getting messages (either from my daily devotionals, sermons, FB, etc.). They were messages saying, “God protected you from harm, now use it for good”.
I have had many signs that included, a daily devotional matching up with a Bible verse that I was reading or a kind message from a friend or happening in life, matching up with a Sunday Church sermon. You just have to be open minded and perceptive to God’s words.
Our Father is beyond Amazing! He is always looking after his children.
God directs, challenges, warns and reassures us through his Words. Will you be open to what he is saying to you today? Be sure to pay attention to the verses and words that keep turning up.
A Prayer to say as you read scripture: Dear Lord, help me hear You speak through Your Words today, Amen.