One woman, Debbi, wrote in to say that it was during her mother's final days on earth that she was prompted by G.o.d to act. She and her sister had interviewed several hospice options, and although her sister was comfortable with a couple of them, Debbie wasn't so sure. She committed the matter to prayer and several days later sensed G.o.d saying, "It is you who should be the caregiver for your mom."

Debbi made the necessary arrangements and cared for her mother until her dying day two months later. "It was a wonderful journey I would not trade for anything," she wrote. "I shared meals and chats and moments with my mom that otherwise I never would have known."

Another powerful story came from Linda, who wrote, "A friend of mine from our college days had become pregnant outside of marriage and was tormented daily with the stress of weighing whether or not she wanted the child."

To Linda's dismay, her friend decided that she would have an abortion. "I begged her to come visit me for a week, so that we could shop and play and talk. We had an amazing time together, followed by something more amazing still. After I had hugged her goodbye at the airport and was walking back to my car, I got the distinct impression from G.o.d that I was supposed to deliver a message to her.

"I ran all the way back to the terminal, yelling her name through the crowd like a crazy person. Finally I found her. I embraced her in a hug and then pulled away, clasped her elbows and said, 'I'm supposed to tell you this: Even if you get all the way to the doctor's office, you're already lying down on the table and your feet are in the stirrups, you still can change your mind. You can get up, walk out and choose to give this little one life.'"

A week later, Linda received a phone call from her friend, who had done just that. Today the child that woman chose to keep is healthy, beautiful and thirteen lively years old.

I heard from a woman named Alison who had been eagerly antic.i.p.ating a job interview for several weeks. A few hours before the interview, her mom called and invited her to lunch. She was about to explain why it wasn't a good day to meet, when G.o.d prompted her to take another tack. "I cancelled my interview and went to lunch with my parents," Alison said. "To my utter disbelief, the next morning my mom suffered a fatal heart attack. How grateful I am for that last lunch date, when I could lavish her with praise and love."

An email from a man named Todd read, "During my prayer time not long ago, I asked G.o.d how I could serve him that day. It was like he was sitting right next to me. He whispered, 'Love my people.' That firsthand interaction caused me to look at people differently that day, and also every day since."

A man named Kevin wrote about a series of unexpected actions he was prompted to take. One summer he had taken a large group of students to a conference and partway through the week decided he needed a break. (Teenagers will do that to a guy.) Kevin begged off of an afternoon excursion with the kids, and instead headed to his room to take a nap. En route, he pa.s.sed a park where a young boy was kicking around a soccer ball all by himself. "Why don't you play with him for a while?" came the whisper.

While playing soccer for half an hour, Kevin would learn that the boy's name also was Kevin, that he had just turned eleven, and that the two of them shared the same birthday-the eleventh of June. Kevin the elder sensed that G.o.d was up to something big. The birthday discussion led the older Kevin to mention the fact that he has a physical birthday and a spiritual birthday, which he celebrates in honor of surrendering his life to Christ. The little boy was interested in knowing more, and in that moment a would-be nap was transformed into an evangelistic appointment set by the G.o.d of the universe himself.

Financial Actions

I read dozens of powerful stories having to do with people releasing their grip on money. See if the three that follow inspire you to do the same!

James wrote, "I've never felt very in tune with the leadings of the Holy Spirit, but one particular prompting was unusually strong. A few years ago I was asked to support a ministry initiative in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and I quickly said no. In fact, my standard answer to requests for money has always been a very quick no. The subject then would be dropped.

"But over the next three months," James continued, "the Holy Spirit went to work on me. Increasingly, I felt a strong sense that I was supposed to provide the support I had been asked to donate. I called the man back and for the first time in my life said yes to a financial request.

"Several months later I had the opportunity to visit the people of Guayaquil, and as I watched them engage in heartfelt worship and saw them learn about the G.o.d I love, I was overwhelmed with grat.i.tude that he had let me play a part."

A woman named Mikki wrote that several years ago, after receiving an inheritance from her dad, she sensed G.o.d telling her not to t.i.the on the monies quite yet. "I waited and waited," she explained, "but soon I began to doubt if I had heard G.o.d's voice at all. I wondered whether I was being prudent or greedy-I didn't know what to do."

Within days of all that wondering, Mikki received an email asking for her to consider offering a large one-time gift to an international church. Immediately her heart skipped a beat. "As I read about the program, I sensed G.o.d saying, 'Now, Mikki. Now is the time.' I was so excited by the prospect of giving to this particular initiative that I picked up the phone, called the number of the man who had sent the email and said, 'Count me in!'

"If I had written my t.i.the check without asking for G.o.d's input, I would have missed the bigger blessing he had in store. In the end I gave away far more money than I had planned to give, and I received vastly more in return."

Spiritual Actions

Whispers that prompt us to take spiritually oriented action-surrendering a life, praying a prayer, speaking an encouraging word-can be heard all throughout the Christ-following life. (And even beforehand, as we just read in the life of the apostle Paul, when "Saul" was still his name.) When I first read the stories that follow, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if all believers upped their batting averages on receiving and obeying whispers like those. Perhaps more than through any other means, here is where hearts truly get changed.

A man named Webb wrote to say that the Easter following his wife's death from breast cancer, he and his three young sons were attending Willow's Easter musical The Choice. There was a point in the production when the entire congregation was standing as a worship leader led a series of songs. It was then that Webb heard from the Lord.

"All of a sudden everything became quiet around me," he said. "People were everywhere, but although their lips were moving, there was no sound. Instead, I heard what I guess is the voice of G.o.d. In a kind, fatherly tone, he said, It's time,' to which I quietly replied, 1 know'" You see, though Webb had been a churchgoer for many years, he had never given his life to Christ.

As the volume of the room's noise resumed its previous pitch in Webb's ears, tears streamed down his face. His boys looked at him with worried eyes, wondering what was wrong with their dad. "I told them, 'Nothing is the matter, boys. In fact, everything is very, very right.'" The G.o.d of the universe had just invited him to become one of his children and he had joyfully said yes.

Verna wrote that her "spiritual action" was to be directed toward her difficult and degrading boss, a man named John. "My whisper was telling me to go into his office and invite him to church," she said. "But I continued what I was working on and told the whisper, 'No way'"

Verna and the whisper would go back and forth for a while, her "no" following each new request. Finally "the whisper" won: "I got out of my chair, walked directly into my boss's office, asked him if he and his wife would like to join my husband and me at church on Sat.u.r.day night, walked right back to my desk and collapsed back into my chair. 'There,' I said, to n.o.body in particular. 1 did what you asked me to do.'"

A few days later, Verna's boss said yes to the invitation. Not only that, but he and his wife then actually came! Verna looks back on that entire experience now and grins, because her simple step of obedience led to an astounding turn of events. John and his wife began attending church regularly and eventually surrendered their lives to Christ. They were baptized a few weeks after that and serve in a volunteer capacity today.

Another responder, Sheri, wrote, "I had taken a break from being a small-group leader during a time in my life when several crises were happening at once. Without knowing I had entered a season of spiritual stagnation, the ministry's leaders asked me to step back into leadership. Before I could even pray about it, G.o.d whispered, 'Get back to it. You experienced the most dramatic spiritual growth of your life when you were a small-group leader. Don't cheat yourself out of that.'"

As soon as Sheri obeyed the prompting, she began to grow in intimacy with Christ once more.

And then there was Susan's story, which is sobering to any parent who has a teenage child. "I stepped into the garage to put away an extension cord and saw my son's motorcycle standing there. I heard G.o.d say, 'Lay your hands on that bike and pray for your son's safety' I'd received promptings like that before but had just ignored them. What normal mom lays hands on a bike?

"This time, though, the leading would not desist. I walked over, placed both hands on the motorcycle, and asked G.o.d in the name of Jesus to surround my son with angels each time he went out for a ride.

"Later that evening, my son told my husband and me that he was going out on his bike. I told my husband about the prompting I had received, and together we prayed yet again. It wouldn't be until the next day that we would learn of our son's near accident. The buddies he had been riding with were over at our house and said, 'We didn't believe there was a G.o.d until we saw what we saw last night.'" They described last-second, spectacular maneuvers to avoid a collision-maneuvers that seemed beyond human skill.

The last line of Susan's email to me read, "I'll never ignore a whisper again."

Acts of Service Many of the action-oriented whisper stories I received fall into what I call the "acts of service" category. Those service-acts can be simple and immediate, like Cecelia's. She wrote, "A couple of months ago I came home from the grocery store and heard G.o.d say, 'Give it all away.' I jumped back into my car and drove directly to the church's food pantry." And she gave it all away.

Or whispers can be longer-term in nature. Barbara's story provides a perfect example: Several years ago during the Christmas season, Barbara visited Willow with friends who already attended the church. She says, "I was feeling sad and missing my two-year-old grandson, who lives in Arizona. But at some point during that service I received a prompting I could not ignore. G.o.d focused my attention on a ministry at Willow called Promiseland, where volunteers play with and minister to children during each church service. I sat up in my seat and determined that I would become part of the church immediately-and that my Sundays would be spent loving on kids who needed my care. This grandma may miss her own sweet one, but she's filled with joy nevertheless!"

A woman named Bev wrote of a time when her daughter decided to rent a nearby condo that she and her husband owned. One night some kids were throwing mud b.a.l.l.s, one of which happened to hit the condo's front window and shatter it. "Our daughter got the name and phone number of the young man who threw the mud," Bev said, "but when she finally reached the kid's mother, it was apparent the woman didn't have available funds to pay for a replacement pane. The mother promised she would send the money when she could, but with both her husband and her being out of work, the likelihood of that happening was slim." Bev and her husband paid to have the window repaired.

Several months pa.s.sed, and Bev's daughter still had not heard a word from the kid's mom. Bev decided to call the woman herself. "It was a couple of days before Thanksgiving," she explained, "and I was preparing to do our final grocery shopping. But something prompted me to place the call before I left the house."

Bev wound up reaching the woman that day, but instead of pressuring her into making good on the funds for the replacement pane, Bev heard herself ask, "I was just heading out to the grocery store. May I bring you a Thanksgiving meal?"

Shocked by her own spurt of compa.s.sion, Bev went to the store, purchased two of everything her family would be enjoying on Thanksgiving, and with a genuine sense of joy dropped off overflowing bags at the woman's house en route back home. Can you imagine how deeply this unemployed mother must have been marked by a spontaneous gift of generosity from a woman she'd never met-and to whom she owed money?

Mark is a man who worked on staff with the Willow Creek a.s.sociation and says that ever since he married his wife, Sandy, G.o.d frequently has whispered to him. Sandy has Type 1 diabetes, and as Mark soon would learn, the disease caused an hour-by-hour struggle for Sandy, who must ensure a "normal" blood-sugar level to avoid the perils that come when it is too high or too low.

Mark says that in the early days of their marriage, G.o.d would sometimes prompt him during the middle of the night to wake up and test Sandy's blood-sugar level. On those occasions, he would discover Sandy in the throes of an insulin reaction. She would be sweating profusely, shaking uncontrollably, confused and unable to function. The solution was as simple as a gla.s.s of juice, but Mark recounts time after time when Sandy needed help holding her head up and pressing the cup to her quivering lips.

"Over time," Mark wrote, "it became very clear that one of G.o.d's purposes for me in my wife's life is to stay open to his promptings so that I can protect her when she is vulnerable. Nine times out of ten, when G.o.d whispers, 'Wake up!' there's a real problem at hand. I know that it is his grace at work that provides input like that for me."

Again, I ask you, how important are whispers that prompt people to actions G.o.d wants them to take? They are absolutely critical, my friend, and are the crux of the Christ-following life.

One of the most meaningful exhortations in the New Testament comes from 1 John 3:18. It says, "My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in G.o.d's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For G.o.d is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves" (MSG).

The goal of the Christ-following life is to grow to the point that we live in G.o.d's reality-that we love like he loves, serve like he serves, give like he gives, show compa.s.sion like he shows it. And that's a way of life we'll only maintain consistently by hearing from heaven on a regular basis. Take to heart the stories you've just read. Tell G.o.d you too want to live wide open to his whispers of a.s.surance, his words of admonition and his promptings to take kingdom-building action in your world. I promise he will deliver on his commitment to guide your steps.

I should mention that the dominant emotion I experienced as I read through these hundreds of emails was pure joy-joy regarding how often G.o.d is speaking, and joy over how gutsy so many believers are becoming, in taking action when he speaks. But there was one message that made my heart sink. A physician named Charles who has been part of our congregation for quite some time wrote, "I am now in my eighth decade of life, and despite my lengthy time as a believer, I'm still waiting for G.o.d to speak. I've tried to remain open to such things, but so far, no luck. I truly envy those who a.s.sert that they've had conversations with G.o.d. Honestly, I'm starting to feel left out. I continue to muddle along, trying to do the right things...suffice it to say I'll be interested in learning what others report on this matter."

If you're reading along, Charles, don't bail on me now. The next two chapters were written with people just like you in mind.

CHAPTER 4.

HOW TO KNOW WHEN.

YOU'RE HEARING FROM G.o.d

SO, BY NOW YOU MAY HAVE A NAGGING QUESTION: CAN divine direction be misunderstood or lost in translation as it makes its way from heaven down to earth? Put more forthrightly, can human beings make it up or mess it up once it arrives?

The honest answer is yes. Hearing from G.o.d is not like receiving a text message or reading an email. We humans can get in the way. Believe me, I am more than capable of hearing what I wish G.o.d were saying rather than what he is actually telling me-and perhaps you are too. Discerning G.o.d's direction is somewhat subjective, but it's not arbitrary. Even though G.o.d's whispers are rarely tangible, there are concrete steps we can take to help us discern if we're hearing from G.o.d or hearing from the bad sushi we ate last night. What we are about to explore in this chapter can significantly lower the likelihood of us hearing a message that is not G.o.d's.

Acts 13 offers a window into how a first-century prompting arrived on the scene and how the leaders of the church processed it. There is something we both can learn from evaluating this episode.

Acts 13:1-3 says, "Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul [who would become the apostle Paul]. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

Before we jump into the rest of the pa.s.sage, let me provide a little context. Antioch was an incredibly diverse city where the Christian message had recently arrived. People crossing many racial and ethnic lines were receiving Christ and flowing naturally into the church. Saul was a Jew. Barnabas was from Cyprus. Simeon was a black-skinned man from northern Africa. Lucius most likely was also black-skinned, from Cyrene, which is present-day Libya. And Manaen grew up in royalty, living with the family of Herod. It would have been a challenge to find five men more different from one another, but here they are-in the same church-together in heart and mind, leading a dynamic community of faith at Antioch. Then one day, while they were in a spirit of worship, a whisper from heaven came their way.

We read in Acts 13:2 that the Spirit tells the five leaders of this local church that Saul and Barnabas should be "set apart." In other words, these two guys should stop doing what they have been doing in the Antioch church, and they should prepare to be sent out on a new kingdom a.s.signment. Nothing more specific is offered by way of helpful information, but the leaders test the whisper, find it to be authentic, and before you know it Saul and Barnabas are packing their bags.

IN ORDER TO RECEIVE MY DEGREE IN BIBLICAL STUDIES AT Trinity College in Deerfield, IL, I was required to write a senior dissertation on a Scripture pa.s.sage of my choosing, As you might guess if you're familiar with the core theme of my teaching over the years, I selected Acts 2:42-47, the cla.s.sic text about the rapid and radical development of the early church.

At the time, I was leading the youth group I mentioned earlier, believing with all my heart that I was going to give the rest of my life to those kids who had become like family to me. Lynne was pregnant with our first child, Shauna, and we had just purchased a tiny house in Park Ridge, a few blocks away from the church. Our plan was to settle down, dig in and serve the students for a long time. The last thing I was expecting was a life-altering whisper.

My father owned a lakefront condominium in downtown Chicago, which he offered to me as something of a writer's retreat so I could complete my dissertation in peace and quiet. I gathered up my study materials and headed downtown where I planned to hunker down and write for four days straight.

On day three of my writing, the Holy Spirit impressed the following message on me: "What you are pa.s.sionately writing about-the beauty and power and potential of the local church-is going to become the thrust of your life. I am going to release you from the responsibility of leading this youth group so you can start a church-an Acts 2 church. I will bless that church so that eventually it will become a community of faith that offers the hope of Christ to many people, young and old."

Although I hadn't heard an audible voice, the refrain of that impression washed over me again and again that day. It seemed clear to me that something big was up.

After I completed my required writing a.s.signment, I packed up my things and drove home to Park Ridge. That night, I invited Lynne out to dinner where I nervously recounted the promptings I felt I had received. I think my closing remark-delivered in my cla.s.sically compa.s.sionate style-was something like, "Hope you haven't unpacked all the moving boxes yet, honey."

My wife is truly a saint.

What's more, the whisper I'd received rang true to her spirit too, and she became as excited about the dream of starting a church as I was.

Within a few months, we said goodbye to those thousand students and began looking for a place to launch a church. We walked into our future having no secure job, no support from any organization and no idea if our new plan would strike a responsive chord with anyone. What we did have was the confidence that stems from receiving a clear whisper from G.o.d. We had placed our trembling hands in his strong ones and were confident that it was his lead we were following. It was not lost on me that the entire series of events could be traced back to a few days of solitude, when I was quiet enough to hear G.o.d's voice.

BACK IN ACTS 13:2, WE READ THAT IT WAS WITHIN THE CON-text of worship and fasting that the Antioch leaders heard their whisper from G.o.d. In this position of surrender before their Lord, they were able to hear him speak.

In the course of ministry life, I meet many people who claim to have never heard the promptings or whispers of G.o.d. Not even once. Sometimes when I probe a little deeper, I discover that their lives are so full of noise that they can't possibly hear the Holy Spirit when he speaks. Cell phone calls during their commute, boisterous restaurant gatherings with friends, a houseful of excitable toddlers or countless hours of reality TV provide a constant roar of distraction that drowns out any whisper that might be sent their way.

Time and again, the Scriptures tell us to be still. "Be still, and know that I am G.o.d...,"1 Psalm 46:10 encourages. Reduce your speed. Stop mult.i.tasking. Lower the ambient noise of your life-and then listen for G.o.d to speak.

Jesus himself adopted this practice during his ministry here on earth. The biblical record shows that Jesus wove into the fabric of his everyday life the disciplines of prayer, solitude, reflection, fasting and worship. He had favorite places to be alone with his Father and favorite places to pray in private. When he faced major decisions, his pattern was to withdraw from the crowds around him and to devote time to solitude and prayer. Not surprisingly, the net effect of a lifestyle like that was the increasing likelihood of hearing from his Father.

Before selecting his twelve disciples, Jesus went off alone and spent an entire night in prayer. He needed to hear from his Father regarding the individuals he planned to select and knew he must quiet himself so G.o.d's wisdom could come through. Later, when Jesus was preparing to endure the agony of the cross, he withdrew to the garden of Gethsemane, where he and the twelve disciples had often prayed. There he and his three closest friends prayed; then he prayed alone. His devotion to hearing from G.o.d motivated him to take purposeful, intentional action in order to create a s.p.a.ce where G.o.d's whispers could be heard.

That's the same level of devotion-and action-I recommend for you and me.

There is a G.o.d who loves you and who would gladly whisper to you words of encouragement or direction, wisdom or well-timed warning, if only you would carve out the s.p.a.ce to hear from heaven throughout the course of your day.

I've said those exact words to many people over the years and sometimes I have sensed in their response, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather make my own judgment calls." In my view, these people are running the risk of missing out on some of life's greatest G.o.d-guided adventures.

G.o.d tends to speak to people who want to hear from him. He tends to offer divine direction to those who are willing to order their daily lives around receiving input from him. So, what does that look like?

I would recommend reading and reflecting on a biblical pa.s.sage and then saying to G.o.d, "If you have anything to tell me, I am very eager to hear it." Then, just listen. People whom I most respect spiritually are those who integrate this kind of practice into their lives. In everyday conversation, they talk about their spiritual disciplines with ease because their habits actually back up the claims they make.

For many years I have been fascinated by the specifics surrounding where people tend to quiet themselves in the course of their day. Some have a favorite chair in the living room. Some head to the office an hour early and simply close the door. Some journal and pray on a commuter train as they make their way to work. Some venture into a neighborhood coffee shop and hole away at a corner table. The time and place tends to vary, but for all these people the practice is absolute. And what happens as a result of their consistency is that they consistently hear from G.o.d.

For what it's worth, my own daily practice involves reading a portion of Scripture, mentally chewing on it for a few minutes, then writing down my observations and reflections on what I've read. After that I close my time in prayer.

To that last point, it works better for me to write out my prayers. Especially on work days, I've noticed that when I get down on my knees and try to pray silently to G.o.d, my mind focuses more on upcoming meetings than on the divine communication at hand. The solution for me is to write things down. Once I jot down a page or so of pet.i.tions and points of thanksgiving, I then read my entry to G.o.d. Afterward I always say "G.o.d, I am going to be listening for you all day long, but knowing me, I'll be moving pretty fast today, so I might miss a prompting or two. While I'm in my current unrushed state, if there's anything you'd like to say to me, I'm all ears." Truth be told, some days I sense a message coming from him-an impression, a word of encouragement, a nudge to say or do something specific that day-and some days I don't. Either way, I close out my quiet time with G.o.d and then do my best to listen for his voice throughout the rest of the day.

On some occasions the promptings I think I have received from G.o.d make perfect sense, but on other occasions they leave me totally confused. This is where discernment with whispers comes into play. Christ-followers must carefully test every impression they receive to be sure it is from G.o.d and aligned with his purposes. But how does one do that?

Let's revisit our text. Remember, the church leaders were worshiping and fasting when the Holy Spirit told them to set apart for him Barnabas and Saul for the work to which he had called them. Most scholars agree that Acts 13:3 suggests that after the leaders received that initial message, they did a second round of fasting and prayer, then "they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

I think there is a lesson here for us to learn.

Before these leaders rushed to action, they slowed down to be sure they correctly understood what the Spirit was asking them to do. They turned again to the disciplines of fasting and prayer. They double-checked the prompting they were about to act on. And then they obeyed without delay.

OVER THE YEARS I HAVE COMPILED A SHORT LIST OF FIVE filters that help me "test every whisper" I receive. If a whisper fails to make it through one of these five, I question whether the whisper is really from G.o.d. At the very least, I move slowly to confirm the whisper's validity. At other times, a whisper makes it through these filters with no problem. In this case, no matter how confusing, challenging or unsettling a prompting may be, I attempt to obey it.