Listen and Obey
This topic is so far reaching and I could speak so much about it. Part of the purpose of this blog is to share my heart with you and this is something that has been becoming more and more a part of my life as God continues to do more and pour our more of His spirit on me and my family. I’ll start off by telling you a little story because one of the things that builds our faith is by hearing the stories of how God works in His children’s lives encourages us.
There are so many times in life when I don’t obey God’s voice, so I’m not perfect and I am still learning, but this past weekend, I had a huge opportunity that I was so thankful I didn’t blow past.
A local church was hosting a tour of a ministry where Brother Yun was speaking. If you haven’t heard of this amazing man and his heart for the Lord, please check him out and read his unforgettable book, The Heavenly Man. If you want a faith booster, that one is the book for you! And so much of it actually fits with the theme of this book, hearing and obeying the Lord’s voice.
The worship, the speakers, everything was so amazing and I came away so blessed. But as the night wrapped up, there was a general rush to the front to meet Brother Yun. There was a lot going on, people were moving here and there, my family was moving in the direction of the lobby to check out the book table and I had a dear friend visiting. But as my gaze swung around, I caught site of a woman across the auditorium who was sitting by her lonesome. She had a medical mask over her face, and I don’t know why, but the Lord pressed on my heart to go pray with her. Encouraged by the stories that I had just heard and by the movement of faith that has been springing up little by little in my family, I made a beeline for her, paying no mind to my family and the direction they were headed.
It was noisy and loud with the hum of voices, but I walked right up to her and said, “HI there, I just really feel like I am supposed to pray for you mind?” She barely seemed taken aback and nodded and said something in agreement. I just placed my hand on her shoulder and she bent her head as I leaned over her and started pouring out a prayer of blessing. I honestly don’t know all that I said, but the Holy spirit just placed words in my mouth and it was just a general prayer of fervent blessing for her, her family, her life. For peace. I had no idea who she was or what she was going through, but only seconds after I started praying, her frail shoulders started shaking and heaving as she sobbed beneath my hands.
If anyone knows anything about me, they know that I am a crier and when I see others weep, it sets me going. I held it together pretty well, but tears fell unchecked down my face as I tried to keep my voice from breaking and I breathed the name of Jesus over and over, just asking him to pour out His spirit and love on this woman. When I was finished and said Amen, hesitant to pull back as the Spirit was just on both of us, she started digging shakily through her purse for a tissue, thanking me over and over again as she pulled the mask from her face and started to dab at the stream of tears.
I meanwhile, without a tissue, tried to discreetly swipe at my nose which was running like a faucet. “What’s your name?” I asked.
“Mary Lou.”
“It’s nice to meet you, my name is Victoria.”
My announcement created another burst of tears. “You have no idea!” She sobbed. She proceeded to tell me that she is going through a really hard time, has cancer and her immune system is low, hence the mask and she usually wears gloves when she leaves the house. She came here because she really needed some encouragement and the message was really good, but then to have me come and pray. She told me that there is one woman in her life who prays with her and who senses (by the Spirit, I have no doubt) when Mary Lou needs prayer or encouragement. And get this. That faithful woman’s name was Victoria.
I placed my hand over my heart to keep it from jumping out my chest as I bit my lip and just nodded as I listened to her share some of her life with me. I honestly don’t remember a lot of what she said, also because I couldn’t hear her real well due to the noise and the fact that she was half crying as she shared. But it could not have been more clear to me that I was without a doubt supposed to pray with her, and by doing so, I was able to spread God’s love to her life.
I felt the urge to get back to my family, and I told her that God is faithful and that He loves her, squeezed her hand and as I was about to let go, she held on and I turned back to her.
“Thank you so much for listening to God’s voice! It’s so important. Don’t ever lose that! Always listen for and to His voice.” She admonished me through tears.
I nodded and tried to keep the tears from flowing. “I will.”
I turned and left, trying to find my family as I swiped tears away, trying to see through my fogged and tear stained glasses.
Dear ones. Take what that woman said into your own heart. God wants to speak to us. He is a relational God and He wants to have that face to face, heart to heart, voice to voice contact with us. He loves us so much, and by listening and obeying that voice, by training our hearts and heads to hear it, to be aware of his presence, we can channel that wonderful love into this world and make an impact for His glory.

 “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.” ~ Acts 22:14

What is a testimony of when you listened to the Lord’s voice? How has He spoken to your heart?
By God’s Grace,
Victoria