I first heard teaching on how a Believer could have a listening, abiding relationship with Jesus Christ- fifteen years ago. At that time, I made a commitment that I would seek Him in the Secret Place- diligently on a regular basis- in order to pursue this. I started spending my full weekend time- “waiting on the Lord”- by listening to worship music, and then listening in prayer. One weekend like this- I discovered that my car’s floor was rusting out- it had some good-size holes in it, and my state inspection was due in just a couple of weeks. I had no money for another vehicle, and only knew one person who also went to the same church that I did- that did body work, but I had approached that man earlier that week- to see if he could help me with my car, and he said that he was way too busy to be able to help me in time.
The next weekend- even though I was in a time crunch concerning this issue- I resolved to put the Lord Jesus first in my life- and spend my weekend seeking Him, and not trying to do anything about this looming, important issue. I spent all Saturday listening to worship music- “waiting on the Lord.” At the end of doing that, Jesus spoke to me, and said “you have a need- that I now want to help you with.” I then explained to Him my crucial need of getting my car fixed and then inspected in just two more weeks- but that my friend Al- the only person that I knew that did body work- was too busy to help- so what was the Lord’s solution for me?
I was just learning how to hear Jesus’ voice in doing what I was doing each weekend, and at that time- could barely hear His “still small voice”, but I then heard Him distinctly say, “No- I am going to have Al fix your car in time. You will not have to look for another person. You’ve been putting Me first- instead of working on your problem- so now I am going to fix your car for you.” That was all the Lord said to me, and thus ended our discussion.
The next day when leaving my apartment to go to church- I said out loud as I was shutting the door behind me “Lord- I’m standing on your rhema word to me. You’re gonna have Al fix my car in time!” That Sunday morning, the pastor ended up giving a sermon on Spiritual Gifts. Half-way through the sermon after describing some of the gifts- he stopped dead in his tracks, very abruptly left the podium and walked across the sanctuary- right up to where Al was sitting with his wife, and grabbed him by the shirt collar and said, “and what’s your gift, Al?” Al stammered a quick reply, and said “service!”
The upshot of this true story- is that Al fixed my car- just a few days later, and it then passed inspection- just as Jesus Christ had spoken to me would happen– when I instead of seeking to fix this issue myself- put Him first by spending my weekends worshipping and waiting on Him instead. And I quickly learned that He is faithful to honor His spoken rhema words to us– just as much as His written Word- as we would posture ourselves to hear them, believe them, and then stand on them.
This episode then began my earnest pursuit- to put Him first in my life, to learn to hear His voice clearly, and to learn what it means to truly Abide in Him.
