Tuesday, February 26, 2008

How is God Calling You Today?

Frances talking on her cell phone under a desk
As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm reading St. Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle. On page 24, I came across this:

This Lord of ours is so anxious that we should desire Him and strive after His companionship that He calls us ceaselessly, time after time, to approach Him. ... His appeals come through the conversations of good people, or from sermons, or through the reading of good books. ... Or they come through sicknesses and trials, or by means of truths which God teaches us at times when we are engaged in prayer; however feeble such prayers may be, God values them highly.
How is God calling you today? This question reminds me of an awesome experience I had soon after David and I met online and began pursuing a friendship. I had the good fortune to travel to Franciscan University of Steubenville with my youth and young adult prayer community, Lion of Judah. We attended a Festival of Praise with phenomenal praise and worship music and convicting messages of God's goodness, and then we walked over to the chapel to be prayed over by prayer teams. When my turn came at last, I set my bag and coat down at the front of the first pew and approached a team in the sanctuary. They welcomed me, asked me questions about my spiritual needs and desires, and began to pray over me. I felt full of joy and my awareness of God's presence deepened. And then I heard it - my cell phone ringing. I was absolutely certain I had turned my phone completely off, but there it was again - the general purpose ring tone I had chosen for callers not in my contacts. Some how, I knew it was God calling me (I didn't have his phone number!), letting me know that He was fully in control of my life and blessing me in every way. His "call" that night confirmed that I was walking in the ways of the Lord and that I should continue serving the Church in my work and my ministry, living my life as a faithful disciple of Christ, and opening my heart to the possibilities of a courtship with David. In some sense, God just called to say He loved me. I'm so grateful my ears were open to hear Him.

PS After the prayer experience, I checked my phone - it was definitely off.

PSS David likes to say we "dial God" with the sign of the cross. :)

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