The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 7 – Exploring a conversation with God

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 7 – Exploring a conversation with God

How does one strike up a conversation with God ?

That was my main thought when Jesus Christ came my way some five decades ago, and saved my soul by God's Grace.

I knew or thought at the time that it would be a monumental task and challenge to strike up such a conversation with God, as I thought I would have to remain silent and allow God do do all the speaking, according to the false teaching of the Church I grew up in, which taught that 'God is in Heaven, and we are on earth, therefore our words should be few'.

It puzzled me that, despite this serious warning, we all said more to God, than what God said to us, if indeed we ever bothered to listen to God.

I looked and asked around me then if anybody knew somebody who God spoke to, or has spoken to, but I could not find a single soul. Those years it was even sacrilege to talk about God in a human way.

I knew this setup was not right, but how I could go about it, I did not know, not by a long shot.

Two serious things happened within weeks after my conversion, and both have developed and driven my conversation with God for decades; and both started with simple baby steps. There was no secret, no challenge and no mountain to climb. It was just plain and simple.

We are His sheep, and ‘His sheep know His voice’, says scripture. I do not think sheep are very highly intellectual, resourceful or adventurous, so it should be a simple task.

The first thing which happened, was that I read in the Bible that I should bring my ‘tithe to the storehouse ... that there may be meat in His house’. I have from the start interpreted this as supporting His work and His sheep, and it is still presently my best interpretation.

So, I asked a brother where I should give my tithe. He just said: ask God.

Strike number one. Asking for help.

That night at my bedtime prayer I pitched that question at God and just sat there on my knees waiting for a reply. After less than a minute, I clearly heard the words 'Anderson street' coming up in my mind out of nowhere  I was so sure that it was God's answer to my question.

Strike number two. Listen to God and take it in faith.

I told this to our weekly prayer group, so that they could help me in my quest of finding this street. Google Maps was not available yet. I knew that their partnership in my quest would strengthen their faith.

Strike number three. Make your faith known to the world. 

A few weeks later our prayer group went for another visit to the Church of our conversion, which was in a nearby city. When we sat down for the service, the brother I asked for advice and who was part of our prayer group, told me that when he arrived at the church this morning, he noticed that the Church was situated in Anderson street. None of us knew that before.

Home run. That is how mountains are moved. Stone by stone at first.

Now I knew for sure that God listens to me and speaks to me. I have started from this one small baby step and have grown to learn and to discern His voice and developing it over years into a full conversation.

The conversation which ultimately developed was not one about the weather or how we feel about everyday occurrences and issues, although they may be an integral part of it, if you so wish, but it is much rather in the style of two individuals sitting and chatting over a table, quite relaxed and at peace, making their thoughts known to each other regarding various issues and subjects, with short to long pauses in between, wherein each individual's thoughts are considered and respected. These pauses may range from minutes, hours and even to days and weeks, on one subject. Sometimes various subjects are discussed and considered simultaneously. Real life and death issues, career, familial and religious issues and many more are discussed, considered and learned. Take your time.

Advice, warnings and support for my life and career were always at my disposal and happily and thankfully received by me.

Above all, I experienced God in these conversations as the perfect gentleman. Always with love and compassion and sometimes with seriousness, caution and worry during my trepidations, doubt and confusions.

I am working in the engineering and architectural design and construction fields and I am an amateur scientist; help and advice in these fields have been given to me abundantly and profusely on a daily basis over decades.

I might one day write about some of the more generic conversations, advice and ideas I could get to know, which made me grow spiritually quite fast.

What I write about here is not rocket science. The cooperation between God and Man on an interpersonal level is the strongest bond on earth. It is creative and inspirational. God and Moses moved three million Jews through a desert to their promised land, just by working together and talking to each other daily. Scripture says God spoke to Moses from mouth to ear.

You also might want to read the autobiography of Robert LeTourneau: 'Mover of Men and Mountains' 1972 . I can only hope and pray that I may one day emulate him.

But, conversations are not all there is. In Job, the Bible says: For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.

I had to learn a second way as well.

The second thing which puzzled me simultaneously with the first question discussed above, concerned my dreams. I was a dreamer since being a youngster, and I was told that it was because I ate too much meat during supper the night before. That was the conventional wisdom then, and it is still mostly so today.

However, suddenly, after my conversion, my dreams became more and more vivid as if God wanted to show me something. I asked the previously mentioned brother again whether dreams may be for real, and he monotonously replied: ask God, and so I did.

And thus it happened one night that I had a dream. At that stage the first digital watches came out, but they had blank faces to save battery power. So, when you wanted to see the time you had to press a button and the time would display for a few seconds. Those batteries lasted quite a few months. Younger people might not even know about those first watches which started the revolution in digital watches.

The dream I had was simple. I dreamed that I pressed the button of my watch, but the time did not show. What a baby step, thinking about it now in retrospect. After forty five years it is now as vivid as then. When I woke up the next morning after the dream, I pressed the button, but the time did not show. I gathered that the battery was flat and had it replaced that day, with butterflies in my stomach, realizing that God had heard my prayer, and it was for real.

But, I was unprepared for the next night's dream. I dreamed that I woke up the next morning, pressed the button to see the time, but the face was blank. I knew that could not happen again. God is wrong this time, because it was a new battery.

Sure as daylight, when I pressed the button the watch was dead. It broke down totally during the night and never worked again. Poor watch. It was not prepared for this intervention by God.

With a shock, I said: God, now I know for sure you speak to me for real in my dreams! I remembered the words which Eli spoke to Samuel when he came to Eli the third time in the same night after he had heard Eli calling him. Eli realized God wanted to speak to Samuel and he told Samuel just to say: speak God, your servant listens; and so I said: speak, God, your servant listens.

My soul was on fire!

I was serious about listening intently to what God wanted to show me, so I bought a scribbling book in which I wrote up all my dreams each morning.

As they say: the rest is history.

Although I could not understand what God wanted to show me, as most dreams need to be interpreted, because of the fact that Satan and his cronies were eavesdropping, and God wanted these visions to be our secret and not come to be known by Satan and his cronies.

So started my journey of writing up my dreams, about three to six each night, until today, with me constantly checking back and seeing in retrospect what they meant and which interpretations were the correct ones. Fortunately after tens of books, digital notes came into the market which made it much easier.

My interpretation success rate went up from about five percent in those early days to about eighty percent today. I was not spoon fed ever, either. It was hard work, hard thinking, doubt and sometimes despair, but it works if one persists with dedication and excitement.

There are, however, a few things we should know.

Firstly, most of the visions were warning. Do not get the idea that such visions are your destiny or a decision of God about your future. We are shown something bad which has happened to us with its dire consequences, as if it had already happened. It is shown to us to be forewarned of the dirty plans of Satan, so that we can fight him in our mind and spirit with the Holy Spirit and Jesus’s Blood as our weapons. You might not have known that one can weaponize the Bible and the Word of God by the manifestations of and in the Holy Spirit. It is real.  

Secondly, most things God cannot show us fully. It will fill us with fear so that we might succumb. He shows us enough to enable us to go prepared to the war with Satan.

It was not destined that we should know everything.

Thirdly, many times God will blur faces of people and add a background noise so that we do not hear all the words clearly. Scripture says ‘it is the glory of God to conceal a thing;  but the honour of kings to search out a matter’.

Fourthly, God makes abundantly use of substituting people and attitudes in visions, with species from the animal world. Remember that these animals represent their best known feature of the person or of his or her attitude. I have probably seen about a hundred different animals representing people over the years; many of them being unknown to me, but the internet is there to use.

A few examples you may often encounter in visions:

·         An ostrich for someone who lies

·         A large black spaniel dog for people gossiping about you

·         A crocodile for an underhanded dishonest person

·         A dappled snake for a venomous and jealous person.

There are so many. Do not think that these attitudes are always with other people near you. Sometimes it is your own traits which God wants to show you.

Lastly, Satan is always there to try and confuse and deceive you, like he deceived Adam and Eve. Be discrete and sensible. Wisdom comes with time.

This is the challenge that you may wish to take up if my testimony has strum a string in your heart.

I will never trade it for the world.

What is more; the hundreds of warnings God has given me over the years, has protected me from ruin, loss and even damnation.

What I might mention to conclude, is that along the way, God was not my only tutor. I always ask people what they dream, try to interpret it as an extra exercise for me. I listened intently to older pilgrims having the gift of visions and who had much more experience than I had, to teach me. I even studied Freud and other psychiatrists. I was into it fully and for the long haul.

Try it, you will never be sorry.

If you are a Christian and do not have a continuous conversation with God going, you are still being breast fed.

 Next time – Part 8 – Becoming a friend of God.