Belinda Perez McDanel

Language God Speaks

The summer I turned 11 years old, my family lived on an Apache reservation in Arizona. It was the summer of the tarantulas. Every time it rained, tarantulas dotted our yard. I counted 17 walking from our front door to the curb. Never was it such a challenge to get to the car.

Being the typical kid, I used to run over them with my bike; they were as big as my hand. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. I started off trying to avoid killing, but there were so many. I gave up and played my own primitive interactive video game.

The local people thought I was Apache and would talk to me in Apache. Sometimes I’d be funny and reply in Spanish. It’s no wonder, in 2017 my mom got her DNA test back — 47% Native American. Cool!

What language does God speak? Silly question, huh?

What would it be like if I could hear God speak to me? Really hear. The God, the real one. We assume things about God. I do. God speaks to people and it’s a wonderful thing. Maybe I shouldn’t use the word speak because it is a connection and an energy. He connects from Spirit to spirit, which may or may not include language.

Hearing from God is mystical:

If it were a sound, it would be a whisper.
If it were a feeling, it would feel like a feather.
If it were a seen, it would be a glow.
If it were a movement, it would be a nudge.
When I feel God’s presence, it feels like the warmth of the sun on my skin.
It’s subtle and quiet, which is why it’s easy to miss.

You have to get quiet and pay attention. But it is so hard for us to shut off our music and our shows, our devices and our phones. God is always trying to connect with us. Writer Danielle Bernock calls him the Pursuer in her book, Emerging with Wings: A true story of lies, pain and the love that heals.

This LOVE is referred to as The Pursuer who is an amazing and real being aka God. Danielle Bernock, (p. 12).

Danielle uses the words Love and Pursuer interchangeably. It’s a perfect description. Love pursues you and tries to connect with you. People don’t usually hear him in an audible voice, but he is there none the less, pursuing you.

When I first connected to God, I had doubts and questions. How do I know this is God? Is there a way I can confirm this? So I developed a system and it worked. Six simple steps. I hope it works for you.

Six Steps to fine tune Hearing from God

1. Quiet your mind and thoughts.
2. Pray a simple prayer of desire: I’m here and I’m listening. Or I want to connect with you, God. Then be quiet.
3. Write down what you think is from God.
4. Sometimes I just start writing and at one point I feel it’s not my thoughts, but coming from outside me.
5. Put an asterisk next to the sentences I think are from God.
6. Check off the ones that were confirmed as true.

For example, when I lived in Kentucky, my very close friend, Ann, came to my mind. I felt like something was wrong. I heard, “Call her.” I thought it was God. What if it’s not God? I imagined calling her. If she asks me why I’m calling, what do I say? I’m hearing voices? I think God talks to me? A part of me felt stupid. I decided to act as if the message was true. I’m searching for verifiable evidence. There is a part of me that is open to hearing from God and act on it even if it doesn’t make sense. Sure, I don’t have a lot to lose to call a friend out of the blue.

I call my friend and we barely get past the greetings and I miss yous when she pours out her heart. She is struggling with her marriage and thinks it might be falling apart. We talk for a long time. (End of story: She did divorce him. He was drinking and putting her in danger.)

In my journal I write something like: God’s telling me to call Ann. I feel that something is wrong. Right next to it I put an asterisk. After my talk with Ann, I put a check mark over my asterisk when it was proved to be true.

Spirit is not something you find with your mind; it’s a spirit to spirit connection. In fact, it usually doesn’t make any sense to your mind. Which is why it’s easy for reason to mock spiritual experiences, but the spirit knows. It recognizes and gives you feedback that you are on the right track. Some call it a gut feeling.

“Be willing to be blind, and give up all longing to know the why and how, for knowing will be more of a hindrance than a help” Anonymous from The Cloud of Unknowing

What is it like to hear God? It’s a mystical experience. It’s like heaven. My prayer for you is that heaven would come down to earth and you could hear him. (Not audibly. You know what I mean.)

©2018 Belinda McDanel