Sometimes keeping watch means going to God for direction and listening for His guidance. But every voice we hear in our head is not from God, so this process takes patience.  We’ve been asking the Lord to open our eyes during our 21 Day Watch.  It’s  also important that we train our heart to hear His voice, the inner voice of the Spirit.  My friend Kris prayed for guidance when she was unexpectedly called to lead a women’s event. She shares the story of how God answered her specific prayer with clarity, which in turn, gave her confidence that she had heard His voice.

 GUEST BLOG: Kris McBride

I was recently praying about a women’s gathering I had been asked to lead. My session was to follow on the heels of a well-known national speaker, so I felt a bit out of my comfort zone. I had no idea what my part of the program should look like, so I asked God to show me to do. As I was praying, I sensed God telling me to go read the short book of Ruth in the Old Testament. As I began reading, it seemed God was giving me a clear vision for our program. I was so excited to see how everything fit together and thankful God had answered my prayer.

 I shared what God had revealed with a few friends helping with the event.  Everyone agreed the theme from Ruth sounded good, but several weeks later, I began to question my plan. Had I actually heard God? Doubts began to flood my mind. What if I was wrong? What if the message for the entire event didn’t seem to flow? Not knowing what else to do, I prayed again, and asked God specifically for a sign that I had really heard from Him.

Two days later we were at staff prayer meeting at the church where I work. One of the pastors began giving the morning devotional. He just happened to be reading from the book of Ruth and mentioned exactly the same points God had already given me.  As the pastor continued to talk, tears began to fill my eyes. I could not believe that God answered my prayer so quickly and with such an undeniable sign.

I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had helped me prepare for the gathering. What’s more, I knew that I had heard Him correctly. Yet why was I so surprised that God showed me the plan for the gathering and answered my prayer for a sign that I had heard from Him? It was a good reminder that when I pray and ask God to provide direction, I not only need to be watch but I should also wait expectantly for Him to answer my prayers.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly (Psalm 5:3).

*Click here to  read another post by Kris.