Cheese, Wine, Coincidence, Hallucination, or God ?

Cheese, Wine, Coincidence,  Hallucination, or God ?

PRAYER 10 for UCB

3 Min script

Well I think this will be my last time with you, at least on the subject of prayer.  Today I want to tell you about my book on prayer, it’s called ‘Hello is that you God?’  and if you buy it through UCB I’ll throw in ‘Jacob’ free, that’s another of my books; but this is not an advert, I want to tell you about the book if you don’t mind.

I wrote it because I believe, as I have been saying throughout these talks, that God wants to both listen to us and talk to us, but many people seem to get stuck at the first stage.  I also think that many people don’t understand when God is talking to them.

I also realise that some people don’t even believe that there is a God to talk to or listen to.  I feel very sad about that but I wanted the book to reflect the idea that some people do not think that God would really talk to them. So at the end of each chapter I pose questions, for example; what do you think is going on?  Was that God talking, and if not what was it?  In many of the situations that I describe I am hard pressed to think of anything other than it was God speaking to me. I really cannot put it down to cheese, wine, coincidence or hallucination, I believe God spoke.

There is a lady I know in my church community, let’s call her Mary, who had purchased a copy of my ‘Hello’ book and she was reading it on the way home, this is what she told me, ‘I was sitting on the bus enjoying reading your book and I thought to myself, it’s alright for Adrian to hear from God, but he never speaks to me. Then, do you know what, I heard a voice in my head that said, ‘That is because you never listen.’

Mary was more than a little shocked, and she prayed a quick prayer, ‘if that was you God, I’m listening now, is there anything you want to say to me?’   ‘Yes,’ said the voice, ‘There is a lady two seats in front of you, go and give her the book, she needs to read it.’  Mary told me that she just sat there somewhat embarrassed and a little unnerved. When the bus stopped, the lady got off.  ‘It was not my stop’ Mary continued, ‘but I jumped up and got off as well, and very timidly I went up to the lady who was walking in front of me,  and said, excuse me, but God just told me to give you this book.  I felt very self-conscious, but she didn’t seem at all phased by a stranger appearing at her side and offering her a book. She simply asked me what the book was about, I said it’s about hearing from God, and to my surprise she said she had been thinking about that for ages, and wondering if it was possible,  she said she would very much like to read it, thanked me and went on her way.’

 Another lady I know, I’ll call her Sue, received the book from a friend as a gift.  Sue said much the same as Mary, it’s alright for the author, but God doesn’t listen to me. Sue also heard a voice in her head which said, ‘Well, talk to me.’  Sue is a widow and to make extra income she lets out rooms in her house.  She had been trying for many, many months to get a new tenant but to no avail, the agency who had the room listed had not found her a suitable tenant.  She lay in bed one Friday evening  thinking about the book and then she spoke to God, ‘Dear God, if you can hear me like the book says, please, please I urgently need a new tenant for my room, can you please help me because this room has not been let for months.’  Sue then snuggled down in bed and went to sleep.   Saturday morning at 9am her phone rang, it was the agency and they said, ‘We think we have the perfect tenant for you.’  He was and still is.

Was it coincidence or was it God hearing and answering prayer?  I know what I think, what about you?

Thank you for listening to me talk about prayer I have enjoyed being with you.

Adrian Hawkes

Prayer talks for UCB

Editor A. Brookes

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