Asking Jesus

A friend called me the other day about a decision he was trying to make. He had talked with his small group about it and was getting conflicting advice. He called me and presented all the options he was considering and the pros and cons, and asked me what I thought. I said, "This may be an obvious question and you've probably already done this, but have you asked Jesus?"

He said, "No, I asked my small group and I'm asking you."

"I think it is better to start by asking Jesus and if you have questions about what you are hearing, then ask your small group for confirmation. But we need to start with Jesus."

He said he hadn't done that and agreed that we should. His question was around some money stuff, so I prayed, "Jesus, You've heard our conversation and You know all our baggage around money - guilt, stewardship questions, self-justifications. Would You please move that aside and tell us what You want us to do with this question?" Immediately my friend said, "I heard Him say..."

It was a beautiful moment that I realize doesn't happen often. Our thought is always to ask others before we ask Jesus. Why is that? I think it is because:

• we don't believe Jesus speaks to us in real time, only in the bible. But the bible says (John 10) "My sheep hear My voice" - not "My pastors, My teachers, My super-spiritual friends." My sheep -thats all of us.
• we are afraid we already know what Jesus will say to us and we want to do what we want. This is largely the case. If you boil down Christian faith to two words, they are trust Jesus. Mostly I think that we still live out of the first lie in the Garden which is, "God is holding out on you, He is not for you but against you, so you need to grasp for and hold on to whatever you are going to get." The good news is that God is for you and not against you - He is a good Father who gives us good gifts. We need to replace the lie with the truth. That is not to say that if we ask for something He won't have an answer different than the one we are looking for. He is not a rubber stamp, He is God. That is where the trust Jesus part comes in, when He is saying something that requires faith on our parts, whether to step out or to wait.
• we don't trust ourselves to hear clearly. Good. We are to test every spirit. The minute we realize that Jesus does speak to us, we soon discover that His is not the only voice out there. This requires us to discern (throw out the bad, hold on to the good) and to submit what we are hearing to others that we trust and ask them to ask Jesus and hear what they are hearing. But we can have fun, too. As we step out with what we are hearing, we will find that Jesus is calling us co-workers and friends.

The most helpful book I've read on this is Brad Jersak's Can You Hear Me? Tuning In To The God Who Speaks. This book has done more to transform my daily interaction with Jesus from basic Christian obedience to a dynamic interaction.