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I preached last week about the prophetic call; about Moses and Jeremiah and how reluctant the prophets usually are. For good reason. This week we read of the call of Isaiah, and that of Simon Peter, showing the many and various ways that people of God are called as prophets and apostles. We talked last week that any of us could be called as a prophet at any time, regardless of our perceived lack of qualifications. Knowing that anything God requires…God will give. So, the only thing we need to be called as a prophet or an apostle…or any vocation really…is to hear the call, and to do that …we need to know what to listen for. We need to be able to recognise God’s voice. In the news these days there are many, many people who claim God’s voice, who claim to speak in God’s name and to know God’s will. Many, yet they do not all agree with one another, in fact they are often in direct opposition to one another. So, How do we know what is true? What is God? How can we recognize God’s voice? Well, how do you recognize your friend’s voice? Or your parent’s? or your partner’s? Time. Time spent in each other’s company. Time spent in conversation, in quiet, in meals, in arguments, in celebrations. Time. It is the same with God. To know God you must spend time with God and the main ways we do that, are by reading scripture, by prayer and in worship. Now, if you are watching this you are already acing the worshiping part, and that is something we Anglicans do well. So, well done! But my question is how familiar are you with your bible? The scriptures are the best and really the only way we have of getting to know the history of God’s relationship with us. But to be honest the books of the bible are not always an easy read. The bible is full of a variety of styles and types of literature including poetry, history, personal correspondence, legal codes and biographies. Some sections are well written and engaging to read, and some send you to sleep in minutes. But they all help us to learn about who God is and how people have understood and interacted with God through the millennia. Each part of the bible give us, the reader, a different perspective on that relationship, and helps us know God better. · Spending time reading psalms helps you realize the depths of the emotional connection people have had with God. · Reading Deuteronomy and Leviticus help you learn how people have tried to codify and structure their relationship with God using rule and law. · Reading the gospels give you different perspectives on Christ’s life on earth and how his actions were perceived and interpreted. · The books of Kings help you understand how blending religion and politics changed how God’s actions were interpreted and affected how governments ruled. All these books help us understand who God is, but only if we understand what we read and only if we take the time to spend with God in scripture. So, it’s important to have a bible translation that you can understand and read easily, so that you can feel comfortable reading your bible. A translation that is in font and size you can read and uses words that you understand. The theology is tricky enough without needing a dictionary! It’s also good to have a plan. The bible isn’t a novel to read cover to cover, rather it is an anthology which reads well syste-matically and there are many ways to do so. The bible can be read, book by book with a group, following a daily bible readings by yourself or even reading based on what you need for the day. Regular scripture reading helps each of us learn about God, our spiritual ancestors and gives us a spiritual lens through which we can interpret the world around us. Knowing how God has behaved and interacted with humanity in the past, helps us to know how God is likely to speak to us in the present and helps us determine when it is not God’s words we hear. The other major way to prepare to hear God’s word to us is through prayer. Prayer is a very intimate way of building a relationship with God. There are two main kinds of prayer; corporate prayer which we do together and private prayer, which you do alone. Both build relationship with God, but to hear God’s word spoken…I believe it is important to cultivate a personal prayer life. Now, it may be that this is a little intimidating for some. The traditional image of the humble person meekly kneeling is absolutely legitimate, but not the only option. Everyone has their own way of praying and no method is better than another. Which means that there are as many styles of prayer as there are people. I have a lovely book called ‘prayer for people who can’t sit still’ which details prayers using yoga, while walking, even knitting. People can pray lying in bed as they wake, or before they sleep, or throughout the day. Prayer can happen, at anytime in anyplace. The importance of prayer is to carry on the conversation with God. An ongoing, daily conversation with God whatever form that takes. The most important part of prayer is taking the time. Intentionally setting apart the time to pray, to have the conversation. This is, once more, the how is a personal expression, but just as with any relationship, setting time aside to talk, take time away or just be together is important. One traditional method of prayer is the practice of the daily office. Morning and Evening prayer…Evening prayer such as we stream here at St. Andrew’s on Monday nights. Myself I also try to say Morning prayer most mornings, I say try and I say most…because I’m not perfect and some days it gets missed. But I try, and slip and try again. Journaling is another practice that I use for prayer, also stitching prayers, colouring, meditation. Before bed is a great time to spent time reviewing where you noticed God in your day, just as first thing in the morning is a great time for setting your intentions before God. Or perhaps there is a time each day you meditate in silence, just being in God’s presence. The how is personal to each of us, but setting time aside at a regular time to be with God intentionally is what really matters. Nor do you have to pick one form of prayer and stick to it always and forever! Our prayer life changes as we change, our relationship with God changes as we grow and as life impacts our relationship with God. Spiritual growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum and how we see and hear God grows and changes right along with us. But by spending intentional time with God, through reading scripture, through prayer and worship we grow closer to God and build our relationship no matter what life brings. As we spend time with God we grow better able to hear God’s voice speaking to us, God acting around us and through us and we grow better able to recognize if it is God’s voice we hear and to what God is calling us to. Just like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Simon Peter and Moses we are all called to a particular vocation. We all have been called to a particular ministry, if we can just hear God’s voice. The first step is to learn how to listen. In this time and place there are many voices screaming out that they speak with God’s voice that their words and actions are God sanctioned. There are many people who hear God’s call spoken to them and assume it’s just their imagination. There are many people who simply don’t want to hear either. But in this time and in this world that God has given us to live in we need to be able to hear God’s truth spoken. We need to hear God’s word spoken. We need to know who God is and what God does in the world. We need to develop ears that hear and hearts that understand and that takes time. Intentional, prayerful, devoted time…scripture, prayer and worship. God is calling us, let’s make sure we can hear. amen