This particular Saturday, I was asking God for direction as to which songs to sing. I did this discreetly while at the prison. I truly knew God's Hand was in the prayerful coin toss, but every time I asked about a song, I got “No.” Confused, I sat down next to Eva and whispered, “I'm not getting any direction today.”

We had no way of knowing that, in a completely spontaneous and unexpected turn of events, the pastor of our church would choose to forego the normal procedure and have us all pray for one another the entire time. For the first time in the two years I'd been going, I did not sing any songs that day. Afterwards, Eva and I rejoiced that God included us in His plans by letting us know that no songs would be sung this time.

Nature of God: Again, God's answer made no sense at the time. I was asking Him for guidance in choosing the songs (assuming there would be songs). He told me, by His “No” that He didn't want me to sing any songs that night. It is only in retrospect that these deep prayerful questions, and the answers received from God, made any sense. Until they did make sense, there was an uncertainty, a pall of discouragement, even. But we really wanted to know God's will. God does not leave His children dissatisfied when they hunger to know His will. Do you believe that?

Do you believe that God CAN and wants to tell us His will? Do you want to know His will so that you can follow it, instead of your own measly one? In a cry from the heart, knock and keep on knocking, ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking and God will show you a way to follow His will. Remember who hid from whom in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve hid from God. We still hide from Him today. How? We hide from Him by thinking that only our own will makes any sense and that we need to do all things by our own ingenuity and craftiness or common sense deductions. This is sleep, folks. This is living in an unawakened state. Know that you can know your God. Strive to know Him. Strive to know His will.

The type of heart needed to know God's will is a contrite heart. Our hearts must be expectant, open and completely trusting Him. He will speak to a heart that is hardened, uncooperative, and set in its way, if He needs to, as He did to Balaam¹⁰. After all, He's God. But to be conscious of communing with Him always, we must be fully cooperative, humble and dependent on Him. Don't let God speak to you only when He must. Allow Him to speak to you always. If there is something He must get through to you, He'll do it. Perhaps you've had what appears as an audible warning from God when impending danger loomed. Or had a mysterious hand push you out of the way of an onrushing vehicle that you didn't see. This is God. Perhaps you've noticed an amazing coincidence as God set you up with strangers and you see those strangers again and again. This is God, making it possible for you to get together and lift each other up, glorifying Him. It doesn't always happen that we would see God's Hand in what we would label “chance.” But it is God's Hand, nevertheless. He does His best work by what we would call “chance.” If God is almighty, then "chance" really doesn't even exist.