Another means of being addressed by God is Scripture. So often we are engaged in Bible Study and reading for the sake of worship, sermon preparation, or group work that we forget this is God’s gift through which God desires to communicate with us.
As with prayer, you need to find a place for listening to Scripture that won’t be disturbed. AND you need to approach the Scripture in faith that God desires to speak with you through this word. There are numerous ways to approach this and you should not be afraid to experiment until you find one that works for you. Also recognize that what works some times may need to be changed from time to time to approach you from a fresh perspective.
A couple of suggestions of approaches. First, since we are exploring God’s sense of call in your life, you might want to begin by exploring those passages that describe God’s call to one of the biblical figures. Having read one of those passages, take some time in meditative reflection, placing yourself in the scene and allowing God to surface in your mind any thoughts that God desires.
If you are someone who finds that writing tends to push your thoughts forward, you may want to write in a stream of conscience fashion your response to one of the passages. I think it would be important to not censor your writing in the process. You are not trying to compose and essay on the call. You are simply writing without stopping for 10 minutes or so. Then go back and read what you have written and see what that evokes in you.
Another approach is to pay attention as you are reading to see what word, words, or phrases seem to jump out at you. You don’t have to understand why, simply note what seems to jump out at you. Then set the Bible aside and let those words become an image that you will examine from all sides in a mediative fashion.
Don’t always expect some amazing insight each time. Don’t throw away what seems irrelevant. Save it and see what God does with it later.
Whatever practice you engage in, always take a few minutes at the beginning and the end to simply pray that you will be open to whatever God wishes to say or plant in your soul for later recognition.
