Does God speak to people today? I mean on a regular basis and in a way that will enable them to bring encouragement and healing to others?

If you had asked me that question three years ago, I would have said no. And then I would have given a little slack for the fact that God could speak today, just like I could win the Powerball Lottery—if I bought a ticket. Yet, I would have stressed that winning the lottery or hearing God speak or healing someone are long-shots. I would have insisted, we have the Word of God and there is no need for God to speak to us apart from biblical revelation. Anything beyond that is pure imagination. And healing . . . hey, someone always wins the Powerball jackpot.

And then three years ago God spoke to me. He said two words, “Lisa. Abortion.”

Now you may wonder, how did I know it was God? Actually, I didn’t know for sure. It was what happened when I talked with Lisa that convinced me it was God.

I was standing at the back of a church during a Sunday service in Louisiana. That’s when I heard the two words repeated three or four times. I asked the man working the sound board if anyone named Lisa attended the church. He said yes, but he didn’t see her. I asked him to please let me know if he spotted her. A few minutes later he tapped me on the right shoulder and pointed out Lisa.

I approached her, a young woman maybe thirty years old, and introduced myself. I told her what I had heard and a short time later, she was weeping joyfully. God had healed her of an emotional wound and a painful injury.

I was as surprised by her healing as I would be if a dog padded up to me and said, “Hi, Bill.” Yet, there she stood, filled with joy because she had been healed.

I got home and called a respected friend. I needed some input. I asked if anything like that had ever happened to him. He said it never had and that it would probably never happen to me again either.  “Just a one-time event,” he said. “God letting a young woman know he loves her.”

His words didn’t encourage me because I liked the idea of hearing from God.

When God spoke to me again, I initially thought I was going crazy. After all, I’ve heard that if someone speaks to God, they’re devout. If they hear God speak to them, they’re crazy. Was I crazy?

I continued to hear God speak and see people healed. If I wasn’t crazy, I was certainly skeptical. And if someone was “healed,” I wondered if they had really been healed or just experienced a momentary relief of pain. I was conflicted between what I had always believed and what I saw happening.

And then the evidence began to mount. Like Rico Galindez, who was healed of kidney pain last May. Before I met Rico his pastor told me about his kidney pain. I immediately sensed God wanted to heal Rico. But I didn’t want to pray for his healing unless God planned to heal him. And so I asked the Lord which kidney was damaged.

I got a one word message: “LEFT.”

Sure enough, it was his left kidney.

Yesterday, Rico sent me an update. A recent MRI had good news and he said, “I have been pain free since that day in May when you prayed for me.” This from a man with a left kidney seriously injured by beatings from his father, and years of boxing, and beatings in gang fights.

If you think this sounds a bit bizarre, or unbelievable, or out there—I understand. But I challenge you to follow my blog as I take the following weeks to explain how you can hear the voice of God.

But beware, this could be the ride of your life.

This is Part One in a continuing series on Hearing God’s Voice.  Read Part Two, Part Three,  and Part Four.