The Voice: Words from God

By Gabe Liliedahl

"The Voice: Words from God" shares one man's breathtaking spiritual journey. Gabe experienced God supernaturally as a child. However, he eventually forgot those experiences, became an alcoholic and stole family inheritance. While facing a 10-30 year mandatory jail sentence, he began to seek God to salvage what was left in his life. God intervened and Gabe served a two year sentence. God reminded Gabe of the things that had happened years before. Gabe fully devoted himself to God and began a supernatural journey, following the voice of the Lord. This journey was also one of restoration, repairing the life that had been destroyed.

The book covers a variety of topics associated with living a Christian lifestyle, including salvation, baptism, tithing, and praying. It depicts the peaks and valleys of living a life of faith - struggles and victories. It emphasizes the importance of hearing the voice of God as He speaks through a variety of means, including dreams, visions, and signs. This testimony is meant to encourage others to both experience and hear from God for themselves on a level they have not before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667830575

Book preview

Prologue

You haven’t lived until you’ve heard the voice of God. For years, I have been asking God what He wants me to do in life. While lying on the floor and waiting for an answer, a voice spoke in my mind. This voice said simply, The Master’s Library. At first, I thought it had to be my own thought as I often wrestle with this kind of thing. There have been times when I’m sure the Voice is not my own thought, but there are other times I wonder if it’s my own conscious speaking to me. I considered the idea that The Master’s Library was just a metaphor for the Bible. I asked God about it and didn’t hear anything else. An online search for The Master’s Library didn’t reveal anything on eBay or Amazon.

Three days later, I went shopping at the flea market near the south circle of town. I didn’t have much money but liked to shop for books. One available set had pictures and seemed more contemporary. The other had no pictures and was obviously a little aged, dating back to the forties or so. They were both about God and the price was right. I thumbed through the older set and bought it for six dollars, glancing at the title, but it didn’t register at the moment. Halfway home the realization dawned that I had just bought a book set called The Master Library.¹

I could barely contain my excitement, hurried home, opened the backdoor and pulled out a random book from the set. I took it in the house and examined it, wondering about the significance of hearing the title in my morning prayer three days ago. The Lord never said anything else. The set consisted of ten books, two of which were missing. I googled it again and this time found it easily. Bafflingly, these results didn’t populate three days before when searching.

The set was simply a Bible separated into sections. One book contained the life and teachings of Jesus, one for Paul, and one for the patriarchs. One book was for kids and another for Bible quizzes and study questions. There was almost no commentary at all. It was really just the Bible. I’m amazed at how the Lord answers us sometimes. My question to Him was, What do I do? His answer in the past has usually been read, or pray, or even worship me. This experience was different. This time, it seemed to be, Get into the Bible, in whatever form it takes, just get into My Word. He didn’t say that to me, but that’s what I came away with from this experience.

God gave me an elaborate answer to my repeated question by telling me the name of the set and then letting me discover it days later. I studied the new set because of the unique way it separated the books of the Bible, offering a different perspective. I ordered the missing books and still have them to this day.

God desires a relationship with everyone; communication is essential. Personally, I believe God speaks all the time. The Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). God never changes. He spoke throughout the Old and New testaments. Since He is the same and doesn’t change, then that means He still speaks today. Period. Nowhere does the Bible say He ever stopped. King David said it best when he told God not to be silent or he would be like those that go into the pit (Ps. 28:1). David recognized that life was meaningless without hearing God’s voice. While many people understand that God speaks to our souls through the Bible, not many understand that God speaks other ways. This testimony explores the voice of God and how He has spoken into my life. God is no respecter of persons. What He does for one, He’ll do for another. My hope is that this testimony will encourage you to seek His voice in your own life.

Jeremiah 9:24 (English Standard Version) but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.

Chapter One:

Childhood

In the 1980s, around the age of ten, a voice began speaking to me. The Voice didn’t introduce itself. I saw no one. I heard no audible words. The Voice seemed to speak through my own thoughts, but deep inside, I knew they were not my own. Whenever I responded to the thoughts with thoughts or verbal words of my own, more thoughts would come, resulting in several short conversations. These conversations would usually take place after going to bed, but not always.

I assumed the Voice belonged to God. He told me Hebrew and Greek languages would become important to me, but Hebrew would be my greater interest. He also told me that dreams would become very important to me. Sometimes, during the night conversations, I’d close my eyes and see a faint picture of something or even people. Once, I saw what appeared to be a blue blanket hanging down from something else that I couldn’t make out. The Voice told me, Years in the future, you’ll be cold while living in a small place during the winter. While internally wrestling with that statement, He said, You’ll move into a smaller place and be cold again. That statement also bothered me, but what could I do? In a separate image, I saw a couple of faces that were barely recognizable as faces. One face was white and the other was black. The Voice told me their names were Peter and Timothy. While watching a documentary about a famous chess player named Arthur Dake, He spoke to me again in my head and said, You’ll bowl with Arthur Dake. He’s better than you, but you’ll beat him a few times. The Voice told me about someone named Will and Doris and said they were in ministry. The Voice also told me I’d work for a guy by the name of David Wesley who owned three stores. He said I’d work for Pepsi and even said that I would almost marry a woman twelve years older than me.

One day, I walked out of my room into the hallway leading toward the kitchen. As I left the room, something supernatural happened. An image appeared directly in front of me. It was as if a section of space was removed and a form of television replaced it, directly in front of me. There was an image displayed on the television of a square-ish metal device with some kind of display on the top half. The left side of the display had words and the right had an image. The bottom half of the device simply contained a large white circle. I kept walking while looking down at the image. It moved forward with me. I didn’t want to stop for fear that the image might keep going without me. At the same time, I began thinking over and over about an ordinary world. The image vanished and I never made it to the kitchen. I went back to my room and pondered what had just happened. While standing there, the Voice spoke, Write it down. I never did write it down, insisting to myself, There’s no way I’ll ever forget this.

I really didn’t know anything about God and never told anyone about these experiences. My mom and stepfather didn’t go to church often and I didn’t care about going. My mother took my sister and me a few times. She once asked us if we wanted to keep going, but I said no. I wasn’t interested in the Bible but did keep one that someone gave me. I read a few passages a couple of times. The word Jezreel jumped out at me once while reading and I spoke the word out loud, not knowing why I was drawn to that word.

My family had moved into a house in the country outside of West Monroe, Louisiana, a year before the Voice began speaking. One day, while looking out the back window at the field behind our house, I turned my attention to the television as the volume had increased inexplicably. An old movie was playing; a man said, Don’t ever drink or smoke. Recognizing it was probably a God moment, I said out loud to no one in particular, I won’t have a problem not smoking, but chuckling said, I might struggle with drinking. The Voice then said to me in a whisper, Yes, you will. You’ll get numerous DWI’s. In an evening conversation, the Voice told me I’d get serious with Him in my late thirties. He said I’d be my own worst enemy and I’d steal over $300,000. I was in disbelief. I tried making sense of it all, but couldn’t come to any conclusions. I believed in the Voice but didn’t want to believe in some of the statements that were made. I didn’t see myself as a thief. I got above-average grades in school and was regarded as a well-behaved and level-headed kid. The thought that I’d get that many DWI’s seemed out of character.

In a later conversation with the Voice, we talked about me living in Pineville. I didn’t know where that was and the Voice told me it was in the South. I didn’t have a map and never bothered to look it up. My stepfather had to go through Alexandria, Louisiana, for his job once, and I went with him. While riding through that city, a voice in my head said, You’ll live here. I asked the voice about these places, but He said, I’ll give you more when you get down there. He mentioned the number 5772, but I didn’t know what that was. He then said, It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

1 Samuel 3:3-7 (ESV) The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, Here I am! and ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call; lie down again. So he went and lay down. And the LORD called again, Samuel! and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

God just started talking to Samuel while he was trying to sleep. He didn’t introduce or prove Himself. He just started calling Samuel’s name. Eli eventually realized God was speaking to Samuel and told him to respond to the Voice. Finally in verse 10, God told Samuel what was about to happen. He told Samuel the future, though he didn’t know God. Hebrews 13:8 says God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If God could speak to a child over three thousand years ago, He can do it today. He does, but few believe that God can speak or would speak to them. God can be very subtle when He wants to be. He doesn’t have to speak through a prophet or come as a big, booming voice in the sky. He may simply drop a thought into someone’s head.

When I was fifteen, Tom, one of my closest friends, started going to church with a girl and became very religious. He stopped cursing and rarely had time to hang out. They would tell me about Jesus sometimes, but I really wasn’t listening. They mentioned supernatural experiences such as speaking in tongues, describing it as a gift from God to speak in an unknown language. I had heard of a guy named Nostradamus and wanted to read what people claimed he knew about the future. Any supernatural talk always interested me, but I didn’t care for what I saw in some Christian broadcast services.

In one service, a group prayed for a woman and she fell backward. Someone caught her from behind and kept her on her feet though she was leaning back. Her eyes were closed, but she briefly opened them and then closed them again. I had heard of people being knocked unconscious by the power of God, but this woman was obviously pretending. I said out loud, to no one in particular, I’ll never be one of those people. I gradually became jaded toward religion; I was judgmental and skeptical. 

Despite my reservations, I eventually went with Tom and his girlfriend to a church service and responded to the altar call. I accepted salvation that night. 

Jesus taught the disciples,

John 6:40 (ESV) For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

The Bible teaches about heaven and hell and an eternal judgment at some time in the future. Salvation and eternal life in heaven comes through Jesus Christ alone. 

John 14:6 (ESV) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The night I accepted Jesus I had a nightmare. In the dream, a being of some kind grabbed me from behind. He laughed at me. It was dark, but there was a light overhead. I woke up screaming. Immediately, without knowing what I was saying, I told God I was ready for the challenge. I thought I had been attacked and was now willing to take on Satan, however one would fight Satan.

A second, different nightmare occurred the following night; they were not new to me. I had dreamt before of someone stalking me. One nightmare included someone cutting off my right hand at the wrist with a hatchet. However, these two nightmares were different. The fact that they occurred right after responding to an altar call seemed important.

I didn’t dream for a while after that. I was excited about the experiences and wanted to learn more. However, my desire to do other things trumped everything else. Even though my friends invited me to church, I had no spiritual roots to speak of, so I wasn’t committed. I was probably saved for about a