When God Speaks: Listening to the Voice of God

By Fran Myers

Listening to the voice of God directs us toward a life of joy, contentment, and trust in God in all circumstances. God is always with us. When we take the time to pray, listen, to reflect, to block out the noise of the world, we can experience God’s presence.
Through the pages of this book, you will come to understand the many ways that God speaks to all of us. As we open our minds and hearts, cultivate the time to be aware and listen, and develop our prayer journey, we draw closer to the heart of God.
The author highlights stories from various people who in their ordinary lives discerned His voice and His love for them. Sometimes God’s voice was audible; other times it was through Scripture or a divine revelation. No matter what form God chose to communicate, it was every bit as meaningful. One person shares how he listened to God’s voice through divine intervention guiding him to make a life-changing decision for his family. Another heard the voice of God through a series of events as she visited patients in hospitals and nursing homes. Still another meets God through the beauty of nature.
God spoke to the saints and prophets of the past—and He continues to speak to us today. Not all voices are from God. It is important to discern that which brings peace and that which divides and causes unrest. When God Speaks is a series of uplifting and personal stories that will help the reader to discern the difference. The author’s hope is that you will recall similar occurrences of unexplainable joy in your own lives, or a strong passion calling you to service.
This book can be used by small faith groups in churches and by book clubs. It would appeal to youth groups, senior groups, Cursillo or Emmaus groups, pastors, and those wanting to deepen their prayerful relationship with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664261785

Fran Myers

Fran Myers is married to Jack Myers and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Together they have four children and eight grandchildren. She has written primarily for her children, sharing stories of her life and the life of her parents and grandparents to keep their ancestry alive. She has also written a family cookbook to preserve Italian recipes of her immigrant grandparents and others. Fran is retired from Catholic Charities of Tennessee and Visitation Hospital Foundation both located in Nashville. She has served in pastoral ministry both in her parish and throughout the diocese most of her adult life. Her retirement has given her time to develop her prayer life, which is the inspiration in writing this book, and sharing stories of herself, and those of others, to build up our awareness of God’s never-ending love for us and communication with us. Her passion for social justice has led her to form various ministries in her diocese and parish, and she and her husband continue to stay involved in works of justice through prayer and advocacy. She holds a master’s degree in pastoral services from Loyola University, New Orleans, and an undergraduate degree in communications, with a minor in theology, from Marymount Manhattan College, New York City. She currently serves as president of the board of trustees for the nonprofit Visitation Hospital Foundation, based in Nashville, which has constructed a full-service outpatient clinic in southwest Haiti in the town of Petite Rivière de Nippes. She continues to support the organization’s operations. Fran also paints in her spare time, is an avid reader, participates in ministry at her local parish and community in Nashville, loves walks on the Greenway with Jack, bakes, cooks, and enjoys entertaining family and friends. This is her first published book in nonfiction, and she plans on continuing to share stories of God speaking with His people. She also hopes to write historical fiction in the future about the plight of her immigrant grandparents and family members. She would love to hear from you and can be reached at [e-mail].

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Copyright © 2022 Fran Myers.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-6179-2 (sc)

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-6178-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022905617

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/22/2022

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I would like to dedicate this book to my husband, Jack, our four children, Eric, Ken, John, and Jennifer, and eight grandchildren, Walter, Nicholas, Milla, Molly, Jay, Emily, William, and Lucy, and my ‘adopted’ grandchildren, Robbie, Libby, and David, who have taught me to listen to my heart before I speak.

If you are yearning to hear the voice of God, this is the book for you! Through compelling life stories Fran gently leads us toward listening for and hearing God’s voice. This is a beautiful and inspirational book to study, share and discuss with your faith friends!

—Pat Cooper

Co-founder, Springboard Landings, Inc.

When God Speaks resoundingly recognizes St. John Vianney’s teaching, ‘Prayer is union with God, with loving faith and a pure heart.’ Myers’ excellent work encourages an exercise of prayer through the ‘Spirit within us’ demonstrating the importance of vulnerability, humility, charity, and experience of peace; not only in our relationship with God through prayer; but with our neighbor in kind. Myers’ helps place the ‘fear and guilt’ of our present culture in its proper perspective observing, ‘Fear and Guilt are not from God.’ A must read for those seeking increased divine awareness in their spiritual development.

—Major General (R) Bryan R. Kelly, Ph.D.

This fine book can be of benefit for private and individual reflection, or for group discussions. Its important message is that prayer is not only speaking to God but it is also listening to God, and being open to the various ways God uses to speak to us.

—Tom E. Blantz, csc,

Author of The University of Notre Dame: A History

Is God really there? If so, why do so many of us not hear answers in prayer more often? Fran Myers brings us face to face with the realities and truth of God’s presence. In indisputable ways, she shows us how our prayer life can become a unique fingerprint to reach out and touch God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are here to do God’s will, and in so doing, to save our souls. This book will enable you to understand that the most important tool on this journey is real, deep, personal communication with the Creator of the Universe. Do yourself a favor and turn the first page.

—Wes Ely, MD

Author of Every Deep-Drawn Breath

Words cannot begin to express my heartfelt thanks to those who read my manuscript and wrote their endorsements: Pat Cooper, Co-Founder of Springboard Landings; Major General (R) Bryan Kelly; Thomas E. Blantz, C.S.C., author of The University of Notre Dame — A History; and Wes Ely, M.D., author of Every Deep Drawn Breath. I am so grateful to each of them for caring enough to do this. I love you all!

The LORD came and revealed his presence,

calling out as before: Samuel, Samuel!

Samuel answered, "Speak, for

your servant is listening."

—Samuel 3:10 (NAB: St. Joseph Edition)

When we spend time with God in prayer,

we become familiar with God’s heartbeat—

His love and self-communication to us.

God calling yet; shall I not hear?

Earth’s pleasures shall I not hold dear?

Shall life’s swift passing years all fly,

And still my soul in slumber lie?

God calling yet; I cannot stay;

My heart I yield without delay;

Vain world, farewell! From you I part;

The voice of God hath reached my heart.

—Gerhard Tersteegen, German Reformed

religious writer and hymnist, 1735

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Opening Prayer

Chapter 1: God’s Voice Prepares Us

Story 1: Through a Child

Story 2: By Divine Guidance

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 2: God’s Voice Brings Peace

Story 1: Peace That Surpasses Understanding

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 3: God’s Message Reaches Us through Music

Story 1: Through Secular Music

Story 2: Through Spiritual Music

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 4: God Speaks through His Angels

Story 1: An Angelic Visitor

Story 2: Grandma’s Angel

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 5: God Speaks through Holy Scripture

Story 1: Bringing Comfort

Story 2: Alleviating All Fear

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 6: God’s Call to Ministry

Story 1: In Service to the Poor

Story 2: By the Power of the Holy Spirit

Story 3: Through Our Passions for Good

Story 4: Calming Our Fears

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 7: God Speaks to Us Audibly

Story 1: Guiding Us to Make Decisions

Story 2: Ministering to the Divorced and Separated among Us

Story 3: You Are My Hands!

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 8: God Answers Prayers

Story 1: Through 9/11

Story 2: In a Dream

Story 3: Responding to Our Struggles

Story 4: Through Faithfulness and Trust

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 9: God Speaks through Movies

Story 1: Called by God

Story 2: Through Conscience

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Chapter 10: God Speaks through Creation

Story 1: An Unexpected Encounter

Story 2: A Walk in the Woods

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Closing Prayer

Afterword

The Many Ways God Speaks to His People

God Speaks to Ordinary People throughout Scripture

Considerations for Discerning God’s Voice

Outline for Small Faith Group Discussion

Additional Questions for Discussion and Reflection

Notes

Notes

About the Author

FOREWORD

Those who search for insight and inspiration in their lives are blessed to have a rich history and a great depth that undergird them, persons of faith throughout the ages who have witnessed to the presence of God. One such person was St. Augustine, who said,

Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead, He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?

Writers of books can inspire us, move us, and bless us with new ways of seeing and hearing the beauty of creation all about us, and they can help us delve into the very mystery of God’s love and mercy. Aware of our fears and concerns, and the noise and busyness that surround us, it is refreshing to find an author who can help us focus on how sitting alone in silence to be with our loving God can cut through all that holds us back and teach us new ways of hearing God’s peaceful voice speak to us.

With her permission, I mention that I have served as Fran Myers’s spiritual director for nearly thirty years. Fran has a strong commitment to her faith, a generous and creative spirit, and a compassionate heart. This is so clearly seen in her life through many examples of great zeal and hard work in joyfully serving others. She has been a constant listener seeking to draw closer to the Lord. She has shared with me some of those instances when she felt that God was guiding her, leading her into a closer faith relationship. Now she has compiled stories of her own, as well as those gathered from others, stories that support the deep conviction that God is always speaking to us in some form; we need only learn how to listen.

In the age we live in, it is refreshing to hear words that remind us to stop, be silent, pray, and remain open to our Creator, who leads us on life’s journey and helps us to discern our path. The words of Mahatma Gandhi enlighten us. If we have listening ears, God speaks to us in our own language, whatever that language may be.

When God Speaks is filled with stories that demonstrate how God personally provides for us, communicates with us, and calls us into a closer relationship with a deepening faith. This book is rooted in sound theology, and through stories that bring to life the ways our God moves in our lives. Our task is to listen, pay attention, and trust that we are in the loving hands of our Savior. Sacred Scripture flourishes with stories of ordinary people to whom God chose to speak. Jeremiah initially said he was too young, St. Peter told the Lord to leave him because he was a sinner, and there are countless other examples. Once they heard God’s voice, the ordinary prayers of poor shepherds in the field, of cowardly early prophets, and of a simple Samaritan woman became extraordinary words that built great faith in others of their time. The stories in this book are grounded in that same scripture and touch the soul in ways that bring us peace, surprise, and contentment and demonstrate that, when we open ourselves to God, we too can hear that communication of love and mercy that surrounds us.

Pope Francis says it succinctly. Obeying God is listening to God, having an open heart to follow the path that God points out to us. May we all open our hearts and minds to hear God’s loving words in our hearts!

When God Speaks should be of interest to young and old, ministers, pastors, religious