When God Calls

Something about which we can all agree, is that living the Christian life is not easy. It requires faith, discernment and constant effort to remain true to God’s calling. One of the hardest, in my estimation, is learning how to hear God when He does call.

In those days, at Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms liberally to the people, and prayed constantly to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror, and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and bring one Simon who is called Peter; he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those that waited on him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. The next day, as they were on their journey and coming near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. And he became hungry and desired something to eat; but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heaven opened, and something descending, like a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

Acts 10.1-16

In today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear God calling two people, Cornelius and Peter. His desire is for them to meet and, together, work to spread the Gospel. Both are men of faith, and both are prepared to hear the voice of God in their prayers.

When God speaks, we don’t often hear His voice like thunder. There may be a few, and very few, instances in the Scriptures where entire crowds heard His voice “like thunder”. The normal interaction between God and man is through prayer and our hearts.

God speaks to our hearts, not our ears. In today’s example both Cornelius and Peter had to be spiritually prepared to hear God’s call. Cornelius was praying when he heard God’s call, and he said, “What is it Lord?” Peter was also in prayer when God called to his heart.

If we want to hear the voice of God calling us, the first thing we must do is find time for prayer. Prayer is central to helping us hear the voice of God. Prayer is also where we train our heart to understand God’s desire for us. It is so important our 2025 Daily Lenten Journey was about prayer.

The only way we can hear the voice of God is to ‘stop and listen’ for a change. We spend too much time talking to God instead of listening to what He wants to tell our hearts. We must find time to sit in silence as much as time to talk to God. There will be plenty of time to talk.

When God speaks to our hearts, and we have taken the time to hear His voice, then we must act. Cornelius immediately sent servants to Joppa to find Peter. The story will continue with tomorrow’s reading, but for today I want to pay special attention to Cornelius response.

Cornelius immediately put into action what God had said. That couldn’t have happened if he had been focused on his comforts or asking God for a litany of demands. He had to ‘stop and listen’ to God. That’s how God ‘get things done’ in the world. He speaks to our hearts, and we act.

The saying “God put us together” has meaning only if we hear Him in prayer. God didn’t ‘pick up Cornelius’ and place him on the road to Joppa. He spoke to Cornelius about His desire for him. Cornelius used his free will to respond to God’s call, and he was blessed for it.

If we want to hear God calling us, we need to be more like Cornelius. He wasn’t ‘wanting’ to be God’s agent. He was living his faith in God. It was God who wanted Cornelius to be His agent. His “prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” He had no ego.

God is calling us, but we spend so too time talking and not enough time listening, that we can’t hear His voice. We are so focused on our list of demands, we don’t have time to any of God’s desires into action. Then we wonder why God isn’t ‘using us’ like those in the Scriptures.

If you want God to use you to spread the Gospel, then stop wanting God to use you to spread the Gospel. Be content with prayer and living the faith. If and when God wants you to do something, He will call you. If you want to be ready to respond, then ‘stop and listen’ for a change.