Our Daily Bread: Voices of FaithSample

When God Whispers

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. -Acts 8:30

People simply desire truth. We have heard about White missionaries who traveled to Africa to evangelize people whom they considered “heathen”—unschooled in the Scriptures or the Christian faith.

Yet Africans worshiped God centuries before those missionaries came.

On his return trip after worshiping at the temple, an Ethiopian, who was an important official to the Queen of Ethiopia, carried a scroll of Isaiah’s prophecy (Acts 8:27). He likely paid a handsome sum to secure the scroll and was studying it.

The disciple Philip heard the Lord’s command: “The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’

So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him” (vv. 29–31). Philip explained the truth about Jesus’ suffering and death to redeem all who trust in Him (vv. 32–35). Their encounter soon resulted in the Ethiopian’s request for baptism (v. 39). They listened to God.

As a worshiper of Israel’s God, the Ethiopian had a profound impact on spreading the “good news about Jesus” (v. 35) while His first disciples still walked the earth. The prominent faith in modern-day Ethiopia is Christianity, a testimony that encourages us to listen for God’s voice as we search for truth.

Diane Proctor Reeder

How did Philip and the Ethiopian hear God’s voice? What do you do to make sure you hear His voice?

Lord, I admit that sometimes I hear that quiet, small voice I know is You, and I am preoccupied with the world's noise. Forgive me, help me to listen to You, and give me the courage to obey Your truth.