400 YEARS

There was a time between the Old Testament and New Testament that no Scriptures were written. This perceived silence took place for 400 years until John the Baptist emerged in the New Testament! Though it's uncertain why there aren’t any scriptures during this time, we do know that God had already spoken much—laws, decrees, prophecies, and more. This was more than enough to dictate how the Jews were to live and worship God, but, in the years between the end of the Old Testament and John the Baptist, the Jews did not obey God and other nations eventually gained control over Israel.

In today’s time, the understanding that God speaks is vital to any Christ-follower’s life. But what would your response be if God stopped speaking to you? Would your response be similar to that of the Jews? Or would you steward past conversations you had with God, scriptures, prophecies, and more to dictate how you lived and worshiped Him?

Oftentimes, we don’t steward conversation with God well because we believe we don’t hear Him speak or may not pause long enough to hear Him. As you grow in connecting with God through conversation, we must learn to value His voice, no matter when or how it’s spoken. If He’s already spoken once, we must take it as if He is speaking now and steward His voice intentionally!

PRAYER

Lord, thank You for speaking to me! I never want to forget what You have spoken over my life and others. Teach me how to steward Your voice intentionally. May I never grow too familiar with how and when You speak. Amen.

APPLICATION

• Look back on previous prophetic words over you. Have those prophetic words come true?
• How did you steward those words?
• How can you grow to steward these more intentionally next time?