Without fail, as part of my bedtime routine and early morning wakeup conversations with God, I ask Him a series of questions to gauge my position under His authority. One question is “Lord, is there anything that I need to ask forgiveness for?” His response is “You have done my will exactly.”

You might think that being exactly in His will would warrant great reward and no difficulties. The consistent rewards are: 1) I continue to hear God’s voice; 2) He makes His presence known; and 3) He chooses to protect me and my children from the devil’s activities against us.

My obedience, however, does not equate to an easy life. Most of the time, it feels like I am in a perpetual spiritual bootcamp being constantly trained, pushed to the limits of my capabilities, and purposely weakened and humbled. That probably doesn’t sound like favor, but it is growth. That growth is required for God to continue to trust me with the anointing of hearing His voice and the supernatural anointings of the manifestation of the Spirit of God. So don’t look at me or my physical surroundings to gauge my walk with God, and I will not judge your hard situations as punishment from God either. Although, if I hear God say that you’re being punished, well then, I’m not going to argue with Him or assist you outside of His will.

Prayer is the vehicle for conversation with God. Thankfully, we can silently pray anywhere at any time. We don’t need permission from anyone to seek God. However, to hear God speak to you in prayer, you need to be in unbroken covenant with Him. Covenant relationship simply means that you have chosen Him as your only God and choose to obey Him. Restoration of a broken covenant requires the forgiveness conversation discussed in paragraph 1 above. Again, hearing His voice doesn’t guarantee an easy life but it does position you to be exactly in His will when you obey His direction. There is one thing that I’m sure of … I would be completely lost without Him. Are you?