Wait until God speaks!

  

 

Please click this link for the video version of today's blog :

https://youtu.be/jnh-r8QjwGE?si=CVMZgjOGrFTQZ7v1

Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

      2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

     Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile. 

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.          **Sing a song to praise the Lord

      

     Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method) 

      https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

3.  John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)

**Please click this link to read how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/

           "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.

             Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

             Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

Today's Time with Abba:  Psalm 96:7-13; Job 37:1-39:30; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10; Proverbs 22:13

Please click this link for today's Time with Abba one year Bible: http://twa.pastoralcareschool.org/

Key passage:

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
    with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

    Tell me, if you understand. Job 38: 1-4

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to Him.    

The topic I received today from Jesus is: Wait until God speaks!

Is waiting until God speaks difficult? 

When you need a decision, do you usually pray until God gives you an answer before you do anything? 

I do. How about you?

Well, not to ask God whether you need to have lunch or where to lunch, when to lunch that kind of things that you can decide on your own. But, for lots of decision, you need to seek for His answer first. 

Let me give you a good example. I have a classmate, Clara Yip, who taught me this important lesson to ask God and wait for God's answer in the early day of my ministry.

I think it was in 1990. She is a superb soprano and I asked her several times to sing in some large size Evangelical meetings. Every time she said, "Silas, thanks for your invitation. Let me pray for a few weeks to wait for God's answer whether He calls me to sing in your meeting." The first time I was OK, the second time not so much and then every single time she talked like that.

I was ordained in 1987 as a deacon and 1988 as a priest, but I did not know the importance of waiting until God spoke. I kept on asking myself, "Is it her arrogant telling me that she has a better relationship with God than me? Is that her way of saying "No" to me and want me not to bother her again next time? ..." Then, after my life-change experience of John Stott's word of wisdom to me in 1992, I understood at last. I wasted too much time using human wisdom to do God's work but not asking God first. 

So, today I hope and pray that you get the message. Wait until God speaks!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Help me to wait until you speak. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

My blog August 28,2025

The topic I received today from Jesus is: Don't waste time, let me tell you!

The Lord reminded me today of my first major "turning point" in my spiritual journey! 

For a year in 1980 to 1981, I was in a kind of searching period to make sense of my faith. 

I was a third generation Anglican, a Council member and the choir director and conductor of my home church. But, I felt something was wrong for I and quite a number of our choir members did not live like a Christian. There was a kind of "Holy discontent" in our spiritual life that we did not know what to do. 

So, for a year we acted like Job and his friends to question everything we can question about faith, to argue for the sake of argument and to analyze who God was and should be. We did not go anywhere and were stuck. 

Then one night I and six male choir members were sitting in a circle in a public park near the High School - Pui Ching Middle School, I graduated. 

We started the similar argument again and everyone was debating again. 

Then I heard in my mind a very loud sound, "Ng Tak Yin, you guys have been arguing about me for nearly a year. It won't go anywhere. Stop, pray and let me tell you." 

I was shock to listen to that clear sound never in my life. 

The other six noticed something was wrong about me and then I told them what happened. Then we stopped and prayed. 

We prayed for three hours from around 10:30p.m. to 1:30a.m.. 

God told us lots of things through our prayers, mostly confessing all kinds of our sins and asking for forgiveness and a new life and direction. 

Then, a new page was turned and I started an eight months spiritual journey leading me to experience my first born again experience. I was baptized when I was a baby and I was that time a church leader but I was not a born again Christian! How sad!

What I got today from the Lord is a similar journey to remind us that human wisdom is very limited and we can not use our wisdom to analyze who God is or to find God. Only God understands and knows wisdom and how it is acquired(v.23). 

He is the only one before whom both the earth and the heavens(v.24) are fully revealed because he is the one who created them (vv. 25-27). 

The fear of the Lord and to turn away from evil is understanding leads us to unlock the purpose of our life. 

This is a "relational" and "incarnational" reality. 

We as human so often do not fear the Lord but to do all kinds of evil things. To have a "U turn" from this wrong way and direction is repentance that we can do the exactly opposite thing, fearing the Lord so that we do not do any evil things or even want to be close with evil things. 

Only God can tell us this and don't waste your time heading the wrong direction. 

Let God tells you!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Help us not to waste our time any more on things that we need not to focus our lives on but to turn to you and let you tell us the purpose of our lives. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Reflect on these questions:    

1. What inspiration have you received from today's catch and what have you heard from Jesus now?

     2.  What is your next step to be more closer to Jesus, to be holy - that is to do what Jesus wants you to do and not to do what Jesus wants you not to do?

    

    Family Corner:

     Find an opportunity to share with your family the importance of today's message. 

    Please click this link for today's Time with Abba one year Bible four passages: http://twa.pastoralcareschool.org/

     Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to Him.    

   For the Chinese version of this daily blog and video, please click this link (中文版請按此連結):

    https://timewithabbaprayinglisteningchinese.blogspot.com

     

     To know, learn and practice the method of Time with Abba, please click this link:http://twa.pastoralcareschool.org/

     If you would like to follow my "Subject shifting Devotion Method" from the "Time with Abba, Praising Singing", you are welcome to follow the direction below and then go back to the top of this blog to read today's key passage and my listening and sharing:

        Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

      2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

     Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.   Sing a song to praise the Lord

      

Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method) 

https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

3.  John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)

(Please click this link to see how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/

           "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.

             Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

             Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

 My first blog "Devotion on Fire"  was written in English only  (July 17, 2009年7月17日至November 22, 2012年11月22日). Each day one chapter of Bible, from New Testament and then Old Testament. Completed in four months and three years:

http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/blessings-from-rev-dr-john-stott.html

My second blog "Discipler 123"  was written in both Chinese and English (March 6,2011to December 31, 2016 ):

https://discipler123.blogspot.com/2011/02/day-1-choose-light-away-from-darkness.html

and "Time with Abba" blog and video (January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2024): 

https://discipler123.blogspot.com/2017/01/1-2017.html

 

 

Connecting Workshop 2025(Session 2)

Bishop Silas Ng on Three Streams

 https://youtu.be/xiSOSFF9Iw0?si=puDWFD9Cx01ADm-o