Dallas Willard wrote one of my favorite books about how God communicates with people. He begins by quoting comedian Lily Tomlin: “When we talk to God, we call it prayer. When God talks to us, they call us schizophrenic.”
Willard explains that if you have a personal relationship with God, it makes perfect sense that He would communicate with you, just as you communicate with Him. Life with God is not a monologue; it is a dialogue.
Willard believes the most intimate communication between God and people comes through an intuitive prompting from the Holy Spirit. That is the main way God has spoken to me. I can remember times when I responded positively to the Holy Spirit’s quiet voice within me, and good things happened.
After Philip’s experiences in Samaria, he seemed to need a more direct call from the Lord. God sent an angel to lead him to someone whose life would resonate in Ethiopia even today.
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. (Acts 8:26-27)
God had a divine appointment set up for Philip. He was going to meet an Ethiopian eunuch, a high-ranking official in the court of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians.
The man had traveled to Jerusalem to worship and was now returning home. As he rode along in his chariot, he was reading from the prophet Isaiah. This time, the Spirit directly led Philip to his divine appointment.
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” (Acts 8:29)
Philip approached the Ethiopian official and saw that he was reading from the book of Isaiah:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.” (Acts 8:32-33)
As Rudy Ross notes in our YouTube videos, Isaiah 53 is incredibly important to followers of Jesus, though it is viewed less so in Jewish tradition. It makes perfect sense that the Ethiopian eunuch would wonder what this passage meant.
Philip told the eunuch about Jesus. He explained the full story so the official could understand that Isaiah 53 referred to what Jesus had done for all of humanity. As a result, the eunuch wanted to become a follower of Jesus, too.
As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. (Acts 8:36-38)
A Detour and a Destiny
Philip was willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s direction. Because he did, he helped a national leader become a follower of Jesus. Christianity still has a strong presence in Ethiopia today; in fact, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the strongest in the world.
We need to pause and ask God how we can know if He is speaking to us. More importantly, we should ask ourselves if we are sensitive to His Spirit’s voice and ready to follow His direction. We do not always know what will happen when we obey, but the best choice we can make is to be willing followers of the Spirit’s guidance.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 8:26-40 on YouTube today.
