My First God-tap

I remember when I first started my journey of listening for Holy Spirit taps on my shoulder. I knew that the Holy Spirit led, but I always thought his leading was running in the background, never something that we could consciously listen for and make a decision to obey.

A friend of mine suggested an experiment, for a week I would ask to God to lead me and then take any idea for good that came out of the blue and act on it. If it was for someone’s good, even if I was not from God, what could the harm be? If the idea come out of nowhere perhaps it was God and not me.

I was walking down my university’s campus on my way to see my principal. I was going to show him the latest copy of my thesis. I was pretty happy, I was pleased with my progress and I was ten minutes early for my appointment.

As I was getting close to his office as I passed by a university student I knew sitting on a bench. I waved. She smiled and waved back. As I continued on, I received a clear thought out of the blue. Dave, you should go and talk to Sarah. I checked my phone, I had 10 minutes, enough time to say hi, and what could it hurt.

I turned around, walked back and sat next to her. “How’s it going Sarah?”

She burst into tears and said with tremendous speed, “My parents are moving away, I don’t know if I should go with them, or stay here in university. What do I do Dave?” I suddenly realized that this would take longer than ten minutes. However, I was in my week of the experiment and had asked for God taps. It was a thought for something good that came out of the blue. So I stayed, listened, gave a bit of advice and prayed with her.

She looked up after the prayer and told me she had been praying for God to send someone to help her out. I always wonder if God heard her prayer, looked around the campus for someone amazing, couldn’t find anyone, and led me as I was better than nothing.

After Sarah I began to jog to my appointment now twenty minutes late. Wow, was I ever in trouble! I came to my principal’s office went in and was about to explain to his assistant that I was an answer to prayer. All of a sudden, the principal walked in behind me and said, “Dave, I am sorry I am late, do you still have time to meet with me?”

So that’s what God’s voice is like, just a thought, and not a very loud one. The thought didn’t repeat itself. Yet obedience produced an unbelievable adventure. Almost immediately I also thought, how many of those God-taps have I already missed? Oh Father I want to follow your faintest whisper, tap away.