Mark's Book

www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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Dedication To my Mother. In memoriam to my father and brother.

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Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 1: Ask Audaciously and Expect to Receive . . . . .

Chapter 2: Stories to Hear By. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 3: A Prophet’s Tool and List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 4: What You See, You Be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction

Lord, teach us to pray.

John the Baptist and Jesus Christ taught their followers how to pray. But praying is more than just reciting the Lord’s Prayer. If the mere recitation of the Lord’s Prayer was THE WAY to pray, then why on Earth didn’t anyone in the New Testament follow that rule? In all of the recorded prayers in the New Testament, there is not one example of someone reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

The only time it is mentioned is when Jesus gave it as an example of how to pray.

If the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer was THE WAY to pray, then would not we Christians be committing the sin of the Pharisees at the temple who loved to hear themselves praying? Would not we be like a loud gong?

We know that James 5:16b says that the effectual prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. So I am sure that many of you have asked yourself from time to time, “Why are MY prayers not more effective?”

Look up the word “effectual” in a dictionary. It means producing a desired effect.

So why are my prayers not producing the desired effect more often?

I asked myself that question and pondered it for a while.

My conclusion is that some people believe there is nothing wrong with themselves. Hence, they feel that they do not need to change or improve in the least. So they feel the reason their prayers are not more effectual has to do with their luck, i.e. sometimes they get God to answer “Yes” and other times the answer is “No” or “Wait”.

This is what I call “crapshoot Christianity”.

In other words, their way of living is like taking a chance at a game. They 6

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hope to get a “Yes” answer from God, but it is only a chance.

To them, chance is pretty much the same as hope. Yet any dictionary will inform them that the word “hope” means a desire for something with some confidence it will be fulfilled. Note carefully the words “some confidence”.

On the other hand, craps is a game of chance played in Las Vegas and elsewhere. That game rewards a player based on the roll of dice.

We see something similar with prayer.

Some people pray with the belief that there is merely a chance that their prayer might be answered. They may pray this way because they are not sure if their request is big enough, Biblical enough or holy enough.

Some also act as if they are taking a chance because they are not sure it is God’s will. It is as if they are throwing the dice and if it lands on the right number, then it is God’s will. If God doesn’t respond, then it must not have been His will.

Their reasoning is that IF they had confidence and expected their prayer to be answered “YES” by God, then they would be taking away God’s right to answer “NO”.

Of course that is a silly idea since there is no way we human beings could take away part of God’s job by having such confidence and expectation. The Bible tells us “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1.

Or, as the NIV translates it, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Verse 6 of Hebrews 11 tells us that in order to please God, we need faith.

No doubt what is needed is confidence in who you are. Additionally, you need confidence in God, and the ability to hear Him talk to you.

Other people feel that whatever happens is whatever happens. Therefore, they feel that they don’t need to improve themselves.

Well, I never felt I was perfect. Or that prayer with God was supposed to be like a game of craps. I always knew I could advance myself in whatever area of life that we are talking about. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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I figured that if this were not so, then the Bible would contradict itself.

Plus—if prayer were like a game of craps, then what would be the point of praying? Wouldn’t your chance of getting a “Yes” from God be the same if you didn’t pray?

One KEY aspect of developing an effectual prayer is learning how to hear from God. Why? Because if all you are doing is praying to God, then that is pretty much the same as praying at Him. Praying at God means you do not have a developed and robust relationship.

Think of Moses here. He not only talked to God, but he also heard back from God. Daniel, the apostles, the New Testament prophets and unbelievers in the New Testament, each reported the same phenomenon.

Now, you might call me crazy, but one day I realized there is no reason I too couldn’t have such a relationship with God. Especially since the Bible does not forbid, prohibit, outlaw, or make un-holy the act of God talking to His saints on Earth and having them hear His voice.

Thus, I believed this was a green light for me to develop my relationship with God in this manner.

The result of this goal is this book you hold in your hands.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mark B. Replogle Prophet of Prayer

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Chapter 1 Ask Audaciously and Expect to Receive Oh, where to begin?

From the time I was a youth, I was raised in a high church setting. I attended a private Lutheran (Missouri Synod) school at my church. My mother came from a Missouri Synod Lutheran background and that is how I was raised.

In fact, not until I was an adult did I attend other Protestant denominations.

Lutherans have a rather high opinion of how precise and accurate their theology is. Not surprisingly then, as part of my middle school curriculum, we had three years of theology courses. Plus, we had the usual pastoral teachings in preparation for our first Holy Communion.

I scored a 90 or better on nearly every test I took, while my classmates normally only scored 70s and 80s. With a couple exceptions, my classmates didn’t improve their grades much during the three years we spent at that school.

Before the start of my 8th grade year, my family moved to a different city.

My mother drove me to and from school at that time.

We quickly found a new church to attend, which was closer to our home. It was at that church that I began to teach a Bible class to my fellow classmates.

I can remember vividly that even then I had a marvelous ability to present God’s love, character, abilities, and deeds to my audience.

Plus, I frequently reported to the church’s senior pastor about the class conduct that day.

Without having taken any notes, I easily and accurately told the pastor what I taught, and any and all questions that were asked. When the pastor asked questions about what I taught, I was able to answer him effortlessly. Eventually, the pastor trusted me so much that he said I would no longer need to www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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report back to him after each class.

Despite all this success, and constant use of my God-given talents, I would have periods of being dry inside. I wanted more out of my relationship of God. What I was lacking was more along the lines of a friendship. You know, when one person talks to the other, and the other hears and responds. This creates fellowship and growth.

The Heavenly Radio is Turned On One Sunday, I was playing in my backyard.

I remember telling God that there absolutely HAD to be more to life than what I was experiencing. Otherwise, life would just be an exercise of going to church. It would be like “playing church”.

I remember thinking, “How long could anyone do that?”

And, “Why would I want to do that?”

If that’s all there was, it would be sad beyond words.

So, I chose to take action.

I remembered that there were scores of people—believers and un-believers—in both the Old and New Testaments that heard God speak to them.

Plus, I had a good enough knowledge of the Bible to know that nowhere did it say that God no longer talks with His people on Earth.

So I talked to God about this and I told Him that I wanted to hear Him talk to me. Not just once, but often. And I told Him that I knew this request had to glorify Him, not me.

I confessed that I didn’t know how to bring this about, but that I knew He did.

Then, and most importantly, I started looking for Him to answer my request.

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Of course, I didn’t tell anyone about this since most people would probably laugh at me.

Now I can’t say for sure exactly when I started hearing from God, but I most assuredly recall the first time that I did hear from Him. What happened is this: I was doing some chores in our backyard. The radio was playing and I was listening to my favorite station.

What happened next still stuns me to this day.

Between 1978 and 1980, I used to listen to radio station KEZY AM 1190 for two reasons. One—for the music. Two—I liked one particular Dee Jay named Strawberry Jan. On this particular day, I distinctly heard God tell me to immediately begin praying for Jan. He further instructed that I was to do this often, because she was in great danger.

So pray, pray, pray…I did!

I prayed for Jan right then, and continued do so regularly during the coming months.

Time flew by and I never knew what, if anything, had happened to her.

Then, one day while attending a singles group at Newport Mesa Community Church in Costa Mesa, California, I heard a woman giving her testimony.

That woman turned out to be Strawberry Jan! After she gave her testimony, I asked her questions about what she was doing around the time that God spoke to me.

Without hesitation, she revealed that she had been living in disobedience to God. Ironically, she was involved in a near-fatal car crash soon after I began praying for her!

According to her doctors, Jan was lucky to be alive. Most people in an acwww.HowToTalkToGod.com

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cident as serious as hers would have died immediately, or at the hospital that night.

Yet she didn’t.

Through God’s grace, she is alive and well, and walking with God. He blessed her with miracles, a husband, wonderful friends and family. I am blessed to have her as my friend and she has kindly agreed to allow me to present her testimony herein, so that the awesome God we serve will also bless you.

When Jan was a little girl she gave her life to God. Through adulthood, she continued to grow more and more in her faith and love for Him. Then, from 1978 to 1984, Jan’s professional career blossomed.

As she gained more success she continued to be more tepid towards God. She went to church less often, read the Word less, fell out of fellowship with her Christian friends, and prayed infrequently.

In 1982, KOST radio station called her with an offer of more money and a better time slot.

She accepted. Then, shortly after working for KOST, the station switched from a pre-recorded format to a live format that played soft hits.

Next, Jan was appointed music director.

She also began doing voiceover work and commercials for the station.

In the spring of 1984, Jan was chosen to debut the Love Songs On The Coast series. She was also getting more offers for work involving television, radio commercials and voiceovers.

Then, Jan had her life changing moment.

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Prayer Worked for Strawberry Jan It was August 11, 1984, the closing day of the Los Angeles Olympics.

While driving home on the freeway, a drunk driver of a 1.5-ton truck barreled over the center divider and smashed into her head on. His truck ended up on top of her car.

To cut to the chase, Jan almost died.

Her injuries were life threatening, yet the drunk driver incurred nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises.

At the hospital, the doctors informed Jan’s parents that she was not expected to live through the night.

To their surprise, however, Jan did live through the night.

But not long afterwards, Jan slipped into a coma. Her brain activity was so low the doctors believed she would never awaken. Furthermore, they told her family that if she did come out of the coma she’d be a vegetable.

Today, Jan adds humor to this episode.

She says she was with radio station KOMA during this time of personal strife. But she eventually left that station because the format was too sleepy.

So she went to work at LIFE and has been there ever since.

Ha! One of Jan’s injuries was a badly broken jaw. So the doctors had to give her dental implants and wire her mouth shut. When the wiring was finally removed from her jaws, Jan spoke her first words to her brother.

She told her brother that she loved him.

This was a miracle!

Again, no one expected her to be able to talk so well or so soon.

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A short time thereafter, her mother brought Jan some get-well cards that were sent by some of Jan’s listeners. Just as Jan’s mother was about to show Jan a card, the nurse interrupted. She said that Jan couldn’t possibly read it, because Jan was “like a baby” due to her head injuries and would have to be retrained to read.

But—as usual, God was in control. Not the doctors, or nurses.

So the mother decided to show Jan the card anyhow and immediately observed Jan’s eyes tracking across the card.

She was reading the text silently to herself.

Jan’s mother asked her if she could read it and if she understood what it said.

Jan replied, “Yes” and actually told her what it said!

When Jan’s mother heard the reply, she ran out of the room, praising God. And of course she kindly informed the doctors and nurses of the graciousness of God. Now, I can only give a partial list of Jan’s massive injuries here.

To start with, she had a broken jaw, which resulted in getting dental implants, as I mentioned previously. She’d been in a coma for several months due to brain stem damage. She had a broken left hand and numerous broken fingers. She had been through multiple surgeries for paralysis in her left foot and had several more reconstructive surgeries.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg!

But, despite all these injuries, God had mightily blessed Jan by healing most of the damage and its life threatening side effects.

Today, Jan is able to walk with little difficulty—even going up and down stairs.

Her seizure disorder is greatly reduced from the level it was at a few years ago.

Her short and long-term memories are much improved.

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And despite the fact that her doctors told her she’d plateau with regard to her healing, she didn’t plateau at all. She continued to improve.

(Dang! Those poor doctors kept getting things wrong.)

At the present, Jan is still experiencing healing and growth in all areas of her life.

This is partly a result of medical therapies, but also because of the miraculous healing that God gives her through various Christian ministers, whom she sees from time to time.

As Jan was recovering, the doctors and nurses told her she would have to get a new profession. The were of the opinion that she could never go back to being an on-air personality, since it required such a high level of brain activity and coordination.

Again, God showed man how limited he is.

For not only has Jan returned to the radio airwaves, she has done an outstanding job at it. In fact, she’s even performed voice work for an independent film.

Jan and I want her testimony here to prove that each Christian’s obedience to God’s words is vital. They affect people we know and don’t know.

Long Distance Prayer My experience with prayer in the life of Jan Marie Kirby (a.k.a. Strawberry Jan) is not an isolated incident in the life of Christians. It also happened to one of the Church’s most famous modern day healers.

In the 20th Century, in England, there was a fellow by the name of Smith Wigglesworth. There are many good books which talk about his life and works. I shall mention just one example here.

Once there was a man called Willie Burton who was doing the Lord’s work in the Belgian Congo. One day he became sick. While on his deathbed, Burton’s fellow Christian workers were disconsolate—standing outside his quarters—when all of a sudden they noticed Mr. Burton standing among www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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them. Fully healed!

How did it happen?

Mr. Burton had no clue. But one day the mystery solved itself while he was traveling in London.

After giving his testimony to a group, a woman came up to him and queried as to the particular day and hour he was healed.

Mr. Burton told her the facts.

Full of excitement, the woman disclosed what had transpired on her side of the word that day.

She explained, “It happened that, on a certain day, I went to pray.

And as soon as I knelt, I had you on my mind.

The Spirit of the Lord took hold of me and prayed through me in an unknown tongue.

A vision came before me, in which I saw you lying helpless. Hence, I cried out in the unknown tongue until I saw you rise up and go out of that room.�

She had kept a note of the time, and when he looked in his diary, he found that it was exactly the time when he was raised up.

There are great possibilities as we yield to the Spirit and speak to God in quiet hours.

God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that everything about you will be charged with the dynamite of heaven.

This was prayer that accomplishes much. Do you want to have this happen often in your life?

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When Will You Be Bold?

Let us now return to my parents’ backyard, when God told me to pray for Jan. What I learned was that God still speaks to us today. Not just from reading the Holy Bible, but directly to us. And—that I was able to hear God speak to me because I asked for it.

Plus, I expected God to say, “Yes”. So I looked for the “Yes” answers.

So it’s clear that my hearing God, and obeying His command to pray for a woman I didn’t know, was meant to bring her toward life and away from death. My efforts touched her life.

All of this was to God’s glory. Just as I told Him it had to be.

So, for you and me, the question is really this: what will we dare to ask for in prayer?

How bold can you be with God? When are you going to be bold enough to ask for something audacious?

I suggest you don’t wait any longer. Just do it now!

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The Lord is Faithful For those who are still waiting for God’s intervention in your personal trials or struggles, or for those of you who have given up hope, my heart reaches out to you with the love and comfort of God. Don’t run from Him. He longs to hold you, and to fill you with Himself. Run to Him and you will be safe.

Run from Him and you will face the cruel devastation of your life, your hopes, and your dreams.

But God is faithful. He will walk with you through the lowest valleys and through the highest of mountains. He will never leave you or forsake you.

Leslie Schofield

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Chapter 2 Stories to Hear By In 1983, I graduated from Long Beach State College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy.

Like many people at that time, I moved out of my parents’ home and began living on my own.

Soon I found myself with a new job, new living arrangements, new friends, more money, and a new church home.

I ended up joining an Assembly of God church in Costa Mesa, California since it offered the best programs and services for post-college singles. It was at this church that I was destined to learn and experience much more about the ways God talks to us.

As if in preparation for this, God spoke to me at college, in a way I never before experienced, nor will I ever forget.

At Long Beach State, I took a year-and-a-half of ancient Greek.

Overall, I did well and enjoyed learning the language.

My reason for taking these particular courses was because of all the philosophers I had read—I liked the ancient Greeks the most. So I thought it would come in handy to read any of the Greek philosophers’ in their original language.

Well, unbeknownst to me, God had placed two upper classmen in the class with me. They were also Christians, and had more of a love and earnestness for God than I did at that time.

The three of us became friends because of our shared interest in God and the ancient Greek language.

Not long after befriending these guys the three of us were chatting one day. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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One of them asked why I was in the course. After I responded, one of them looked me squarely in the eyes and said, “God placed you in this class so you could read the Bible in Greek.”

Both my friends were in agreement and they further predicted that I would never use this knowledge to read any of the Greek philosophers, which was my original intent.

As it turns out—they were correct.

Sometime after I graduated, I found a nearly new copy of the New Testament in Greek, for only $7. Awesome bargain! So I bought it.

To this day, that is the only book I have read with my ancient Greek language skills.

And to be honest, I have zero interest in reading any philosophy works written in Greek.

Pick Up the Gems Wherever You Find Them Based on what I learned from many sources, Newport Mesa Christian Center (NMCC) was unusual—in a good way.

Even though they were Pentecostal, they were quite well ground in the Bible.

Plus, outside of the leadership, the rank and file church members were more willing to believe what they read in the Bible, over any particular denominational preference.

I spent approximately 4 or 5 years at that church.

What I learned, just as in life, was spread out over the time I spent there.

There was a period of about 3 years, which were the most intense, as far as getting closer to God and learning more about Him. In small and large group settings, plus during the church sermons, a good amount of theology was taught and caught. Especially from Acts and the 20

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Pauline epistles.

Even though Lutherans read and believe in those books as well, they don’t generally teach out of them (for no good reason).

Not a problem.

God still taught me, from a low-church denomination, His many “gems” which were hidden therein.

Don’t Turn That Dial!

There’s a funny and sometimes annoying way that God speaks through others.

I saw it happen when some of our small group leaders got up to give the morning lesson.

There were times when they would start the lesson as planned...and then suddenly stop.

They’d pause, and we’d simply wait for them to resume.

Then, when the time was right, they’d begin with the “real” message—the message that God wanted them to give.

More often than not, the “real” messages were right on the money. They brought more conviction or encouragement to the group members then the original, planned messages.

When the speakers were led by the Spirit to give the “real” message, there was an un-earthly (if you will) stillness in the room. No one can accurately describe it, but when it happens, you will know it.

Anyhow, coming from an intellectual background (theology and law), such things were difficult to deal with. I had various arguments and problems with this phenomenon.

Yet, I most certainly could not deny that the conviction or encouragement brought by the “real” message led the various group members to a closer www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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walk with Jesus Christ.

Clearly, it resulted in a greater display of the fruit of the Spirit.

I knew that only the Holy Spirit could truly change people and bring them closer to Jesus and the Father. So, in time, I welcomed and even looked forward to these lesson detours.

What I didn’t understand intellectually was HOW God spoke to the speakers so that they went His way and gave the “real” message.

Plus, at that time, I hadn’t yet experienced such a way of communication with God. But, based on what I learned talking with the various speakers, and through my own Bible research, I discovered that these men and women commonly experienced either a general leading from God, or He spoke directly to their inmost spirit.

Read on…

Listen to Tweety Bird Early in my legal career, I had an opportunity to use my legal skills for two members at NMCC. Initially, through friends, I met a lovely young woman with a heart of gold.

She was injured in an accident which resulted in her having somewhat diminished mental capacity.

She was awarded a large sum of money by the court through a lawsuit.

This young “lass” met a boy at NMCC who had likewise been injured.

Just as she, he too had come into money from a lawsuit.

A lawyer from the church was hired to formally advise her and compose a pre-nuptial agreement.

This lawyer was kind enough to call me to represent the young man.

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Her lawyer prepared everything, and all went smoothly.

Here now is the take home message: God saved the young man I was representing, by communicating to him in a unique way.

You see, this man had become trapped in a burning building and there was no apparent way out.

Just as he became aware of this, out of nowhere, a bright yellow bird appeared in front of him.

The bird was tweeting loudly, and flapping its wings with much energy.

The bird moved its head to one side, as if pointing in that direction. Then it would briefly take off in that direction, only to fly back in front of this man’s face again and again It dawned on the man that the bird wanted him to follow.

Despite how weird this seemed, he followed the bird anyway.

Amazingly, the flames miraculously tapered and the man was lead right through a door that had previously been hidden by billowing smoke and fire.

Even more amaziong, they made it out just in time.

Once through the door, the area surrounding it was quickly engulfed again by a resurgence of intense flame.

If this man had not chosen to “listen” to this bird, he would have died in the fire. He would never have become financially independent. Nor would he have ever met his wife.

I have talked with this young man many times about this ordeal. Every time he tells his story, he never doubts that God sent the bird to him.

Further, this man always gives God the glory for his rescue.

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Sing and Live While I was at NMCC, a man named Dan DeLeon befriended me.

Dan taught me much about the ways in which God speaks to us.

This man has enjoyed a unique favor from God. Time and time again.

Twice, people have come up to him—unsolicited—and announced they were going to give him a car.

Once, while Dan was attending a Bible school for pastors, a person decided to pay for his entire education and all of his books.

Also, when Dan would meet with his accountant, the accountant would not only do Dan’s tax work for him, but also have Dan cut his hair, since Dan is also a barber.

Afterwards, the accountant would pay Dan for the haircut!

Anyway, Dan is a guy who “sees” things through dreams and visions. He is symbolic. Not only does he experience divine messages this way, he is also able to help others do the same.

Once, Dan told me a wonderful story of how God spoke to him in a vision.

I love this story because it teaches us about our freewill to work with God when having visions, and how to do so properly.

The story begins in the early 1970s when Dan became a new Christian.

One day he was riding in a friend’s truck. While listening to his friend talk about something, the friend’s voice became more and more distant.

Then suddenly, Dan saw a vision of rolling black clouds coming towards him.

Out of the clouds he saw a hand reach towards him.

Now, even though Dan was new in the faith, he did the right thing.

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He asked God if that vision was of Him. Further, Dan told God that he didn’t think it was Him, but he wanted God to confirm it.

God told Dan that the vision was not of Him and that Dan was to sing a certain song to make that vision go away. Furthermore, Dan was to sing this song anytime he felt attacks such as these from the enemy—Satan.

The song—an old standard from Church history—was to be Dan’s song of victory. So Dan obeyed God by singing that song right then and there.

Immediately the clouds rolled away and the hand disappeared.

To test what he had just witnessed, Dan stopped singing.

To Dan’s dismay, the clouds reappeared and began rolling back towards him.

So, Dan sang the song again and again, until the evil vision finally went away for good.

From this experience Dan was given a glimpse of the graphic reality of spiritual warfare against his soul. He also discovered that God had provided a means of deliverance through the singing of a song.

A song that worships Jesus.

The Hot Seat When the post-college singles group at NMCC formed into a strong and vibrant spiritual force, my three most growth filled years took place.

The group’s name was Impact.

One day, the Impact pastor introduced us to a small group prayer exercise, which came to be known as the “hot seat”.

The hot seat was a way for our Impact group to not only pray for one individual at a time, but also for us to learn how to hear and obey God’s direcwww.HowToTalkToGod.com

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tion in the prayer.

Initially, the number of people who were permitted to pray at one time was limited.

The same applied to those of us making prayer statements either affirming or blessing the individual for whom we were praying.

Over time, however, as the group grew together in friendship and trust, the pastor gave us more freedom in what to pray for during the hot seat sessions.

So we’d have one person sit in a chair (the hot seat).

Then, the other group members would stand around the seated person and pray. And it was optional as to whether or not we placed our hands on each other’s shoulders while praying.

This method of small group praying is great for building unity, compassion, and prayer skills. It also builds confidence personally and as a group.

The key to this type of prayer, as we were taught, is to have no doubt that one or more of us praying would hear from God. Whether it is a general leading, a word of knowledge or wisdom, a prophecy, a vision, or whatever—we had to have faith we’d detect it.

As a group, only 3 of 20 of us had previously experienced these ways of communication from God. But we felt this was more than enough.

As the process took shape, our pastor would shepherd us in the growth of the fruit of the Spirit, and in our Bible knowledge. And the experienced members of the group would offer their insights into ways that God communicated with them in the past and or now.

Lastly, we all expected that God himself would guide us and correct us through His Holy Spirit.

Another hidden secret to this growth in the Lord is that each person must agree to be accountable to God, or to the group or pastor, for his or her words and behavior.

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Now, I’m certainly not suggesting that one should become a “cult member” or give up their common sense or individuality. However, just as a member of a sports team or the military accepts instruction and accountability, so too should we Christians when communicating with God. Why is this important?

I wondered that, too, when I first heard the pastor talk about this concept.

So here is the answer: all of us are sinful though we are saved.

From time to time, for whatever reason, we might say or pray something that is not from God. Well, my fellow group members and me knew that in the future, when we were praying and this occurred, others in the group would detect that the words being spoken were not of the Lord.

Words, whether spoken by others or us, have a big impact on a person.

So, if a praying member in the future began praying from the flesh, we needed the others to correct or rebuke these words in the appropriate “Godly” manner.

This would protect the person for whom we were praying. Plus, it would offer the opportunity for growth in the Lord—for Christians in the wrong, and in the right.

Generally, here’s what we experienced: The more our group gained the ability to hear from God and give words of wisdom, knowledge, or prophecy, the more comfort, courage, and peace was brought into the lives of the people for whom we were praying.

Various healings were even experienced by some of us.

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Prayer by Proxy Another variation of this hot seat praying method is when you pray for a person by proxy.

For example, say Jan really needed prayer but wasn’t going to attend the Impact group meeting that night. Yet, her best friend was going to attend.

Well, we prayed for Jan through her friend, i.e. Jan’s friend would be in the hot seat for her.

After the meeting, Jan’s friend would visit Jan or call her. They would then discuss the hot seat prayer time, as well as what Jan felt while it was taking place.

Finally, no later than the next week, either Jan or her friend had to report back to the Impact group to give an update as to the prayer’s effectiveness and Jan’s current condition.

Believe it or not, this type of prayer by proxy really does work. Bible stories validate it.

One example is when people in the early Church period took handkerchiefs and aprons, touched by the apostle Paul, to their family and friends who were sick or needed healing.

When the sick received these items, they were healed. See Acts 19:11, 12.

Another example is found in the story of the sick centurion’s servant.

The Roman centurion’s people stopped Jesus from personally visiting the servant’s home. Instead, they only wanted Jesus to speak healing words from afar. Then, they brought those words to the sick servant.

A key point is that everyone fully expected Jesus’ words to heal the sick servant.

And that is precisely what happened. See Luke 7:1-10 or Matthew 8.

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God’s Stealth Soldiers Sometimes, God uses a “super secret” way of communicating with us.

In fact, it’s best likened to meeting an undercover CIA agent.

Let me explain this with a brief story: When I was in the Marine Corps Reserve, I worked for a Colonel. His civilian job was to be the liaison between Lockheed Martin Aircraft and the CIA. However, his security clearances were way above what could be considered Top Secret/Secured Classified Information.

Through him I was introduced to two CIA “spooks” or undercover agents.

Then, when I was activated and sent to Bahrain in 2004, there were a number of times when I had dealings with counter-insurgents and other clandestine types of men. This was not my normal course of work and it usually put me on edge.

For example, I was sent to pick up some fellow Marines at the civilian side of the Bahrain airport, at about 12:00 pm midnight. They were in civilian clothes as was I. Eventually, we found each other and I drove them back to the base.

During the journey, they said some things that revealed they knew far more about me than was normal. This pattern of conversation continued for the next few days and strengthened my observation.

God has a similar “secret” method when speaking or dealing with us.

Very few Christians wish to seek out and use this method and personally, I think that is sad.

What I am talking about is for a Christian to see God’s holy angels while alive on Earth.

I mean to actually recognize them as angels and to hear them speak, just as Daniel and others did in the Old Testament. And, as others mentioned they did, in the New Testament. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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If you think about it, even though God’s holy angels are a different kind of being than mankind, they are on our side.

However, these angels have “brothers” who have chosen to follow Satan.

So a celestial civil war is occurring.

Now, the Bible teaches us that some have entertained angels unawares. This subject intrigues me and once I was talking with a lady friend of mine about it.

I told her that I wanted to see angels regularly and see them as they were.

In my opinion, it did me no good to be completely ignorant of having met angels.

She and I agreed that nowhere in the Bible (Old and New) does it say that this cannot or should not happen.

So I chose to be outlandishly bold again.

I asked for God to show me angels as they are, and for it to occur often. I also told God that this happening had to bring glory to Him. Then, I asked Him to make it happen.

Finally, my part was to expect it. I didn’t know when it would happen, but I believed it would.

And it has happened!

There have been numerous times when I have seen good and bad angels as they really are.

So, part one of this process of “speaking to God and hearing from His angels” was complete.

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[Declassified] My First Angel Sighting The first time I saw angels as they really are was during an Impact group retreat in the mountains of Southern California.

We were having a scheduled individual down time. This is when we could do whatever we wanted, such as play games, hike, sleep, etc.

The day I saw my first angel, I chose to take a walk alone in the mountains.

I recall that my thoughts drifted from various Bible passages, to what we experienced that day as a group, to things happening in my own life.

As I was walking, I suddenly felt a presence. I looked around, but didn’t see anyone.

The presence felt as if it was more to my right side than anywhere else.

So I looked to my right again.

This time, I fancied that I might have seen a shimmering. Something resembling heat waves you might see coming off the black top of a desert road.

I was approaching a log that I had to step over to stay on path. That’s when it occurred to me that I could see the presence if I used my peripheral vision.

So as I took the first step over the fallen log, that is what I did.

And indeed, I did see an angel!

For the next several steps, I continued looking forward, but occasionally looked to my side. The angel was still there.

All of a sudden, I realized there was another angel to my left side!

The Psalm (91:11), which speaks of God ordering his angels to protect our ways, came to my mind. This brought happiness and peace to me throughout the day.

When I told my fellow Impact group members about my experience, they likewise were encouraged by God’s symbolic use of angels to testify that His Word is true.

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An Angel at Church All together, I have had three visible and striking angel sightings.

I have told you the first, which involved a good or holy angel.

Now, let me tell you about the second sighting, which also involved a good angel.

Not long after my encounter with the first angel, the Impact group was meeting in its usual room on Sunday. Before the class began, I entered the room. It was rectangular and had two doors on the south side.

On this particular Sunday morning, I entered through the western-most door.

Most of the members and visitors were gathered in groups in the northwest and west side of the room.

When I entered, my eyes were immediately drawn to the far northeast side of the room. No one was there, but still I saw “someone”.

It was a huge holy angel!

He was looking upon the class and was obviously supposed to be there.

Just then, a woman I knew greeted me. After saying hello, she asked if I had seen any more angels. Without hesitation, I replied “Yes” and pointed to where he was.

This woman said “Oh” and then went her way.

She may have thought I was off my rocker. But hey, she asked a question and I gave her an honest answer.

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And an Angel at Home My last memorable angel sighting for re-telling here was when I was house sitting with my friend Dan for a missionary couple who went to Poland for a month. We offered to watch their home during this time.

So one day, I was walking down the hallway from the bedrooms to the kitchen. As the hallway let out into the living room, I sensed something was in the backyard. So I looked through the sliding glass door to see if this was the case.

I was shocked to see a giant evil angel!

His arms and legs were like tree trunks. He was holding a scimitar sword in his right hand and there was a wary but deadly stare in his eyes.

I just knew that he had a right to be there. But that didn’t mean I had to like it or do nothing about it.

So I began talking with God. I asked Him to protect us from this bad angel by putting a wall of angels between us.

Also, I asked God to show Dan and I if there was anything we could do to evict this angel.

God answered my prayer and the evil angel was banished!

“How did this bring glory to God?” you ask.

It did because this experience enabled me to help some of my fellow Impact group members realize that they can ask God to see angels as they are.

This they have done and it has brought comfort, peace, and strength to them.

Just to be clear, I am not teaching or suggesting you worship angels. I am only saying that using angels is yet another way that God communicates with mankind, and brings His overall Plan to pass.

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God’s Black Ops Let me also mention another reason I asked God for this gift.

I figured that the holy angels and us saints are on the same side in the same war.

Based on what Daniel was told by an angel, there are times when this war is difficult and lonely.

Well, there is no reason for me not to ask Jesus to help His holy angels in their fight. Nor is there a reason against me asking Jesus to have His holy angels come to my aid, or to offer me protection when I need it.

In the Old Testament, it stated that God’s holy angels fought against men who were opposing God’s saints. Plus, angels were part of the Passover in Egypt. So, again, I had no qualms about asking God for assistance under the circumstances described.

Now, let me get a little more personal here.

There have been times in my life, and in the lives of some of my friends, when we have observed various buildings. No matter what kind of business attempted to operate from that location, it always failed. It was as if the location was cursed. Why? Or, there have been times when I walked into a person’s home, or a business, and felt darkness…oppression…a curse. Why? When these things happened, I realized I had two choices.

One, I could ask God to know why this was the case.

Or two, I could ask God to have His angels take back the land, or at minimum, offer me protection.

I chose the second option.

For me, option two provides action and furthers the work of God. The first option only gives me knowledge.

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Recently I heard an incredibly stupid statement from a pastor on the radio.

After he correctly outlined the strength and acts of angels in the Bible, he wished to never, ever see an angel until he died on Earth and was alive with Jesus in Heaven.

Why was this statement dumb?

Because it is very possible for God’s saints to work with His holy angels to accomplish great things in the here and now. By seeing angels as they really are, and by talking with them. By praying for their success.

So if I can work more effectively with God’s holy angels by seeing them as they really are, and or by hearing God inspired messages from them, then I choose to do that. Just think what God could do through you and dozens of other like-minded Christians in this regard.

Why would I only want to guess what is going on? Why would I choose to be powerless or not help the holy angels?

Why would I want to offer a canned, scattergun-like approach to a problem that requires a sniper rifle?

It’s best to ask God for the solution.

My friends—a celestial World War is raging at this hour. You will be involved in it, if you’re not already.

I hope you choose God’s way of life…His way of hope and power.

Are You Earnestly Ignoring Prophecy?

Prophecy is another way that God talks to His children, or the world, if He wants to.

God tells us in 1 Corinthians that prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit and that we should earnestly seek it. Though it is true that not everyone makes prophecies, we are still told to seek the gift earnestly, not haphazardly.

Indeed, you should never seek prophecy with doubt that God can or will www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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give you the gift. You must have faith in Him. Prophecy is also akin to learning a specialized skill.

When I decided to become a lawyer, I went to law school so that lawyers would teach me. When I decided to learn the Japanese art of Aikido, I chose a school that specializes in that art only. In the same way, if you wish to learn to be a prophet, you have to go to a prophet.

This is what I did while at NMCC. We knew of three or four prophets of varying skill and reputation who occasionally made their way to our region. Myself and some of the other members of the Impact, visited with these prophets when they attended churches in Southern California.

Plus, as others did, I bought various books on the subject. Some were written by pastors who admittedly did not prophesy and had no idea how to teach someone to do so. Other books were written by prophets.

Finally, I decided to go to a formal school and learn to be a prophet—if God would give me that gift.

So, using my own money, I attended a five-day school in Eastbourne, England.

My Start in Prophecy Before I went to England, however, I began developing the ability to regularly give words of knowledge and prophesy to people at NMCC. How did I develop this skill?

Often, my only (and best) teachers were the Bible and my personal prayer time with God. But what also helped me grow was my choice to believe in God and follow His leading, rather than what I saw, or what others said or did.

Oddly enough, what helped me in this area of growth is a life lesson I 36

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learned while taking flying lessons at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California.

One of the first things they teach every new pilot is that you MUST trust your instruments—not your body, your feelings, or what you see outside of the cockpit windshield most of the time.

You trust the plane’s instruments!

Why? Because the instruments are correct virtually every time, whereas your feelings are generally incorrect.

So you have to learn to navigate the plane based on what the instruments say.

Normally the instructor pilot will have the trainee pilot wear a special hood.

This hood only allows the trainee to see the instrument panel while flying the plane.

Then the instructor pilot will do a series of maneuvers.

Sometimes the trainee pilot has to close his eyes and sometimes he is told to ignore whatever the instruments say.

Then, the instructor pilot asks him to make any flight corrections he thinks is necessary to get the plane flying straight and level. More often than not, the trainee pilot ends up putting the plane into a dive or a spin.

Anyhow, I guess you could say that this flying lesson ultimately “saved my behind”. Even more, it resulted in a woman coming back into fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Allow me to explain.

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My Prophecy Instrument Years ago, I attended a Wednesday evening service at NMCC’s church.

During the service, the senior pastor went to the microphone and asked for anyone who had a word from God to come up and give it to the church.

After some others went up and gave their messages, I too felt I had a message from God to give. So I went up and gave it.

Now here is the scary part of the story. Prior to the service starting, I greeted an acquaintance that was sitting there with his date. I had never before met his lady friend.

The service progressed and I did not give the lady a second thought until God told me to give her a word.

You see, just prior to going up to the microphone, God spoke to me. He told me that He wanted to speak to the woman through me.

However, He didn’t tell me what the message was.

The only thing God told me was to go to the microphone and ask her to come up there with me, so God could speak to her.

That was the faith building aspect.

For every other prophecy I had ever given up to that point, the Lord had given me the message prior to my speaking it out to the person.

Not this time.

Nevertheless, I trusted God (the instruments of my plane) and approached the microphone.

I told the audience that God wanted to speak to the lady sitting next to my friend.

The reason I said it this way is because I didn’t remember her name. But that didn’t matter because God still wanted to talk with her.

But she refused to join me!

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So I asked her again. And again, she refused.

So I had to sit down with what appeared to be egg on my face. Yet, at that time, I didn’t feel that I was wrong, or that I was a false prophet. I knew the voice of God had spoken to me. I knew that the message I gave was from God. Ultimately, I thought, “So what if she refused.”

“So what if I never experienced this before?”

I was certain that I had heard the word of God. But to that church and especially to the senior pastor, it appeared as if I was a false prophet. That I had blown it big time. And I’m quite certain some of them loved seeing me with egg on my face.

However, a year later the Lord God vindicated me.

He did this by bringing such conviction to that woman that she tracked me down and called to ask my forgiveness for her blatant disobedience to God that night.

Now keep in mind—from that uncomfortable episode in church, until I received her phone call, I had never seen or heard from her again. I still didn’t even know her name.

Anyhow, the first time she called, all I could hear was heavy crying and sobbing. She couldn’t speak a word! So I thought it was a crank call and hung up on her.

Thankfully she was persistent and immediately called again.

She was crying and sobbing something awful, but at least she could now speak somewhat.

She asked for my forgiveness and I gave it to her.

She said that when I made the request for her to come up to the microphone, she knew God was speaking to her. However, she didn’t want to hear from God at that point. She confessed that she was in severe disobedience with God during that stage of her life and that is why she acted the way she did. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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We spoke for a while longer and then parted ways as friends.

The woman never did tell me the essence of God’s message.

Remember, I had no idea what message God wanted me to deliver to her that day at the church. Nor did the message reveal itself during the telephone call from her that occurred a year later.

Yet God had so convicted her (and had been gently guiding her over the course of that year) that I can only assume her call to me was just one of the big tasks she was given by Him. All she said was that she “blew it big time” by not obeying God during that church service.

So the moral of the story is to stand your ground when you know that you have heard from God. Trust God above all else, for he is like the instruments on your plane.

Your duty is to merely give His words. You are not responsible for the actions of your audience.

Prophets and Postmen There is Biblical support for the real life example I have just given you.

At Acts 15, there were two prophets who had a somewhat similar predicament. You see, to clear up a doctrinal matter, a council of apostles and elders was held in Jerusalem.

Ultimately the council decided to send a letter to Antioch (where the theological issue arose). Two apostles who came from there—Paul and Barnabas—delivered it.

The Bible says the people in Antioch read the letter and were thankful for its encouraging message.

Okay, now let’s look into this a little deeper.

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Why did the Jerusalem church send the two prophets along with the letter?

The answer is NOT so that the two prophets would tell the church at Antioch, “Here’s the letter the Jerusalem church wrote. We seen them write it.”

Big deal. That would have been pointless.

You see, the two apostles had previously spent time with the Antioch church and were trusted.

The two prophets were sent to Antioch to give a God-inspired prophetic message(s), which would confirm the letter’s Godly inspiration.

That was the prophets’ true task.

Go to Antioch and say whatever God tells you to say. Do not say what we as pastors, apologists, elders, pew-dwellers, theologians tell you to say.

Understood?

So what was the message that God gave the two prophets before they left Jerusalem? What was the message that God gave them during their trip to Antioch?

The Bible is silent on the questions I asked above, so they were really “trick questions” for you.

What I think happened is the two prophets didn’t have a message from God until after their arrival in Antioch. The only thing those two prophets knew was that God did indeed want them to go to Antioch with the two apostles and the letter.

Now, can you imagine the faith testing of those two prophets as they journeyed to Antioch? It wasn’t yet known to them what they were going to say. Always praying and trying to hear God’s voice. Knowing all the time their overall function in the plan. Knowing that the apostles only had to play mailman.

But God is faithful and came through for those two prophets.

Verse 32 says “Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers”. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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Whew!

You know those two prophets were wiping the sweat off their brows after that was over.

God Can Really Add Things Up! Another seldom used or understood way of hearing God communicate with us is through numbers, words, or the like. Some call this numerology.

Clearly, the meaning of numerology is not set in concrete with rules and formulas to follow. There are various meanings and numerous associated practices. But the meaning I have in mind is best explained by personal observations I’ve had in my life.

For example, the practice of law is easy to grasp. There are crimes, civil wrongs, divorce, the administration of the estate of the deceased (probate), bankruptcy, etc. Within each field, other categories or groups exist.

Then often, for something to be considered the crime of burglary, for example, certain things must have occurred. Only if all of those things are present does the crime of burglary exist.

Whereas numerology, as I have observed it to be used from time to time in some Christian friends’ lives, doesn’t compute for me.

Though I can understand why certain numbers are given certain meanings based on the Bible, I fail to grasp why those numbers appearing alone or in combinations do or don’t have certain meanings.

Plus, I never understood why, at times, a combination of numbers is added together, rather than divided, or subtracted.

I finally came to the conclusion that numerology is best suited for those who are more symbolically oriented, i.e. those who picture things through dreams and visions. (Daniel in the Old Testament interpreted messages this way.)

In my case, if God wants me to know something, He has to be literal.

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In the Marine Corps, for example, if I had been ordered to take my platoon to secure a hill, well that would have been easy for me to understand, and that is exactly what I would have done. No communication problem there.

Being literal does have its advantages.

Anyhow, I knew a guy in Orange County, California who was very much the opposite of me. He used numerology at times when he had to make major choices in his life.

Since I spent years developing a friendship with him, I knew when he was joking or telling the truth. When he was closer to God, or not.

There came a time when my friend had to move from the temporary apartment he was living in to a home in Orange County. Finances were not his problem. It was to know where God wanted him to live and what kind of a home to buy.

During his search period, there were times when he loved a certain home, but had much unease in his spirit because of the street address or name.

Other times, based on certain things that happened to him or his realtor, he chose to go house hunting on a different day than the one that was planned.

When my friend found his current home, an overwhelming peace came over him. Sure, the home and location was nice. It had much to offer him based on what he wanted. Plus, the price was right.

But, most importantly for him, was the street address and name.

It was those two items that gave him confirmation that this home was brought to him by God.

Divine Encounters Strictly speaking, divine encounters are not a method of communication that God has with mankind.

But I wanted to mention it here because it is fun and easy to try. Plus, it gives you and your fellow Christians a chance to practice hearing God, and then acting upon His words to you. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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Here’s how to do it: Let’s say you and some friends are going to go to a restaurant or sporting event. Well, rather than just going, why not pray ahead of time and ask God to arrange a special meeting with someone there?

When you are at that place, something is going to happen which will cause you to know that so-and-so is the person that God wants you to talk to.

Obviously you and or your friends are going to be in prayer and asking God to point out, somehow, the correct person.

Perhaps you will know based upon what the person says, or how they say it.

Or, it could be something about them that causes you to feel God is drawing you towards them.

You may or may not have any words from God to give them while you are looking for them. Just stay in faith and concentrate on finding God’s divinely inspired person.

After you find him or her or both—begin talking to them.

Relax, and soon God will tell you what you are to do or say to them.

This is a fun way to bring the conceptual into reality, thereby making it concrete and easy to see.

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Chapter 3 A Prophet’s Tool and List

The two most practical and useful things I learned from the School of Prophecy in England was how to conduct a blessing prophecy, and the ways in which God communicates with mankind.

Of course, I learned many other things while attending this school. But, for the purpose of this book, I only wish to share these two key items with you.

The blessing prophecy in similar to the hot seat sessions we did in the Impact group at NMCC. The major differences, however, are that the blessing prophecy is used to learn to prophecy and then what to do with God’s words when He speaks.

Here’s how to conduct a blessing prophecy: For example, let’s say we begin with a group of six people.

Four of the people prophesy for a fifth person.

The sixth person is the secretary. He or she will write or type the exact blessing prophecies uttered by the various members.

A group leader is also appointed. This must be an individual who already hears from God. Next, place various miscellaneous items on a table. (In England, the table contained a branch of holly, a small shovel, gardening shears, a flashlight, etcetera.)

To begin the session, one of the four prophesy-makers must come up to the front table and take an item back to his/her table.

The four prophesy-makers must focus their attention on this item as they pray silently and ask God to speak to them. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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When God responds, they repeat His blessings to the one person being prayed for, as the secretary records the spoken words.

Moreover, the four prophesy-makers are limited to ONLY speaking His words and there can be no more than eight words spoken. Oddly enough, this seems to be the maximum people get. In fact, many prophesy-makers do not even receive eight words.

Each person praying will either hear or feel these eight words.

Of course, each person will also write these words down on their own separate piece of paper.

The next step is to take those eight words and group them into sets of two words. So, eight spoken words would be listed in four separate groups.

How do you group the words?

You do it based on what you feel, or what you think God wants you to do.

There is no pre-set formula for this.

Once the words are grouped together, you then create short sentences with them.

Lastly, you ask God to give you or show you a target area for the person being prayed for.

The above process may sound abstract if you’ve never done it, but it can be easily clarified using the following example.

During a blessing prophecy session at the English School of Prophecy, I received a prophecy for one of the group members.

After I prayed, God spoke to me.

I took his message and condensed it to the following eight words, which I further arranged into four groups of two words each:

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Freedom and finances

Friends and forgiveness

Fruit and mid-winter

Great purposes and strong foundations

Then, I felt the target area for this man. It was his family.

Ultimately, the four sentences I constructed and said aloud to him were:

The Lord bless you with freedom and finances.

He shall bless you with friends as you forgive.

He blesses you with fruit in mid-winter.

The Lord blesses you with His great purposes and lays strong foundations.

As I uttered these sentences, the secretary wrote them down.

The job of the person being prayed for is to state whether or not he feels the words are indeed from God. During this process, the group leader is watching carefully.

The leader’s job is to intercede if he feels the words are coming from the flesh or the devil.

Oftentimes a gentle but firm correction by the leader is sufficient.

Or, if the person being prayed for says he doesn’t feel the words are from God, then the group of prophecy-makers will be to disregard those words in question.

Everyone at the School of Prophecy participated in this prophecy tool. Not everyone heard from God though. So it was a good way for God to separate www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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His children, and at the same time, lead and teach others through His word.

Over time I have added to this prophecy tool and refined it to suit my personal tastes.

A Prophet’s List There are many ways that God will speak to you.

For your convenience, I have included a list of common ways below.

Then, I will go through each item on the list and offer corresponding Biblical proof.

A Comprehensive List of Prayer Methods

1. Face-to-face (such as Moses experienced)

2. Dreams

3. Visions

4. Audible voice

5. General leading

6. Scripture

7. Through prophets or other people

8. Animals

9. Angels giving messages or interpretations

10. Signs

11. Speaks to your spirit

12. Stars

13. Numbers or numerology

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Biblical Proof 1. Face-to-Face “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”

Exodus 33:11a.

It should be noted that this is not merely a way that God may speak to you, it is also a sign to others that you have earned a privileged position with the Lord.

Because of this position you may have with God, the other saints should show you due respect. Just ask Aaron and his wife Miriam about this.

See Numbers 12:1,2, 4-10a.

2. Dreams “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.” Daniel 7:1.

Generally, God will speak to you in dreams only if that is a method of communication to which you are receptive. Dreams are highly symbolic and therefore this method suits some people better than others.

3. Visions “On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightening, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision: the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves.” Daniel 10:4-7.

While visions themselves can be as symbolic as dreams, they often contain a mix of the symbolic and the literal. And to make things even more exciting, at times, the literal is hidden in riddles or the like. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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As with dreams, visions are normally given to those who are good with interpreting symbolism.

4. Audible Voice “As he [Saul, later named Paul the apostle] neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’

‘Who are you Lord?, Saul asked.’

‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.” Acts 9:3-7.

Here we read about God speaking audibly to an unbeliever.

Note that Paul heard and understood the words spoken to him.

He didn’t spend time wondering whether he heard words because he didn’t recognize the voice of the speaker. Given the nature and origin of the conversation, Saul recognized that he was speaking to one with greater authority.

That is why he honored the speaking by calling him “Lord”.

5. General Leading “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” Galatians 5:18.

The leading referenced above is about choosing whether or not to do good, or bad. It’s about choosing to be holy or unholy.

The choices are outlined for us in verses 19 through 23.

Since only believers in Jesus Christ have received the Holy Spirit, which lives within them, only they can be led by the Spirit.

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6. Scripture “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17.

What more needs to be said?

The more you read scripture and ask God to speak to you through it, the more He will do just that.

The more you ask Him to help you remember His scripture, the more He will do so.

This means that more of His life-giving word will be at the forefront of your mind. It will be ready to be used by Him (and yourself) to teach you, rebuke you, correct you, and train you in His righteousness.

7. Through Prophets or Other People There are prophets in the Old and New Testaments.

The Bible mentions numerous prophets by name and others by title. Either way, most have some of their prophetic messages recorded in Scripture.

Generally the prophets’ audience is that of the Church, though the Bible cites a number of instances where they spoke to one or more unbelievers.

There are also examples of God using believers and unbelievers, who were not prophets, to speak truth to mixed groups (believers and unbelievers), as well.

Fortunately God has given the Church five tests to determine whether any given prophet speaking to us today is a true or false prophet.

Some of these tests are unique to prophets. Other tests can be used to judge nonprophets, such as pastors.

For more information on these five tests, see my special report called The Five Tests of a True Prophet.

A great Bible example of receiving a word from the Lord through another person who is not a prophet can be found in Luke 7:1-10. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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8. Animals One of my favorite modes that God speaks to us humans involves animals.

The only known downside to this form of communication is that it indicates you are in really big trouble from God. Granted, talking animals such as those depicted in The Chronicles of Narnia may exist, but I have yet to experience their fellowship.

See Numbers 22:21-35.

9. Angels Giving Messages or Interpretations In the book of Daniel, chapters 7 and 8, there are instances of angels giving interpretations to Daniel regarding dreams and visions he had.

You also find an angelic interpretation in the book of Revelation, chapter 17, verses seven through eighteen.

10. Signs “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’” Luke 2:8-12.

Another sign is: “Tongues, then are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers.”

1 Corinthians 14:22.

The above demonstrates two different signs that God used in the New Testament. The first was a one-time event, while the other endures to this day.

So we see that angels can introduce signs, or not.

One sign may have momentous significance, but can be a common event. Another sign may not be common. Or perhaps the sign is meant for unbelievers, and empowers the person delivering it 52

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11. Speaks to Your Spirit John 16:13-15 says “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”

12. Stars Of course, we are all familiar with God using a star to guide the three wise men to worship at the baby Jesus’ side upon his birth.

The details of what star, what they knew, how they knew it, et cetera, is not known to us.

Just as important though, is the fact that nowhere in the Bible does it say that this was a one time only event.

In other words, the Bible does not say that it will not give any further direction to any person using stars.

13. Numbers or Numerology Many people have said that three is the number of perfection, and that seven is the number of completeness.

For whatever reasons, the combination of numbers that a person may see or come in contact with brings them a message.

Based on that knowledge, as well as other forms of communication with God, they then do or refrain from doing a particular act.

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Chapter 4 What You See, You Be Finally!

We come to the time when the answers to our prayers have yet to appear.

During this time frame, there can be a lot of waiting. I tend to have a lot of patience with God. It’s just the waiting I can’t stand.

So what do you do while you are waiting on the Lord?

Well, I have heard some helpful ideas from various pastors over the years.

But, honestly, they didn’t fully explain things.

I also once heard an awesome teaching from a prophet. But that was missing something, too.

So I continued searching around on my own and even asked God for the answers.

Eventually, things came together.

THE ANSWER: You have to say what you’ve heard so that you can see what you’ve said.

The Wonderful World of Words The object of this book was to teach you how to hear God’s voice in various ways.

Additionally, we have established that God’s words are truth and life.

The question is—what are you going to do with the words that He has spoken to you?

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We know that mankind was created in God’s image, right? We also know that the Holy Bible has much to say about what God said, and what we humans say. So lets take a short review of a few key Bible scriptures.

The first is at James 3:4, 5. It says, “Thereat our tongues are likened to a ship’s rudder. Though being small, it exerts an out of proportio influence on the body.”

Now, after reading that, do you think God’s words to you could have some effect?

Proverbs 18:20, 21 says “...with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

Call me crazy, but I would think that God’s words would bring increase— death or life.

Mark 11:23 commands us to speak unto the mountains. And that as long as we do not doubt in our hearts, but believe that whatever we “saith,” it shall come to pass.

Of course, this verse tells us to “speak out” to the symbolic mountains in our lives, not the literal mountains.

Joel 3:10 tells us the weak are urged to say they are strong.

Interesting.

Well, why would a weak person want to speak out as to the state of being opposite of the one they are in? Stay tuned for the answer below.

1 Samuel 17:43 adds that David spoke out his belief and intentions to the giant Goliath. God’s word says that he was a man after God’s own heart.

Therefore, I don’t think David was simply acting tough and then suddenly became lucky in battle.

1 John 4:4 says greater is God in me than he who is in the world. Satan is the ruler of this world. So it is you and God against Satan, his angels, and the un-redeemed of the Lord.

Isaiah 54:17. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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Deuteronomy 8:3. Man shall live by every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord.

This includes any words that God speaks to you, and that you hear, as a result of what I’ve taught you in this book.

To summarize, God’s words bring life.

Furthermore, God wants us to speak His words, even if we feel we are not yet in that state of being which He see us in.

Be Transformed, But Not Changed Now, let’s say you’ve finally heard from God. It does not matter how God spoke to you. What is important is that you know He spoke to you.

When you repeat aloud the words that God said, your mind and heart will catch a vision. That vision is the next state of being that God wants you to become.

Like a butterfly, God wants you to meta morph into something new and beautiful.

The Greek word that we translate as meta morph can be translated into English as your next hereafter in time. See Romans 12:2. The connotation is that God is the one doing the changing, and it is into something beautiful.

On the other hand, the word we translate as “change” has the connotation that we ourselves are making the change in us. But that change, despite our best intentions, is into a debased form. This means that we have no ability to change ourselves into something holy and beautiful by God’s standards and in His eyes. Yet—He possesses this ability and will do it for us.

That is the difference between BEING transformed versus changing OURSELVES. So, again, you were fortunate enough to have heard from God.

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You have spoken His words aloud.

Your mind and heart now have a vision of the new you in the next hereafter in time.

You want to tell God that you are ready and willing to work with Him as he meta morphs you into your next hereafter in time.

As you ponder and long for this next hereafter in time, you ask yourself, “What would I be like?”

“What would I feel?”

“How would my life be different?”

Then, start infusing feelings of confidence and hope into that vision as you see it in your mind.

Enjoy it!

That is the new, beautiful YOU that God wants you to become.

Also, there is a powerful and exotic gem of Bible truths that you will want to make part of your life at this time. It is found in Luke 11:1-10, primarily verse 8. Many pastors rightfully explain that this scripture tells us that we are to be bold and persistent in prayer.

The two Greek words that are usually translated as boldness and persistence are given greater meaning if you read the meanings in an English dictionary.

I also wanted to pass this maxim along to you.

Holding firmly to some purpose, he beset with repeated and insistent requests despite obstacles.

Now let’s review.

You’ve spoken God’s words aloud. www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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You have a vision, which you have infused with emotion, expectation and joy.

You are working with God to meta morph you into your next hereafter in time.

Your prayer to God at this time is along the lines of “God, you said XYZ. It must come to pass.”

At this point, you are then going to beset God with your repeated and insistent requests despite any obstacles that may be happening in reality.

Conclusion As a last thought, I need to remind you to never forget what God has told you.

Whether it be just your normal Bible reading, or you had a word from God as explained above. Ponder the words and ask God to transform you based on what He has said to you.

Through this practice of prayer and faith, we can see the separate roles played

by God on one hand, and by men and women, boys and girls, on the other hand.

For it is up to mankind to ask, believe, hear, and then use the words of God spoken/revealed to them.

While it is up to God to work out all the details and bring things to pass, it may be tempting to try to do God’s side of the bargain, too. But trust me, it won’t be fun or successful.

IF YOU ARE BOLD enough to ask audaciously, and follow my examples, your life with God will be changed for the better.

The tools and techniques in this book, along with the special reports you’ve been given, will enable you to walk in faith. To consistently be transformed into a better, newer tomorrow.

You can then say that you are a friend of God. Not just because of head knowledge. But because of the invaluable experiences you will have recently had in being a better prayer warrior of God.

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LET US DO A GEAR CHECK AT THIS POINT: 1. You have been entertained and encouraged by my testimony about praying audaciously.

2. You know the ways that God speaks to people.

3. You know how to see your future and enter into it today.

4. You know how to receive God’s Favor in the next 7 days.

5. You know how to walk, praying to God and breathing in His health to your body.

6. You know how to focus your prayers like a laser beam by using a prayer card.

7. You know the 5 tests of a true prophet so you will not be spiritually harmed.

I truly hope that this small work of mine has helped you to grow in your prayer life and faith in God. Please feel free to write me with your testimonies. I’d love to read them and share your happiness with others.

Afterword The Holy Spirit Living Within You All believers in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit living in them.

John 14:16, 17, 26 says: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither see him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you...but the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

Romans 8:16 says: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

1 Corinthians 6:19 says: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” John 16:13-15 says: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.�

You have undoubtedly heard people say that they have a witness in their spirit about something. Such sayings really do have a basis in reality and scripture.

When you hear what you think is the voice of God, then one way to determine its origin is to ask yourself; does your spirit give you peace or a thumbs up to that voice?

If you did hear from God the Father or from Jesus, then the Holy Spirit within you will be telling your spirit that you did hear from God. The Holy Spirit will give peace to your spirit.

If the voice you heard was not from God, then the Holy Spirit within you will be speaking warning to your spirit.

That is why you sometimes hear people say that they have a check in their spirit about something.

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About the Author Mark Replogle was born in the Wild West city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

As a child, he lived in various towns, homes and on a ranch. Then, at age six, his family moved to California. There, he alternated between public and private schools.

While on summer break from high school he became bored. So he went to the local airport and took a 30-minute demo flight in a Cessna 150. From this moment, he became hooked on flying and soon earned his private pilot’s license.

Then, as a young adult, he attended the California State University at Long Beach where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in philosophy.

Next, Mark earned a law degree (JD) cum laude from the Simon Greenleaf School of Law in Anaheim, California. Impressively, he passed the bar exam on his first attempt. (That exam normally has an overall pass rate of approximately 45%.) www.HowToTalkToGod.com

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During his legal career, Mark has achieved expertise in many areas—franchise (franchisor), personal injury (automobile), civil disputes, bankruptcy (chapter 7), military operational law, and veterans’ appeals. Today, he is permitted to practice law in California, the Central District of California federal bar, and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, D.C. Mark’s religious education is also extensive.

Mark was raised in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and attended one of their private schools during his middle school years. Hence, he participated in many doctrinal courses as a youth, e.g. the basics of the Christian faith, doctrines of holy baptism, communion, who Jesus Christ is, saving faith, the trinity, the historic defense of the faith, prophecy, prayer, evangelism, etc.

Furthermore, he has completed formal and informal courses in schools, churches, para-churches, and self-study. And, he has attended many different Protestant churches and bible studies in America, England, and France.

During his formal school years and beyond, Mark has been active in sports.

Football: He played as an offensive lineman in Pop Warner and high school football.

Baseball: He played as a baseball pitcher and third baseman.

Wrestling: As a freshman in high school, he wrestled at 127 pounds.

Martial Arts: Mark and his brother trained for one year in Japanese Kenpo karate and competed in three competitions. Then, in 2010, Mark re-started his studies by joining an Aikido dojo in Tempe, Arizona.

While in high school, Mark stumbled across an opportunity that lead to his future career as a military man. One of the unofficial requirements of his football team was that new sophomores were to attend a United States Marine Corps program called the Devil Pups. This gave Mark an introduction to what enlisted Marine boot camp would be like.

Devil Pups resulted in a long two weeks of “fun in the sun,” as Mark jests.

But he really enjoyed the challenge. So much, in fact, that after high school, he enrolled in boot camp and became a United States Marine.

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Ultimately, Mark served 13 years in the reserves.

During his career as a Marine, he held three jobs. The first was as a Cobol Computer Programmer on IBM 360s. Then he was an administrative clerk for various units. Finally, he was a law clerk to a SJA (or JAG) unit, which was part of the commanding general’s staff at Camp Smith, Oahu, Hawaii.

While in the service, Mark attended schools in Virginia and South Carolina.

Also, he was stationed in California, and performed active duty at Yuma, Arizona.

Finally, as a result of being assigned to Camp Smith, he traveled to South Korea (three times) and to Bahrain. At Bahrain, his role was to support the Marine headquarter’s forward element for the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He remained in Bahrain from January through June of 2003.

Mark has lived most of his life in Southern California. However, he recently relocated to Arizona so he could help take care of his aging parents during their time of need.

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With a B.A. in philosophy from California State University at Long Beach, and a J.D. (cum laude) from the Simon Greenleaf School of Law in Anaheim, California, Mark B. Replogle has over 20 years of legal practice experience.

In addition, he has served 14 years in the Marine Corps Reserve, finishing as a Sergeant with Marine Forces Pacific, Staff Judge Advocate’s Office.

Mr. Replogle has also earned a private pilot flying license and still enjoys taking flights from time to time.

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Copyright Š Mark B. Replogle. All Right Reserved.

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