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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for May 28, 2009
“God Will Speak To You When You Pray”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
I believe that God will speak to you when you pray.
I’m not saying He will speak to you every time you pray, but as you draw near to God and He draws near to you, I believe there will be times when He suddenly drops something into your mind.
Jesus said, “Seek and you will find,” and I believe that as we seek God, and seek to hear from God, we will find.
Now let me share with you my experiences. There have been a few times when I was praying and I believe God dropped a specific message into my mind.
And listen to this. The message usually had nothing to do with what I was praying about at the time.
Our son is getting married next week, so my wife and I have been reminiscing about the days before our own marriage.
About six weeks before we were married, I was in prayer one day, and I believe the Lord revealed to me that it was time to quit my secular radio job and apply at Christian radio stations. So that’s what I did.
I gave my employer six weeks notice and sent out resumes to every Christian radio station in the state. And I prayed, “Lord, please let only one offer me a job – the very job You want me to have.”
See, I knew that I might choose the job that paid the most, or was the most prestigious, or the most strategic for my career. But what I really wanted was to have the exact best job according to God’s wisdom, not mine.
So there I was, getting married in six weeks, and quitting my job. I bounced it off my pastor and he was hesitant. He read my cover letter to the radio stations and said, “You sound like a ‘charismaniac.’”
But I was simply doing what I believe God led me to do in prayer one day.
I know the pastor didn’t think it was wise. Hey, I don’t even think it was wise, not in the general sense. But in this case I fully believed that it was the Lord’s leading, so I did it.
And I received one full-time job offer, and we spent our honeymoon moving to a place where we didn’t know a soul. And we stayed there almost 20 years, enjoying the blessings of the Lord.
A few years after that I was part of a daily prayer meeting at church, where the men gathered each day before work. One day while I was praying for something completely unrelated, I believe the Lord dropped this in my mind: “Are you going to send your children to the lion’s den?”
I understood clearly that that was my cue to look into Christian education for my children. We ended up sending our children to the local Christian school and became deeply involved in that ministry for many years. And it all went back to that day in prayer.
One of the scariest messages I ever received in prayer was the day the Lord told me to leave that church. And it was while I was right there in the church praying!
I did not obey. I thought, “No way. This little church needs our family. I’m on the board. Money is tight. Our friends are here. No. I don’t know where that thought came from, but it wasn’t God.”
A few days later I was in prayer and telling the Lord that I wanted to do whatever He wanted me to do and it was like He said, “You didn’t do the last thing I told you to do.”
“What was that?”
“I told you to leave this church.”
I can still feel that churning in my gut at the thought of it. But I really believe it was the Lord. So I began making the moves to leave that church and find a new one.
One day I was in prayer and suddenly, out of the blue, this message popped into my head: “Write and be creative.” It was that message that led to the creation of Apples of Gold.
One day as a Sunday School teacher I was praying, “Lord, give me a message for the people.” It was a prayer I had prayed many times. But on that day this message suddenly came into my mind, “If you stay in the Word, you will always have a message.” And that’s the way it has worked out.
As we were preparing to move to Tallahassee for this new job, I was praying “Lord, what about my salary? Is there a certain amount I should ask for? What should I do?”
Then out of the blue this message popped into my head, “Whatever he gives you will be your manna.”
Now I’m not saying it’s always so simple or direct. And I sure encourage you to get wisdom and seek wise counsel before you leap out there. And make sure you stay in the Word and in prayer.
But I really do believe that God will speak to you as you draw near to Him in prayer. It’s happened in my life at some very key points, and I believe it will happen for you.
And to me it really comes back to these five simple words from Jesus:
Seek and you will find.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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