Some milestones in our lives can only be understood in the rear view window. This is my testimony of the first time I can recall the Lord speaking to me.

After two decades of drifting away from the Lord I had begun making my way back. A couple months prior I had stared going to back to church and getting involved. I was going consistently on Sunday but didn’t know anyone in the congregation. I went to a couple mens groups, helped spread mulch at the church and helped with their food bank. Fast forward to the week after Christmas and before New Years, December 2020.

I am going to meet a friend for coffee across town for a late breakfast. This is an important friend, the one the Lord put in my life years ago and I credit this man with bringing me back to Christ through his behavior, lifestyle and faith. I’m sitting on my bed and this thought comes into my head out of nowhere:

[Friend's name] is bringing you a Christmas gift.

I didn’t recognize what happened or understand what it was. My first reaction was: I forgot to get my friend a gift! But the thought came out of nowhere and seemed different. It wasn’t a thought I created on my own; this had a prophetic nature to it. It was also in third person. I then settled on the idea that it could be the Lord. I drive across town and waited to see if my friend had a gift for me.

He gets out of his car and he has something in his hand. A Christmas gift! How did I know that would happen? I was still puzzled but I had a better understanding that I had probably heard from the Lord. How can I hear again? When would I hear again?

The following day, early in the morning I am sitting on my bed in the same spot and again the Lord speaks to me! And gives me a prophetic word for my friend which I shared with him later.

Looking back, this marked the end of my old life and the start of my new life in Christ. Many things were already in motion but this was a pivotal marker for me in that it is the first time I recall hearing from the Lord.