We have the abridged version of Acts 13:2 before us. Today and the next several meditations, this will be our focus. Let us begin by saying that the things of God have patterns. To this extent, they are replicable. Through a series of logical deductions, the Psalmist established that God hears, sees, and knows. “He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?” (Psalms 94:9). By extension of this line of thought, it is within reason to say that He who made the mouth will surely be able to speak. Too often, many believers complain that they cannot hear God. Such people are the more puzzled when other believers relate what God told them. Those who are born of God have the rare privilege to hear him. The problem is not that we cannot hear God; rather we do not create the enabling environment that will cause His voice to ring clear.

The text before us teaches how to set the stage for God to speak. It says the prophets and the teachers in the church at Antioch were ministering to the Lord. It was in that process that the Holy Spirit spoke. Arguably, the Holy Spirit must have spoken through prophecy, using any of them. When we minister to the Lord, we set the stage to receive the word of direction. That word ‘minister’ is important. It generally talks of the performance of religious functions which include (but are not limited to) worship. I believe that worship was taking place at Antioch when the Lord spoke to them. Other ways of ministering to the Lord are charitable works as well as obedience to given instructions. I believe that the more we minister to the Lord the more chance we create to hear from Him.