Joseph Taylor Spirit Empowered Living Wilson/Hannon 11/18/2013 The Ultimate Voice Reading Response Oral Roberts goes

into great depth about God's voice. Much of the book reveals his testimony but more than half is applicable to everyone's life. Oral Roberts reveals that God speaks to everyone because it is God's nature and humans were created to listen/speak. The Bible provides a great deal of evidence to God actually speaking although not everyone may hear God's voice due to a few reasons. Fear, a sense of unworthiness, lack of desire, and lack of belief are all reasons for not listening to God's still voice which can take on an infinite amount of ways for which to communicate to the chosen one. That being said, the principles that God communicates never change, His methods, however, do. God has given everyone a spirit and it is through this that a lot of communication and direction is given; He speaks by His Spirit in the most calm way, one that emanates love. As mentioned before, God's methods can always change yet his concepts never change. God personalizes what He would like to say for every individual, yet they all relate to His desire for a relationship with us and what He would like us to do. He also pushes everyone through unique challenges, yet in everything that is communicated the recipient will be able to "test and approve of what God's will is..." (English Standard Version, Romans 12:2) When God speaks to you, He will speak of you personally as His son or daughter; He will tell you what He will do for you and will allow you to know what He desires of you to do for your generation. God desires for each of us to be like His Son, through our character, mind and

compassion, creating a desire to do and say what Jesus did. Everyone is desired by God to preach, teach, and heal. He wants you to be effective in living out Christianity and to be obedient; through these things you will find that God empowers and honors what He desires of the individual. As God constantly speaks to an individual, He desires an immediate response, coming from the whole heart. If we are lacking in trust, God will reveal these areas to us and fill us with more of Him, always increasing the recipient in every area of their life. As we are obedient and respond to God's voice, Oral Roberts writes to never give into fear and always remember that you can go where you are needed because of all that came before you; if you ask God to give you His mind, you will recognize that he has a plan for your life. We should never think that there is a limit to how many people we can preach to or limit our ways to one method; we should always expect a miracle in every area of our life. Faith is what allows God's methods to function. We must realize He is our source and should operate with the most efficient methods, even if it means merging two. God is always calling you and the results of His plan are never a failure. I really enjoyed reading this book. Although I left out summarizing Oral Roberts' life in the summary portion of this paper, I believe it is very important for a student to understand how this individual was lead by the Holy Spirit to build this university. Oral Roberts' life showed so many good aspects and provides a great example for which a Christian can listen to God's voice. Upon reading this book, what was revealed to me was that at times I am unwilling to listen to God. The motives behind my willingness are usually fear or a lack of desire to listen, which can be attributed to the way I was raised in a non-Christian household. My father always taught us that results can occur as a function of the amount of time and effort we put into something. So many times I catch myself trying to control the situation

completely even as it seems to be spiraling into destruction. I never really had a desire to do anything apart from what I would be disciplined for if I didn't do. When it came time to pursue a college degree I had absolutely no idea or desire for a particular career or job. It is during times like these where I would ask God and rely on His voice to guide me. Following his directions I was lead into pursuing something I find great enjoyment in and really, I do not think I would have chosen engineering if God had not spoken to me when I was willing to listen. Coming out of a community college I was left with another big decision; where was I going to finish my college degree, continue to pursue track and field, and further my relationship with Christ? Again, desiring to hear God and pushing away all fear, I allowed myself to listen and was lead to Oral Roberts University. I can relate a great deal with Oral Roberts when he spoke of being sick and having people speak words that contradicted the Bible. I had asthma since I was 6 years old and became very dependent upon the medication I used to treat it. I couldn't go a whole day without taking it before having issues with being able to breathe easily. When I had found the church that put me in the right environment to hear God and what He had planned for my life, I believed that God spoke to me, telling me to stop taking the medication I was dependent that recently became too expensive to afford. My spiritual mentor prayed over me and we both waited to see how my body would react to my decision. I shared my plans with my mother and father who both disagreed with my decision and distanced themselves from me because they didn't want to be associated with whatever resulted from my decision. Before ending our conversation, I told my mother, with the stillness and calmness of God's voice and presence (just as Oral describes), "Just wait and see; I don't need it anymore." To this day I do not take the medication and continue to compete in a Division I sport with no breathing problems whatsoever.

This book is very useful in clearing up the things that people may construe that have to deal with hearing God's voice and the plans that He has for Christian's lives. I understand now that God's purpose in my life is the preach, teach, and heal. I believe in all three of these things because I have experienced healing in my own life and know God's ultimate plan is that no one be sick or hurt. My particular career of engineering can allow me to make a difference in this world and I know that I can provide healing through some of the devices I may assist in developing, spreading the Gospel as I work, teaching individuals about the life of Jesus and how they themselves can hear the "Ultimate Voice."

Works Cited English Standard Version. Bible Gateway. Web. 19 November 2013. Roberts, Oral. The Ultimate Voice. Tulsa: Pengold Garret and Associations, 2008. Print.