Your Servant Is Listening: Acting Upon the Word of God

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Many people wonder, does God talk to us today? The answer is a powerful yes. God speaks—through His creation, through circumstances, through other people, and most clearly through the word of God.

The Bible is not just an old book. The Bible is God’s living letter to us, His way of showing His love, giving guidance, and offering hope.

When we learn to listen and then act on what we hear, our entire lives change. This is not just for pastors or missionaries. It is for everyone—students, parents, workers, and retirees.

Each of us can play a role in God’s story when we commit to a life of listening and serving.

Our God Still Speaks: Real-Life Stories of How God Answers Prayers is filled with proof. From the jungles of Africa to the mountains of the Philippines, ordinary people heard God’s voice and stepped out in faith. The word of God is alive and active, a roadmap for life, a comfort in pain, and a command to act.

The Bible is Your Map for the Journey

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. –Psalm 119:105

Before we can act, we need to know what to listen to. The Bible is God’s main way of speaking to us, holding the complete authority of Scripture. The Bible is our only true and trustworthy guide, the ultimate standard for our lives. Think of it like a reliable map on a long hike. You wouldn’t ignore the map and just hope you find the trail. You’d study it, trust it, and follow where it goes.

Virginia’s life was built on this map.

As a young widow with two small children, her world had been shattered, and, in her deep grief, she didn’t have clear answers, but she had the word of God.

One verse even became her anchor:

I would have despaired unless I would have believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord –Psalm 27:13-14

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This Biblical foundation for life held her up when everything else fell apart around her. She writes about the comfort she found: “Walt, a former pastor, sat down with me and walked me through scriptures and events. He was able to comfort me, helping me to see God’s faithfulness to me even in Tommy’s death.”

The Bible gives us promises to cling to, wisdom for decisions, and correction when we stray. Making a daily habit of reading it is the first step in tuning our ears to God’s voice.

It’s how we learn His character, so we can recognize His prompting in our daily lives.

Hearing God in Everyday Life

My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; –John 10:27

God speaks through the word of God in the Bible, but He also applies it directly to our personal situations. This is the living truth of the Bible.

The word of God is not just history; it’s a message that has been uttered in wait for you today.

Virginia experienced this in simple, powerful ways.

In Africa, feeling homesick and out of place, God comforted her in a simple way: He let her see a faded Tide soap advertisement on a shack wall and had her drink a Coca-Cola. “That day God showed me that, even in Africa, Tide soap and Coca-Cola were available to me for my use and enjoyment… I felt quite comforted in having something familiar from my own culture.”

It was a small reminder that God saw her and cared about her personal comfort. This was God’s voice in Scripture—the principle of His care—made real in her moment of need.

For her husband Les, God’s voice came as a surprising desire. After hearing a missionary doctor speak, Les felt a strong pull to go to Ethiopia. This made no practical sense, yet it persisted within him. Virginia recalls, “He said quite calmly, ‘I’d like to go to Ethiopia to see Dr. Cannata.’”

This inner prompting, which aligned with God’s heart for the world, was a subdued form of divine revelation coming to life. So, they listened, prayed, and God miraculously provided affordable plane tickets.

Acting on that initial “nudge” eventually led them to a lifetime of missionary service.

The Courage to Act on What You Hear

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. –James 1:22

Listening is only half of the equation. The faith that pleases God is a faith that acts. This is where we play our role. When the word of God gives a command, a promise, or a direction, our job is to step out, even when it’s scary or doesn’t make sense.

Virginia’s stories are full of this obedience in action.

As a young bride in Liberia, she tried to make her mother’s chicken and dumplings but ended up with a single, giant “dumpling disaster.” Humiliated, she was met not with criticism but with her husband’s grace and humor. “He picked up his knife and fork, pointed at the quivering pale mass, and said to me, ‘Slice me off a hunk of that!’”

Her response was to keep trying, to keep learning to be a good wife. Acting on God’s call to love sometimes starts in the kitchen.

Later, as missionaries in the Philippines, she and Les faced a food shortage during training. They prayed for aid, and a bundle of green beans appeared at their door. Then, a neighbor shared chicken with them. Then, a visiting friend arrived with a gift box of food that met their exact needs and cravings.

They acted on their need by praying. God acted by moving the hearts of people around them.

Virginia writes about opening that box: “Les and I both wept together at the incredible way God had answered our prayers.”

They acted by trusting; God acted by providing.

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The Journey Begins with Yes

The stories in Our God Still Speaks shout one clear truth: the word of God is powerful and personal. God is not silent. He invites you into a relationship where He speaks, and you listen; He leads, and you follow.

Grab a copy of Virginia Stewart Metzler’s Our God Still Speaks: Real-Life Stories of How God Answers Prayers.