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Introduction from the Author

Dear Reader,

God is more than a story in a dusty book. He is much more than a religious building, a doctrine that seeks to explain Him, a painting hoping to capture Him, or a well-rehearsed choir whose songs of Him inspire audiences around the globe. God is alive!

I wrote God Still Lives with prayer that the true stories and testimonies I share here will encourage you to trust God completely. God has never failed me. God will never fail you. I am constantly learning that He is present when I can’t see Him, and that He provides in His perfect timing...always.

Many know that it has been said that God did mighty things in days long ago. The world is filled with many books of such miracles, divine providences, and the direct leading of God in the past. But God still lives NOW in the present! I am praying that God uses this book to inspire you to live by faith, and not by sight.

As you read this book, you will notice that while some actual names are used, oftentimes the
names of locations or places I’ve visited have been purposefully left out. I have also changed the names of some of the individuals referred to in my stories. These changes are made to protect the privacy of the individuals involved and to protect the believers in the areas where I’ve traveled. However, once again, every story and testimony shared here is true. This book of stories from my short life are meant to testify that truly God Still Lives.

As you read the stories, you may also wonder how I hear God speaking to me. Do I hear an audible voice? How do I know it is God speaking and not just my own thoughts?

Learning to recognize when God is speaking to me or when it’s just my own thoughts or impressions has been a lifelong journey of growth. And I’m still learning. God does not speak to me audibly but inaudibly to my mind and heart.

Here are three principles that form the foundation on how I listen for and hear God:

#1: God’s written Word, the Bible, has the highest authority. The written Word of God is the highest revelation of who the real Jesus Christ is (John 5:39). God’s Word tests our impressions, life experiences, and what we hear from God in prayer, as well as the teachings of others (Isaiah 8:20; Psalm 119:105).

#2: God still speaks to His people today. God’s Word says, “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it, the Lord is His name, Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:2-3).

God wants to speak to us. He intends for prayer to be a two-way dialogue between us and Him. We pray, we read His Word, we listen, and we read His Word and pray some more. His written Word is the anchor and foundation for how we talk to and hear from God. If we long to hear God more, then we must wait on Him and listen more after we have read His Word (See Psalm 25:5; 46:10). Every time we obey Him according to His written Word, we are better prepared to hear His voice more distinctly in the future.

#3: God wants us to come to Him in prayer with eager expectation. God’s Word says, “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch” (Psalm 5:3).

Through my journey of growing in my friendship with God, I can tell you that I have come to understand that this God who still speaks loves me more than I think He does. I am also just as sure that God loves YOU more than you think He does, much more! Notice what He says in His Word to you:

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).

I invite you to read these stories and test them by the written Word of God. Most of all, I pray that you may know personally that God Still Lives!

Don MacLafferty is president of In Discipleship Ministries and a volunteer for the General Conference "Back to the Altar" revival initiative. He authored the key training manual for Back to the Altar. He also speaks and teaches on the topic of discipleship and intergenerational revival worldwide. Pastor Don lives and works by faith, and gives all his books away freely. However a donation towards shipping expenses is requested for boxes of books ordered.

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