"You must distribute liberally."

See The Necessity of Giving to the Poor.

His promise was: if you seek, as your FIRST priority, the Kingdom of Heaven and His Righteousness, all your other needs will be met. We can testify to the truth of his promise, that while seeking the Lord as our first priority in life, He has met all our material needs far in excess of our hopes. Rather than accumulation, your focus should be on giving from your excess; for it is more blessed to give than receive. You must practice generous giving. When you see a need that you can fill from your excess, fill it. Just react to what comes in front of you, or you can give to deserving charities such as our favorites: Girls and Boys Town and TheSmileTrain. By giving, you are practicing what you seek - love and death of self; but give in secret, receiving no recognition from man. Only your Father in heaven will know, and your treasure will become eternal.

And remember, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil, not money. Rich or poor can love money. Rich or poor can have little regard for money. Remember, it is written, give to the poor, and I will repay you. And, God loves a cheerful giver. Ease of giving comes with practice. Start slowly and build as you feel the joy of giving. If you can't do this yet, wait until he shows you the root of your problem in your heart and takes it away.

Of course, everyone able should be employed, and so be in service to the creation; any honest job is honorable, which includes being a stay-at-home mom. We cannot be slothful, doing no work, living off the government or others' generosity. The slothful is brother to the destroyer.

As long as you are in an honest occupation, remain where you are. The more changes in your life that you make, the more unsettled you become and the less you can hear Him because your mind is racing to accommodate your new circumstances. Don't relocate to a new job, city, country, or house unless necessary. Make as few changes as possible in your worldly life.

To single people: If you sincerely desire to seek God, you cannot be seeking a husband or wife at the same time, because that pulls you away from your primary goal. There is nothing wrong with marriage, but you cannot forsake all, while grasping for more; you cannot lose your natural life, while trying enlarge the same. When you attain the clear guidance of the voice of God, if it is best for you to be married, He will clearly tell you whom and when to marry; remember, God destroyed the old world by water because the sons of God were marrying people outside of the faith, to whomever they were physically attracted. Before you begin, count the costs. If you have heard the call, don't be like those who said they were too busy with: a new wife, their business, their farm, or burying their parents. Long after George Fox had attained union and entered paradise, with no desire on his part, he was told by the Lord to marry Margaret Fell, also a prominent Quaker.

As you begin to deny your former evil activities in the world, the basis of your friendships will diminish. As you deny foul language, revelry, drinking, carousing, etc., your friends will become uncomfortable and begin to attack your commitment to goodness. You will no longer have anything to gain from socializing with them. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? Yes, they think it strange that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they speak evil of you. Your former social friendships will necessarily disappear, else they will hate you and persecute you; or worse, drag you back into the world as you seek their approval. Are you trying to win the approval of men, or of God?

Don't make the mistake of assuming you are supposed to love everyone by socializing with them, thinking that Jesus visited sinners and synagogues, and so should you. You are incapable of showing the love of God to anyone until you have been purified and the love of God has been close to perfected in you. Everything Jesus said and did was exactly as he was ordered to by the Father, and when you are clearly under the control of the Spirit of God's promptings and orders, you too will be sent to worldly people, (including religious worldly people), with instructions; but until then, you should withdraw from social contact with the world as much as possible. Friendship with the world is enmity with God; be polite, but don't join in conversations and activities of the world. This doesn't mean that you won't be kind and courteous to those of the world with which your occupation brings you into association; just that you will not socialize with them, because it would be painful and harmful to you. Do not be deceived. Evil companions corrupt good manners, morals, and integrity. 1 Cor 15:33.

If you are preaching or teaching religion before being perfected and specifically authorized by Christ, to progress spiritually, you must stop. Every word you preach or teach that is not totally correct puts condemnation on you, and until perfected and authorized your teachings will not be true. Don't even talk about God or Christ until authorized by him. See To Religious Teachers and Preachers for more.

Strive to live a quiet and peaceful life. Seek peace with all men. The less conversation, the better. The less time with radio, TV, movies, CDs, MP3s, podcasts, books, magazines, newspapers, web surfing; the better. Video games should be abandoned that are sexual and/or violent. Whatever conversation you find yourself in, try to talk about love and family. Encourage and congratulate noble activities and good deeds that surface in conversation. Even compliment others for acts of kindness, repressing anger, and politeness. Don’t join unprofitable conversations, avoiding impurity and chatter spoken from pride (godless chatter), for they will increase your ungodliness. If the conversation turns to something profane, immediately leave; spare your ears, voice, and spirit.

A withdrawal from the world for a period of solitude can be helpful to see the world more clearly as it is. From the Lord: "withdraw from the world long enough to see the inconsideration and hate within it."

Pastimes are not harmful unless giving them up is painful. If you are obsessed with some pastime, like teenagers are obsessed with video games, give them up to progress spiritually. But, even if a pastime is not important to you, to others they are a major indulgence in their life. So, you may decide to, or be asked to, refrain from participating in them to: 1) avoid the appearance of endorsing them, thus being a good example to those who might indulge to their harm, and 2) not offend those of other religious persuasions, who think they are sinful - preventing them from hearing the truth as you practice it. Both cases illustrate the practice of being your brother's keeper.

Simple Rules to Follow

Beyond your daily seeking through meditation, here are the starting rules that if you follow, you will do well.

■This was John the Baptist's simple message of repentance, to get ready for Jesus and the Kingdom:
Repent: think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct. Matt 3:2
Share from your excess with those who are without the necessities of life.
Be honest in all your dealings, never exaggerating or overreaching anyone.
Don't oppress people or frighten anyone, don't lie, don't want more, don't complain. Luke 3:10-14
■Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness. (Jesus' #1)
Set aside at least one hour for quiet time every day.
■Above all things, do not swear (James #1; as in oaths: "I swear to tell the truth.."),
■Above all things have fervent love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins. (Peter's #1),
■Flee from sexual immorality, ( in Acts 15:28, from the Apostles' Council to the beginning Gentiles) .
Every other sin that a man commits is outside his body, but he who commits sexual immorality, sins against his own body. 1 Cor 6:18.
■Whatever commands you receive while listening, record them, review them, and keep repenting.
■Prize your time and the Love of God to you. (George Fox's #1)
■Don't worry, he loves you, doubt it not! (from him in meditation)
■And don't talk about God or Christ unless he tells you to. Wait until your words are from the Spirit.
■Enjoy the good things of this life with thanks and praise to our to great and wonderful God.
Certainly we have to make every effort to give up the unlawful practices: lying, cheating, swearing, drunkenness, stealing, railing, sexual immorality, etc.

But in our culture we are immersed in lawful pastimes - sports, TV, movies, web surfing, CDs, MP3s, podcasts, music, concerts, theater, races, bodybuilding, shopping, blogging, etc. So where do we begin? You can't give it all up at once, or you will be an empty shell. What you give up has to be led by him, one step at a time, with him giving more hunger for him each step of the way. Titus 2:11-14 says: grace will teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts - how to live soberly, righteously, godly. Certain things must be turned away from with all your strength, particularly those that lead you to sexual immorality. Pornography addiction is the disease of this age and wherever it appears, it must be eliminated: magazines, calendars, books, TV, movies, video games, web surfing, etc. If you are addicted to web pornography, at least get the sites off your Favorites list. Make it more than one click to failure; get rid of your credit cards - anything to block your ease of depravity; even get rid of your internet connection or your computer if necessary.

But for the non-harmful pastimes: know they eventually will probably have to go, but wait for the Lord to lead you in their denial, when he gives you strength to comply and more hunger for him to fill the void created when you give them up. As the Lord has told me: "I don't want people to give up everything at once, without me leading them and filling them along the way, or they will end up an empty shell."

Regarding sports, bodily exercise that keeps you healthy is important and should not be classified as a pastime, providing you are not obsessed with winning or the resulting pride of appearance.

From A Guide to True Peace:

The love of liberty is one of the most dangerous passions of the heart. If we follow this propensity, instead of true liberty, it reduces us to slavery. As our passions are the worst of tyrants, if we obey them partially, we must always be in a perpetual strife and contest within; and if we entirely give ourselves up to them, it is horrid to think to what extremities they will lead; they will torment the heart, and like a torrent, sweep all before them, and yet never be satisfied. True liberty is to be found only in him, whose truth shall set us free, and who shall make us experience that to serve him is to reign.

When our selfish nature is slain, we will unite with the Spirit of Christ, so that we will be obedient in our love for God - and our obedience is by choice, God not having taken away our free will. Love never insists on its own way. But our love for God will make our obedience to his wishes to be the joy of our life.

Don't try to force others in your family to do the same seeking as you. If they are interested, great. If your wife or husband goes along with you, that's even better; you have the best of fellowship. But don't pressure anyone. Once they see you change; once they see your peace; they may want to follow. Whatever commands you get are for you only; don't assume you have an obligation to enforce them on your family members.

As evidence of your desire for the Lord to lead you to a sinless state and the Kingdom, you will have to leave your deficit sect. To continue to meet with your deficit sect, is contradictory to the truth and to the true gospel requiring repentance. To continue to meet with any of the deficit sects is to fellowship with people who deny the hope of purity through repentance, union, holiness, and the Kingdom. Instead of repentance with forgiveness, their God only forgives with no help or power for further repentance to help them change. To stay, you will either lose your peace or lose your integrity. If you stay, you are associating with people who think sin is OK with God, as long as they are believers and support their sect; to associate with people who continually demonstrate that evil is overlooked by God cannot help but weaken your resolve to rid yourself of your sinful nature. These people will constantly tell you: "We're OK, and you're OK because God loves us just like we are, still full of sin; but that is a tragic, colossal mistake. By your attendance, you are supporting those same people in their delusions, supporting the false teachings of that sect, and thereby condemning yourself. Come out of her [the false church], my people, so that you do not share in her sins, and so you will not receive her plagues. Rev 18:4.

The voice of the Lord said, "They must withdraw from their sect to be taught;" and "withdraw from your sect, not out of pride and prejudice, but separate yourself long enough to see its false rulings." To be able to hear Christ's teachings, you must quietly withdraw from you deficit sect because he will not build you up on top of a false foundation. See 'Sect's Services' for more detail. Also see Isaac Penington's writing as to why coming out of Babylon is necessary.

A KEY teaching that we received from HIM in meditation is: to defer (yield your will) to others - our children, our husbands, our wives, our friends. Practicing this alone can result in your significant spiritual progress. You should do this in all cases, unless it is immoral, dangerous, or of major consequence. This should be especially easy for wives who are to be submissive to their husbands, and children who are to obey their parents. We who are His, are charged to put ourselves last. Everyone should defer to other's wishes, for by doing this, we put to death our selfish will, which wants to put ourselves first. Instead, we put Him and his ways first. Love does not demand its own way. 1 Cor 13:5

And to those who say, we are advocating salvation by "works," by listening and repenting, I say, go to the Light and have Him show you what is in your heart; then you will know how much grace you still need. Only God can change us - we are helpless in our fleshly deplorable state- only the unmerited favor of God can rid us of our conditions. It is by grace, and grace only through our faith in Christ that we are saved; but saved, means to die to the flesh and live to Christ - not by imputation, but in reality. You must share his sufferings, die daily, be buried in the baptism of death, and have him resurrected in you. The cross is the beginning. The cross is not "works," it is only obedience, and to those who oppose it, they are headed for destruction, for their god is their belly (lusts and affections).

Techniques
You just try to be quiet so that you can hear the still, quiet voice. Any thought is on the name of Jesus. It is not a mantra to be repeated. When you find yourself off in thoughts, return to the thought of his name and then try to be quiet. Each time you catch yourself off in thoughts, return to thinking of his name, but don't repeat it over and over. Quietness is the key. His name is access to power and to get your mind back to what you are waiting on, to hear his words or see his understandings. You can use techniques learned in different forms of meditations; just remember to bring your thoughts back to the name of Jesus. You must listen and obey all commands that you hear, providing they are complete, make sense, and are moral. When you get such a command, stop and write it down, then continue to listen. Other forms of meditation teach you to ignore all thoughts - this is exactly the opposite of what you must do - listen and obey.

Then those who feared the LORD spoke often with one another;
and the LORD listened and heard it;
and a book of remembrance was written before Him
of those who feared the LORD
and who meditate upon His name. Mal 3:16

I want to share with you the lessons we have learned in years of meditation. I meditate with my eyes closed. I know others who meditate with their eyes open. Eyes closed has the advantage that you see less to distract your mind; the disadvantage is that it is easier to go to sleep. George Fox walked all night alone; walking kept him awake while he listened and received understandings and commands from the Lord.

I reached a point in my meditations where I went to sleep within a few minutes, constantly. Even a lot of sleep did not remedy this problem. What did work, was to dig my thumbnail into the tips of my fingers; this pain (no injury) keeps me awake. Remember he said, the Kingdom of Heaven is forcibly entered... by forceful men- meaning with maximum effort. If you are only mildly sleepy, praise for Him, when completed, can leave you sufficiently awake to continue your silence. Whatever works for you: coffee, COQ10 with tea, walking, etc.

Then he came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, “What, could you not watch with me one hour? Mat 26:40

Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. Mark 13:33

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds watching when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will gird himself and make them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he comes in the second watch or the third watch, and finds them so, [watching] blessed are those servants. Luke 12:37-38

Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36

Wake up and be watchful. Rev 3:2

Therefore let us not sleep, as others do; but let us watch and be sober. 1 Thes 5:6

Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty [spiritual poverty]; open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with [spiritual] bread. Pro 20:13
(Jesus is the Bread from Heaven, the Word of God, heard from within - this is a strong advisory to get as little sleep as possible.)

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be sober, and watch to prayer. 1 Peter 4:7

Remember therefore what you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If you do not keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Rev 3:3

Awake you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. Eph 5:14

Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and watches. Rev 16:15

Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my door.
For whoever finds me, finds life, and he shall obtains favor of the LORD. Prov 8:34-35.

I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the night watches. Psa 63:6

Again, whatever time you choose, make it a daily habit. And if you get awakened in the night, know it is probably God, summoning you to come to Him then. Go immediately, and don't worry about sleep. This is also a very big cross to your will, which desperately, from a lifetime habit, wants to stay in bed and sleep. Paul got little sleep. George Fox got little sleep. For years, He tried to get me up in the middle of the night; I was resistant and stupid, so my progress was slow. I noticed when I traveled overseas, and got little sleep, I heard messages. Now, I get 3-5 hours of sleep - being awakened and clearly instructed to get up when awakened.

Pay close attention when awakening; you will often get a single statement from Him at this time. You can also sometimes hear his messages during the day in your normal routine.

The Lord has recently told me, "Many people are saying, 'I don't have time.' I don't ask you to drop whatever you are doing and come to meditate." He has never interfered with what I have to do in my life; he knows we are busy with our jobs, children, houses, community activities, etc. He only asks you put aside some time for him.

It is probably best to pick a time in the early morning when it is quiet, before you have the day's activities swirling in you head. Get up an hour earlier than you previously did; use weekends for intense seeking, and make holidays holy days, by spending the whole day or as much as possible in silent waiting on the Lord. If you are busy, setting a time in the evening will be too often missed because of conflicts arising in your day's requirements or because you are too tired. Some can meditate regularly at night; my wife is like this and can meditate for several hours at night. Whatever time you choose, make sure you listen daily. It is best to meditate in a chair without a head rest. Sitting up straight, you have less possibility of falling asleep, though still possible; and he can more easily awaken you, because any sleep fallen into will not be as deep as would be in bed lying down. If you try to meditate propped up on pillows in bed, it is far too easy to slink down or just roll over into a lying down position.

Occasionally when I first sit down to begin my meditations, I immediately "know" something he is telling me about myself; I feel it deep within me; it is an infusion. There are no words, but the message is understood in words. Once, as I sat down, I felt very guilty about something I had recently done; as I sat there marveling at this sudden and unexpected guilt that came out of nowhere, I heard his voice say, "consider yourself convicted." As you think about what you feel and know, you can put it into words of thought. It is usually a conviction regarding something he wants you to repent of, which if you own and repent, you will greatly benefit. If it is something you have done wrong, you feel shame and guilt. If it is a command or direction, you feel a strong desire to do that thing.

I have also noticed that it helps to focus on feeling the right temple area of my head. It slows the thoughts down. I force my breathing to be very slow and long; slow and deep in, slow and full out. As I breathe in, I think of breathing in his spirit. As I breathe out, I think of pushing my love up through the top of my head, or my right temple area, to him. Just moving your eyes to the far right side can stop thoughts when in a swirl. When you are swirling in thoughts, try it. It might work for you; but there is no one way. Just sit quietly as best you can. "Be still and know that I am God." When you find yourself swirling in thoughts, simply return to thinking on his name; this will be a way to remind yourself of your purpose.

You will eventually notice that you have a thought and then you form the words to express it in your mind. Your thought has already been heard; you are wasting effort trying to express it. Just keep quiet, without forming words to express the feelings or thoughts that pop up, and you will have made a major step. Try not to form words in your mind, even if your thought is bad, just let it be. Your silent feelings and thoughts, without forming words, are the beginnings of worship in spirit and truth.

Start by thinking on the name of Jesus. As you progress and become more aware of Christ in you, you can shift to thinking on Christ within you. (per George Fox)
Yes, we have waited for you in the way of your judgments, O LORD; the desire of our soul is for your name, and for the remembrance of you. Isa:26:8

Before waiting in silence for the Lord, I go over the Lord's prayer in my head. My wife used it as an outline to expand the words of the prayer and form her praise to Him for several minutes, before going silent. It is a way to be reminded of the Father's majesty, his Kingdom to come in you, his will to be done by you on the earth, the request for your daily spiritual bread from heaven, his forgiveness to you, your obligation to forgive others, and to deliver you from evil. As you feel praise for him and his beautiful creation, express your wonder at his greatness and beauty. Praise him for giving us Jesus to show us the way, to purify us, and to bring us to him. Thank him for his drawing of you to him. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful to him, and bless his name. Take a few minutes before starting your silent waiting; some may find it very helpful to get focused on their task - silence, to listen and watch for the Christ's Word and Light. Eventually this praise and thanksgiving will be without words, just thoughts and feelings not formed in words: the worship in spirit and truth. When you catch yourself swirling off in thoughts, return to thinking on the name of Jesus.

Occasional fasting and less sleep weaken the body and thereby strengthen the spirit. I drink water when fasting; to go without water for more than 3 days is extremely difficult and can be dangerous. There are records of very spiritually advanced people who were able to go without water for longer than three days; Jesus and Moses fasted without water. If you drink water, be sure to add at least 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt per day, or your liquid elimination will deplete the body of salt, causing you dangerous dehydration. A juice fast is not really a fast; it is a diet. The Muslim fast of daytime fasting only, eating at night, is not a fast. A fast is to go without food entirely for some period of time. George Fox and many early Quakers frequently fasted. Paul fasted. Jesus fasted. Moses fasted. It is hard, but worthwhile. You may want to wait for the Lord to tell you "Do not eat." If you want to fast, fast. If you want to wait for instructions, wait. I have done both. Fasting in obedience to the Lord's command is easier to sustain because it is not your decision when to quit; if it was your decision to fast, then it is too easy to decided to quit when the going gets rough; but if the Lord tells you to fast [clearly understood, no fill-in-the-blanks, no guessing], you then must wait for him to give your permission to quit.

Dryness

To often sit and hear or see nothing is part of the process - dryness. For long periods of time, I got one message per month. You will probably do better. You will also get encouragement. This comes just at the right time. He is trying to develop patience. He is developing faith; he speaks at exactly the right time. He knows what is best. Don't second guess Him. He is always there. He will never leave you; this is a scriptural promise. Long periods of hearing nothing are being in the spiritual desert. He told me once "keep crawling through the desert." Don't think the process is not working; know it is. Read John, Peter, Psalms, Isaac Penington, and George Fox for keeping up your hope. You will find your favorites. Whatever builds your hope, read it.

Miguel de Molinos has an outstanding, encouraging writing on meditation and the secret benefits of dryness.

In the beginning of your meditations, it may take much waiting on the Lord before you hear his voice, but your waiting is to be rewarded:

Men have not heard, nor perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God beside you, who acts for the one who waits for him. Isa 64:4

Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping on you. Ps 33:22

Wait on the LORD! Be of good courage and let your heart be confident! Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psa 27:14

But those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. Isaiah 40:31

Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gate, waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoever finds me, finds life; and he shall obtain favor of the LORD. Prov 8:34-35

Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the LORD;
we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isa 25:9

Truly my soul silently waits upon God; from him comes my salvation. Psalm 62:1

He will appear the second time, not to bear sin, but to bring full salvation to those who are waiting for and expecting him. Heb 9:28

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. Lam 3:25

These scriptures were a comfort to me when I began, without hearing for many months. My early mistake was to expect guidance as to what ministry he wanted me to pursue and where to move to; questions that could not be answered, rather than simply sitting to be taught about him and myself according to what He, my creator, had decided I needed to know.

I have heard from those who hear immediately. I have heard from others who have not heard for months - but when they do, they are thrilled throughout their being. You don't hear an actual voice with your outside ears; instead it is like a thought inside you, but with a voice accompanying it. He will start with encouraging, kind, statements. He will show you things to come, or show you his power, by revelation; this helps you identify and believe it is the Son of God who is speaking to you. Later he will begin to convict you of your problems, by vision with immediate clear understanding, but in a kind brotherly way, that saddens you of its truth and motivates you to become different; which if you follow your resolve, you will be changed by Him to be different.

Usually, you don't hear from God, or get his guidance quickly. Your sincerity in giving up relying on yourself, and casting all your hopes on him is not to be a casual try, but rather a dedicated effort. It may take months before you hear, but you will hear - if you persist. Persistence, dedication, and wholly relying on God are the most important. In addition, here is a check list, just to be sure you are not being held back by one or more.

1) Be sure you are not holding anything back in reserve that you would not be able to part with if asked.

2) Be sure you are only seeking His will for you, not an increase in power, prestige, money, status, etc.

3) Be sure you are seeking in humility, aware of his infinite wisdom, power, knowledge, and purity - far above any man. If you go to God, thinking you are saved and special, entitled to privileges, you will not hear - that is not humility. You must go as an unsaved sinner, desperate to be rid of sin, desperate to be able to do the right thing, desperate to be pleasing to God - at any price - but trusting in his goodness and his mercy.

4) Be sure you are not still going to deficit sect services, Bible Study, prayer groups, etc.

5) Be sure you are not preaching, witnessing, or teaching others, until you are specifically told what to do and when to do it.

6) Be sure you are not turning away from those whose physical needs are not satisfied, and which you could satisfy with your excess resources. You must give liberally, to individuals or charities for the poor in order to progress.

7) Be sure there is not some obviously immoral habit you are continuing without making every effort to cease it.

Now, some suggestions.

1) When you awaken, wait about a minute or two before getting up or planning your day. Try to listen then for a message, which can seem like a thought, except it has no train to support it - it is totally off the subject you may have been thinking on.

2) When you are meditating, even if thinking, the Lord can superimpose his thoughts and words over yours. You can be tripping along in your thought train, (which you can trace backwards and see how one thought leads to another), and suddenly there is a completely different thought that occurs, which has no trail or train. That is often the Lord communicating with you.

3) If you are awakened at night, and feel pretty wide awake, get up and try to meditate.

4) Don't worry about dozing off. Keep sitting up and you will awaken, often several times. As you awaken, then is when you will most often hear.

5) Finally, try increasing your time. As the Lord once told me: "If the car is going nowhere, press on the gas pedal."

The voice will come before the Light. But you can have visions, like little dreams, with immediate understandings. This too is the Light's work within you.

It takes time, practice, and patience to learn to recognize the voice of the Lord. His words are always kind, gentle, peaceable, easily accepted, without sarcasm, without bitterness, without condemnation, without harshness, pure, clean, humble, wonderful. There are never any emotional words, there is never any emotion in his voice; his words are plain, factual, wise, easily understood, easily accepted, and never leaving you guessing as to their meaning. The enemy's many voices are emotional, sarcastic, incomplete, condemning, harsh, fearful, and bitter. The enemy uses many voices: yours, friends, relatives, dignitaries, etc. Eventually you will hear the Lord. And once you begin to hear, you will hear with increasing frequency. He has a soft voice. Sometimes, you will not hear a voice, you will just suddenly know something immediately. George Fox called this an 'opening.' An 'opening' can be expressed in words, but it is a feeling that infuses your entire being, as feeling surrounded or immersed in the immediate understanding.

Reaction to Conviction

He will tell you things about Himself. He will encourage you. He is kindness. He will tell or show you things about yourself; some will be things that are ugly. But since he is your friend, you know that he is showing them to you for your own good. So you listen and watch. And you don't run; you stand before the Son of Man. And you repent of what he shows you. And sometimes he gives you commands. You are hearing the Word of God, the living Word. And hopefully you will obey his commands and show him you love him by being obedient. Keep pen and paper nearby when meditating. Stop and write down what you get. Keep a notebook of commands and understandings received. He told us, "Why should I teach you if you don't write down what I tell you?" Then go right back into meditation. Review them periodically, and keep repenting. You will start changing; not as fast as you want to, but you will change. You will become more patient, less easily angered, kinder, more settled, more focused in life. Your desires for the things of the world will begin to melt away. As you follow his commands, your progress will accelerate. When you see your changes, still conscious of your decreasing failures, you will know, with gratitude, that he is changing you by grace - it is working! Your faith is increasing, because you hear the Word of God and because you are becoming more sure of what you hope for and more certain of Christ making changes in you, even though you don't yet see Him.

But all things that are reproved [sins] are made manifest [revealed] by the light. For whatever reveals is light. Eph 5:13-14

You have set our iniquities before You, and our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. Psa 90:8

When you go to the teacher, at some point, you will see yourself wholly addicted to sex, as I saw myself. I could see how everything I did in life was to increase my prestige, power, influence, image, looks, etc. - all in hopes of making myself more attractive to the opposite sex. Until I was shown it, I would not have believed it.

That which shows him his sins, and troubled him for them, would show him his salvation;
for he who shows a man his sin, is the same who takes it away. George Fox

When meditating, and you are shown something ugly about yourself by the Light, don't draw back; realize it is the Light showing you your condition, and He is doing this to help you be rid of it and to become a better person; and that Christ has died for you so that you need not panic. Don't think about all you will lose, and draw away, but remain to focus on the Light that shows you your condition. And then, just when you don't expect it, strength will come; and whatever you have been shown, you will have strength to be different from then on. You may not see the Light. You may only see what the light is showing you. That is all you need. If you can't see the Light, just focus on the fact that the Light is showing you your condition. The Lord told me, "If a vision or understanding makes you sad, look at the cross." This is what George Fox called the first step to peace; he also said this process, repentance in the Light, "is the cross."

The Lord has told me: "there is no evil that I have not already had in front of my hands and eyes."
So when you see yourself, don't think you are the most evil person ever to live; you're not.
When you see the extent of your evil, as the Lord said: "everyone thinks he is the worst sinner to ever live."

This is how to mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body that are of the earthly life: fornication, impurity, inordinate affections, evil lusts of the flesh, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Col 3:5

From George Fox's Journal:

This is the word of the Lord God to you all; what the light makes manifest and discovers, as temptations, distractions, confusions; do not look at the temptations, confusions, corruptions; but at the light which discovers them and makes them manifest; and with the same light you may feel over them, to receive power to stand against them. The same light which lets you see sin and transgression, will let you see the covenant of God, which blots out your sin and transgression, which gives victory and dominion over it, and brings into covenant with God. For looking down at sin, corruption, and distraction, you are swallowed up in it; but looking at the light, which discovers them, you will see over them. That will give victory, and you will find grace and strength; there is the first step to peace. That will bring salvation; and by it you may see to the beginning, and the "Glory that was with the Father before the world began;" and come to know the seed of God; which is the heir of the promise of God, and of the world which has no end; and which bruises the head of the serpent, who stops people from coming to God. That you may feel the power of an endless life, the power of God which is immortal, which brings the immortal soul up to the immortal God, in whom it does rejoice. So in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty strengthen you.

When you listen to the voice and obey commands heard or understood from the Light, you are acknowledging this Teacher within you as Christ; you have received and acknowledged Christ. Just like when Christ asked Peter, "whom do you say I am," and he said: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.' Mat. 16:15-18. Christ said, Upon this rock I will build my Church - the rock solid understanding that he who speaks to you is the Son of God, which the gates of Hell cannot prevail against.

Whoever comes to me, and listens to My words and does [practices, obeys] them, I will show you what he is like. He is like a man who built a house, and dug deep and laid the foundation securely built on a rock; and when the flood arose, the torrent beat violently upon that house, but could not shake it because it was founded on a rock. Luke 6:47-8
He builds his Church on a rock solid foundation. He builds himself in you on a rock solid foundation.

And if you come to him, listen, and obey what you are told to do, you will have a foundation that takes you past the gates of Hell with its storms and tribulations. And when you receive the light, the persecution intensifies, just as it did with George Fox; his temptations and opposition increased dramatically. Remember the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great fight of afflictions. Heb 10:32

This quietness process is an essential part of the mystical, missing cross of christianity. Christ told us what we must do to follow him: "you must deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow me;" and "he who does not bear his own cross cannot be my disciple;" and: "By your producing much fruit, my Father is honored and glorified, and you show that you are truly my disciples [true followers]." With the cross there is increasing peace, love, joy, gentleness, faith, purity, Holy Spirit, and death of self. Without the cross, there is only the old man of flesh and ego with dullness and disillusionment. No cross, no death, and no rebirth.

See Silent Prayer on Sidebar for more explanation of the process.

The Lord's Watching Over Us

Don't look to the Lord for specific answers to one of your worldly problems; he knows your problems and will guide you if necessary, or he will fix the problems without you recognizing his work. Don't waste meditation time trying to get answers to specific questions in your life. Continue through life making the best decisions you know how, and everything will go well.

While we are seeking, the creator of the universe is watching over us, protecting us, planning for us, moving the world to our benefit, and always there for us. With this assurance, we know that everything that comes our way is his will for us; and whatever happens, even if it appears to be a problem at the time, we know as it is written, all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose; and because we keep his commands, he knows we love him. So we know that everything that happens to us has been willed by God, to help us grow, and we have a peace that is based on the love of God to us. We can cast all of our worries and fears upon him, and depend on him to work everything out to our benefit. We have confidence that he is working for us, even when we can't see how it is happening; we know he controls the whole universe, and to work our life to his union, is effortless for him.

Do not take this watching over you to be safety for participating in dangerous activities by choice. Remember Christ was tempted to cast himself from the top of the temple, with the assurance that the angels would catch him; he replied, 'you shall not tempt the Lord your God.' From the voice of the Lord as a warning to everyone: drunkenness can make you so loose that you kill yourself. Drunkenness can result from drugs or alcohol.

He has to show us each and every problem we have, many that are hidden, and lead us (by moving the world around us if necessary) to feeling the pain of our problems - pain so great that when we are tempted, instead of a trigger to fail, it becomes a trigger to succeed. The sooner you understand that everything that happens to you has been arranged to help you grow, the sooner you will be able to forgive, and the sooner you will be at peace, rather than angry or resentful. This life is an illusion. God is far more powerful and at work around you far more than you can imagine. For those whom he loves and calls, he controls everything around them. (This arrangement of circumstances only occurs for those whom he loves and calls.) And if you have a deep hunger, he loves you and has called you. The hunger is his. It is his way of drawing you to him. So you will starve and mourn, and starve and mourn. But you will eventually be filled and comforted. It works. Trust Him. He created you. He is in you. He knows you much better than you do. He will change you to be like Him, leading you to purity and then to union with Him in the Kingdom within, where you walk by the Light of God.

He told me, "live in the fortress of faith where it doesn't matter if someone gives you a kiss or hits you with a baseball bat," knowing everything that happens to me is totally under his control and direction. So if I get hit with a baseball bat, he is teaching me the necessity of forgiving, to ignore it, despite the pain suffered and wrongness of the person wielding the bat. Your life is an obstacle course, designed by God, for you to crawl over and through, learning to forgive and love despite the pain and injustice. This life is a boot camp to produce a soldier of love, whose weapon is the sword of the Spirit, the living word of God. When you realize it is God who has allowed that person to be rude, ugly, and painful to you, you can easily forgive them because they are just an obstacle of potential resentment, whose offense is to be overlooked, (or if not overlooked, to produce the pain of resentment), thus being used by God to help you spiritually progress.

Do not take his watching over you as justification for going into debt, thinking God will bail you out and wants you to enjoy life on borrowed money; for it is written, "owe no man anything, but to love one another." If your pride gets you into some kind of worldly trouble, he will let you fall, to humble you; for it is written, "when pride comes, then comes shame." But, if humbled, it is his love for you that is still at work disciplining you; just keep seeking with added confidence of having been disciplined. For more on debt, see George Fox's Letter 200.

And as we are seeking, we have his promises to fall back on and be reassured, we have his words of encouragement whispered to us as we quietly seek him, we have his commands to comfort us that we are indeed under orders, we have his discipline to remind us that he loves us and will not let us fail, and we have the changes he makes in us as proof - as long as we keep coming back to Him and seeking him in solitude.

Ministry of Condemnation

If you make mistakes or commit sins while seeking, (and you will), just regret them, resolve to do better, and forget them. Learning is why we are here. Your mistakes teach you. Forget about committing "an unpardonable sin;" that referenced people seeing Christ's miracles and attributing them to demons - how could they ever seek him thinking he had a demon? That's the unpardonable sin, (unpardonable for the duration of your mistake), rejecting the Holy Spirit as a demon. Yes, it is possible even today to think the Holy Spirit is a demon, especially in meditation; you can mistake the conviction of the Holy Spirit as "the accuser of the brethren," assuming you are already a "brethren," which you are not until you have been purified and made one by Christ. Fox called this whole process of conviction, the Ministry of Condemnation. To think the convicter is the accuser is unpardonable, because you will run rather than stand and focus on the light which shows you your condition; stand still and focus on the Light that is showing you your condition, and finally strength will come, and you will be different, stronger in that area from then on. But if you run, you can go back, and not run; you get as many chances as you will take. When the Light shows you a problem, it is never in an upbraiding manner; it is gentle, immediately recognizable, but shameful - shame like a when a friend or a kind father points out a fault you didn't want to know about - but not harsh or critical - gentle, easily accepted, generating regret and sorrow on your part. After you are purified, you benefit from the Ministry of Life and Righteousness, but until then, you must be under the Ministry of Condemnation through the cross. For if the ministry of condemnation is glorious, how much more does the ministry of righteousness exceed in glory. 2 Cor 3:9

When man decided to eat from the tree of knowledge so he could judge good and evil like God, he became a selfish spirit removed from the image, direction, and presence of God. Each of us makes our own decisions with our mind as to what is good for us and what is bad for us. We all make different decisions based on what we think we want. Different people have different standards of conduct and behavior. We are selfish creatures looking for ways to increase our pleasures and comforts; we are like beasts on the prowl looking for their next meal. The Holy Spirit must show us how captive (addicted) we are to our lusts, pleasures, habits, anger, pride, and self-gratification - and how this self-centered behavior is at the expense of others around us. The word and light show us the defects in our heart, one at a time, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and intents of the heart. With our regret and sorrow for conditions exposed by the Holy Spirit, we receive help from the Holy Spirit to change. This conviction and condemnation of our beastly nature is the Ministry of Condemnation. When we have been sufficiently purged or purified of our selfish, sinful nature, then we receive the Ministry of Life or additional spirit from Christ; until finally we are restored to the image, direction, and presence of God.

So first learn the ministry of condemnation in yourselves,
that life may arise, before the ministry in the spirit is known,
which preaches peace by Jesus Christ, where there is no strife.
Therefore wait to know the time of silence and mind that which condemns you.
From Fox's Letter 145.

From Letter 58: The teachers without exalt the carnal mind, but the teacher within destroys it.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. Rom 8:7

From George Fox's Letter 245

And as your ears are attentive to the Lord's voice, that speaks from heaven,
iniquity's mouth is stopped in you, the throne of iniquity is thrown down in you;
that is, the wicked spirit and power, where iniquity sits;
and the chambers of imagery are thrown down in you,
where all thoughts and imaginations are.

For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Gen 8:21

From the Voice of the Lord: "At best, your thoughts are a vain hiss."

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

I have stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts. Isaiah 65:2

From George Fox's Journal:

THE Lord shows a man his thoughts, and discovers all the secret things in man. And man may be brought to see his evil thoughts, running mind, and vain imaginations, and may strive to keep them down, and to keep his mind in; but cannot overcome them, nor keep his mind within to the Lord. In this state and condition submit to the spirit of the Lord that shows them, and that will bring to wait upon the Lord; and He that has discovered them will destroy them. Therefore stand in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, (who is the author of the true faith), and mind him; for he will discover the root of lusts, evil thoughts, and vain imaginations; and how they are begotten, conceived, and bred; and then how they are brought forth, and how every evil member works. He will discover every principle from its own nature and root.

Casting down all our own decisions, and every barrier that is raised up against the wisdom from God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor 10:5. So that we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16. You must strip yourselves of your former nature that controlled your conduct, which corrupts itself through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the newly created nature [of Christ], which is created in God's image of true righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:22-24. This does not mean we continue to think with a new set of rules we have learned from the Bible. No; the carnal mind, which is enmity against God, must be destroyed so that we do not think for ourselves any longer. Instead, as a new creature, we rely on the promptings received from God, just like Christ did when he walked the earth; as he said:

I have many things to say and to judge about you; but he who sent me is true,
and I speak to the world only those things that I have heard from him. John 8:26

I have not spoken of myself, but from the Father who sent me and commanded me what I should say and what I should speak.
And I know that [to obey] His command is everlasting life.
Therefore, whatever I speak is just as the Father has told me to speak. John 12:49-50

The Son can do nothing of himself [by his own will],
but only does what he sees the Father do.
For whatever things he [the Father] does, these are also likewise done by the Son. John 5:19

Of my own self, I can do nothing. I judge only as I hear, [the Father's words of judgment];
and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will,
but the will of the Father who has sent me. John 5:30

So, even Christ did not make his own decisions. Notice, Jesus said he only did the will of the Father, not his own. In Mat. 7:21, Jesus said: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but [only] he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. So here Jesus tells us what is necessary to go to heaven - to do nothing of ourselves - to only say what we hear the father tell us to say- to only do what the Father shows us to do - to only judge how we are told to judge by the Father. So, we are not to think for ourselves - we are to only follow the promptings of the Father. We must have our carnal mind destroyed to the point that we speak and act from the promptings of the Spirit of God; this is the end of obedience - to think, speak, and act according to God's promptings: Casting down all our own decisions, and every barrier that is raised up against the wisdom from God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, 2 Cor 10:5. You have probably prayed the Lord's prayer a thousand times, saying "your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," without a clue as to how it could be done. Now you know what it takes - and it is not easily accomplished - only with dedication to seek the Kingdom of God as your first priority, with perseverance, and with obedience to every command you hear.

If Christ did nothing except as he was prompted by the Father, how could we possibly think we could act independently, when we are far less than Christ? We also must have our carnal minds destroyed to the point that we only speak and act from the promptings of the Spirit of God. Perhaps now you are beginning to see the wisdom of not even speaking of Christ or God, unless you are specifically ordered by the Holy Spirit what to say, to whom to say it, and when to say it.

If any man speaks, let him speak as the oracles [words] of God; if any man ministers, let him do it with the ability that God gives, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. 1 Peter 4:11

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man [forsake] his thoughts. Isa 55:7

Those who follow their own brains will weep and mourn; there will be great pain. Voice of the Lord 3/04/08

George Fox described the Sabbath rest of the Christian, as being a rest into Christ Jesus, saying: "Think not your own thoughts, for in Christ we are atop that nature where evil thoughts are, that nature [having been] taken away by Christ. So you should not think your own thoughts, do your own works, [or] speak your own words." At spiritual maturity, our thoughts, words, and works must come from God's leading.

Richard Farnsworth, another great early Quaker, further wrote on how suppressing your own thoughts is part of the cross:

Live not in words, but mind the power of words for words that proceed out of a vain, light mind, destroy the simple, and draw your minds out above the cross, to live in words;—and you will form something in your minds to rest in, and so the fleshly mind will be kept alive;—but keep in the cross. The power is the cross to the carnal part in all; and words that come from the life will go to the life, and raise up what is pure in one another; and so you will have unity with what is pure in one another. Being guided by the pure light in you, it will cross what would be forming anything in you; and standing in the counsel of the Lord, it will cross and crucify what would consult with human wisdom and reason. So you will be brought into a discerning, to savor truth from error, both in yourselves, and also in one another,—and to savor everyone's words from what center they arise. By standing in the counsel of the Lord, and keeping in the cross, the old man will be brought to judgment daily; and what is earthly, carnal, and brutish, will be cut down in you; and so there will be a way made for the pure seed to be raised up in you, so that the Lord alone may be glorified by every one of you.

A wise man once said, "all thought is worry, which is lack of faith." All thought is worry or plan for the future, still worry; and worry is lack of faith. Which of you by taking thought can add one moment to his life? Mat 6:27

Man, who originally followed his creator in obedient love, became a rebel to decide his own way, taking thought, thinking and judging what is good and bad for himself. When man is restored into the image of God, he ceases to make his own thoughts and decisions; instead returning to reverent, loving obedience to his creator, the creator of him and of the universe. Part of this restoration is to destroy the rebellious, self-seeking, self-gratifying mind. This is a lengthy process for most. And as the mind is destroyed, the Lord's guidance fills the void. As your meditations become deeper in silence, you will occasionally feel a quiet peace, a stilling of the mind; - and then remember the promise is for peace forever - a quietness and confidence forever - the harvest of righteousness. It is only when you taste this peace that you can begin to understand that you have lived under condemnation all of your past life; it is like a hammer has been striking your head all your life, but until it stops, you never knew it could be different.

To repeat: when our selfish nature is slain, we will unite with the Spirit of Christ, so that we will be obedient in our love for God - and our obedience is by choice, God not having taken away our free will. Love never insists on its own way. But our love for God will make our obedience to his wishes to be the joy of our life.