Hearing God In a client’s voice

Dear God,

I know. It’s more like long time no hear…. (chuckles)

Dad, I had a very curious encounter with my Indian friend, Mr Praveen. A client for that matter but we have this weird way to sliding into spirituality every time we meet. And after a few hours with him, I am always amazed at the deep of his spirituality because you are not sure if you are talking to a man or a god, honestly……

Yeah, it is so weird. He has a way of turning simple discussions into eternity-bound lessons and mess with your understanding of Divinity.

So, I was having some bad-hair days. It was one of those days where my prayers felt like emails sent to your “spam” folder. No reply, no bounce-back.

But I had to meet up with him on preschedule. And again, our conversations tilted to Divinity. He was giving me some analogies that was so strangely true.

(So, folding my arms, I looked toward the ceiling, and asked the question I’d been holding back since)

“But … why does it take so long for God to answer a simple prayer? And honestly, why does it feel like He is so far away at times?” I asked gingerly, cueing from his comments.

There was a pause, (he had this strange way of pausing in between conversations that was magnetic). Just a stillness that seems to make your heartbeat sound louder than your thoughts.

And then, he spoke.

“My friend,” his said, calm and amused (shaking his head sideways), “God is never far. He never leaves you. You’re simply not always aware of Him.”

I frowned. “But how? If He is always here, why don’t we notice?”

“Well,” He chuckled softly, “because you’re busy. You told me yesterday that you were ill but look at you all dressed up for this meeting despite your health. Let’s be honest—you’ve been running around these past weeks like you’re the one holding the universe together, yes?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. He was right. “True. A lot has been going on.”

“And you’ve made those things more important than your Divinity,” he added gently. “Look at your actions. You’ve paid little attention to your soul.”

That stung. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but he wasn’t wrong.

“It’s been… a tough few weeks,” I admitted.

“All the more reason to draw closer,” He replied. “Imagine how much smoother it would have been if you had let Him carry it with you.”

I dropped my head. “I try. But then I get caught up in my own drama. I skip prayers. I don’t meditate. I don’t even write anymore.”

“Exactly,” he said. “Sometimes I wait for weeks to see those Saturday messages from you”.

“But I was tired, and ill, and just weary to my bones”, I whined.

“That’s the irony of life: when we need God the most, we step away. Like a sick person avoiding the doctor. Does that make sense?”

I sighed. “So how do we stop?”

“Just Stop,” he said simply.

I blinked. “That’s what I just said! But how?”

“By just stopping,” he said again, with a little laugh.

“You just stop? It’s not that simple.”

“Oh, but it is,” he replied. “We complicate it because we don’t believe it could be that simple. But your will and God’s Will are not separate. What you choose sincerely, He moves with.”

“Whatever I choose?”

He shook his head sideways again smiling.

I sat up a little straighter. “Okay then. I choose life, I choose health and wealth and to always do His Will no matter what. No more gaps,” I smiled sheepishly.

“So will it be,” he answered.

“What if it doesn’t ……?” I said quickly.

“What if it does?” he interrupted quickly.

I squinted. “Do You always have to do that?”

He laughed. “Not always. But that is the nature of man. We do it to ourselves all the time. We keep changing our minds. For example, you start creating, then you stop. Life is an ongoing act of creation. The secret is to keep at it at all costs: choose the same thing again and again until it becomes real. Creation requires consistency.”

I sat back, chewing on his words.

“You are saying that the secret of winning is to refuse any other result except a win?”

“Yes, whatever you want. Whatever you ask, whatever you believe, absolutely, will be done for you. That is the core principles of the universe”, he stated.

“But what if I’m asking for something that isn’t good for me?” I asked cautiously.

“Then,” He said, “you’ll learn from its consequences. The interesting thing is that God will never withhold what you call forth. It will surprise you to know that He doesn’t label things good or bad. We do that. It is man that created the labelling. God just gave us the canvas, the paint, the brush. What you paint is up to you.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “But I was taught that God only gives what’s in my best interest.”

“That’s what people say,” He explained, “just to make it easier when things don’t go your way. But listen, you were created in God’s likeness, which means you have the power to shape your life. Whatever you focus on, you draw toward yourself.

The problem comes when you want something too much. When you keep saying, ‘I want money,’ the universe hears you and replies, ‘Yes, you do want money,’ and it keeps giving you the feeling of wanting—not the money itself.

It’s like studying for an exam while repeating, ‘I want to pass, I want to pass.’ That thought just keeps reminding you of the fact that you don’t feel like you’re passing yet. Instead, if you believe and live as though passing is already yours, you create the reality of success.”

I groaned. “So that’s why it feels like it takes forever to get what we pray for!” “We keep praying and praying for the same things in different ways!”

“Exactly,” he said warmly. “Because you doubt, you waver, you overanalyse, you change your mind. Imagine telling a taxi driver to take you to the airport, then five minutes later saying, ‘No, take me to the beach. Actually, no, to the market.’ How soon do you think you’d get anywhere?”

I burst out laughing. “So, we’ve basically been confusing the driver of our destiny?”

“Precisely.”

I grew quiet, then asked, “But how do I know what’s really best for me?”

“Don’t ask what’s ‘best,’” he said. “Best is relative. Instead, ask: Does this choice declare Who I Am? Does it reveal Who I Choose to Be? That is the only question that matters.”

I hesitated. “But those choices…… sometimes they lead into what looks like trouble.”

He smiled. I could feel it in the silence before his words.

“You call growth trouble and standing still safety. But your feelings are your compass. They are the language of your soul. Trust them. Your mind reacts, but your soul creates. And your soul always pulls you back to God.”

Then, in a tone that was almost a whisper, he added:

“Every now moment is God’s gift to you. That’s why it is called the present. Before you even ask, He has answered. But your mind fears, yet your soul knows. So, get out of your mind, my friend, and back into your senses.”

I sat there, still and quiet, like a child who had just been scolded and comforted at the same time.

And then the deeper meaning hit me: the silence that I feel with God has never been His absence. It has always been my distractions. The truth is simple, almost embarrassingly so. God is not far; He is not late; He is here; Always here. We know this; we believe it; but when our choices and distractions throw us out in a limbo, we lose the orientation. And we seek to blame.

I exhaled. Long. Slow. As if I had just remembered how to breathe.

I stared at the man who has just taught me deep lessons in Divinity. He was not a pastor nor has any claim to holy service. He is just a client who has clear connections to his Divinity. He has a deep understanding of where he stood with his God.

He just showed me how simple and clear our relationship with God should be. And he wasn’t even a Christian. It didn’t matter in the least. Maybe the holiest person is the simplest person, and the holiest prayer is the simplest prayer.

Maybe my strongest prayer point should be: “Father, keep me aware of You.”

I left Mr Praveen feeling very rejuvenated and very mindful that day. And yes, we finalised the business in full scale (have you forgotten I have the Igbo DNA? Business before Pleasure!)

But in truth Dad, your voice doesn’t thunder from the skies; sometimes, it slips quietly into the voice of a stranger, and into the questions we dare to ask. Life isn’t complicated, it’s consistent. And trust is nothing more than learning to stay aware of the One who will never leave you.

I am sorry I stayed away, Lord. I am sorry I got busy. And I know that I will still struggle with my believes, my busyness and my trust, but I will sure try……..to call forth your Will for my Will..

…. Consistently.

This is your daughter, I am checking back in.