Why "Rhema"?

In my small group a while back, a very wise lady shared her experience with the scriptures above (Luke 4:4, Deut. 8:3).  She taught us about the word "rhema," and told us how she and her husband's eyes were opened to the truth in this verse.  They thought, well, we usually eat three times a day, does that really mean we can "hear" from God three times a day?!  So, they prayed that their ears would be opened and challenged one another to really listen and see if they could hear from God at least once a day.  And, guess what, on most days, when they were really listening, THEY DID!  In that meeting, we talked about how we have not only been given God's "logos" - his written word, but also His "rhema" - his spoken word, which is revealed to us by His Holy Spirit.  All we have to do is ask and listen!  So, I did! 

What do I mean by "the spoken word of  God?" Am I talking about an audible voice that booms from the clouds, no (though I don't doubt that can happen!)  Most often, it is just a sense of "knowing" something without obvious explanation.  Sometimes, it is a still, small voice that is so clear that I wonder if it was audible to anyone else.  Other times it comes through other people and situations that only God can orchestrate, or it is two people coming to the same conclusion without having any discussion at all.  It is the Lord laying a person on your heart - when you think of someone "out of the blue" and know that you should pray for them or call them.  It is something revealed to your spirit by His Spirit living in you.

Back to LIVING by God's word. . . in the words of my dear friend. .. "the essence of the teaching:  It's that God is speaking rhema to us all day long.  We don't catch it because we don't expect Him to be speaking to us all day long.  Our expectations are on the floor.  The teaching comparing rhema to bread, and the thought that we eat 3 times a day at least, revolutionizes our expectations on how often God WILL speak to us.  We don't expect Him to speak, so we don't hear Him speak."

Obviously, I am no where NEAR perfect, and there are definitely days that I forget to listen, but when I do, I hear.  Isaiah 55:6 says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near."  and Psalm 145:18 says, "The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth."  Let God revolutionize your expectations; seek Him, listen for Him, and He will speak to you.  In the following posts, I will attempt to give testimony to God's rhema in our lives concerning our adoption.

*This is not at all to belittle God's Holy written word!  And, it should definitely be stated that rhema will never contradict logos!!