Our Stories | Becki Lee

I strongly believe that like many things in life, hearing from God is something that requires an investment of time in order to see fruit. Last spring, I was blessed with both the opportunity and desire to do just that. This was the first time in my life where I made a habit of devoting an extended period of time to prayer. To not only pray by speaking to God, but also by intentionally listening.

I am someone who thrives on structure and specific direction, which the book “Conversation with God” by Lloyd John Ogilvie provided for me as I delved into two-way prayer. One of the key components of prayer that he outlined was a time for silence and listening. At first, as is often the case with something new, I struggled to quiet my mind in order to hear God’s voice. With some practice though, I began to cherish these times and to hear specific things from God.

One such occasion of hearing from God came at the end of May when I simply asked God “What do you want to speak to me today?” and focused my mind until I felt His words forming.

“Move out” He said to me.
“Move out?” I questioned, “But Lord I just moved in!”

At the time I had been living in a new apartment for less than three weeks when I heard this directive. Why would God be leading me to move out of a place I had lived for less than a month, a decision in which I had felt His strong confirmation just weeks before? “This doesn’t make sense,” I remember thinking to myself. “I don’t know if this is really from God.” Given my predicament, I decided to pray a prayer of putting on the armour of God from Ephesians 6.
I really can’t explain what happened next, but the next thing I heard was “Move out...into new territory,” the way a military general would command his troops.

“New territory?” I asked.
“Move out into new territory” I heard again. “Take ground for my kingdom. Ryerson.”

Now in order to fully understand what God was speaking to me, I should explain a little about my work. I work in full time ministry with Athletes in Action, the sports ministry of Campus for Christ, at York University and the University of Toronto. So, it was clear to me that God was blessing and encouraging me to step out in faith and begin the process of developing a ministry at Ryerson University. God’s directive was further confirmed later the same day when I spoke to my co-worker Monica who told me she had been sensing a similar leading from God about Ryerson. So I began to explore some possibilities and move in this direction.

Although we are not yet actively doing anything at Ryerson due to a variety of circumstances, I still believe that it is God’s will that when we are more able, we will begin to do so. I also believe that this word from God was a general encouragement that I need to hold on to for my life ministry, both personally and professionally.