Isaiah 26:9 English Standard Version (ESV) My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

The second question might be; how do we know when God is speaking through us?

The answer to that is in developing our relationship with God. Seek Him earnestly without any purpose of evasion. Be honest with ourselves in why we seek God. When we want something then God has to choose how best to meet our needs. We are a needy people. We worry over things that do not concern God. We are human.

Learn righteousness should be the focal point of Isaiah 26:9. When we understand that righteousness is a right standing before God, then the result of seeking God without an agenda improves our relationship with God. To put it bluntly, it is impossible to serve God if we are serving ourselves.

All things flow from this relationship.

1 Corinthians 2:2 English Standard Version (ESV) For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Paul did not depend on his own skills in making decisions which affected the lives of others. He was entrusted with the answers to their problems by seeking God’s will in all matters. He emptied himself of self-interest. Granted that is a hard thing to do in troubling times but if we are to seek God’s answers, we must quiet the fear within us.

That is not to say we are to stop praying. It only asks to qualify our cares in prayer to avoid self-interest.

“But I love her/him/them!”

Yes we do, but our love pales in comparison to God’s love for all of us. Accepting God’s will in how He answers our prayers is part of learning how to stand upright before the Lord. We must not question His judgments.

Acts 2:4 English Standard Version (ESV) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Many have asked how they can speak in tongues. The answer is that on the day of Pentecost the apostles did not ask to speak in tongues. Asking implies that we are telling God how we want to serve Him. It does not serve God to ask, it only serves self-interest. We can how look to that historical event and consider conditions that made it fitting to serve God in that way.

Acts 2:1 King James Version (KJV) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Most versions of Acts 2:1 only say “come together” while a few add “with one accord”. That understanding of unity of spirit is one of experience. Rarely do we find ourselves in such unity of the spirit that there are no needs of the body that need tending. Since the act of tongues is for the benefit of the body then we all should focus on worship when we meet. We should lay aside our troubles and focus on God.

If we truly want to hear God’s answer to our troubles we must quiet ourselves in order to hear. Who God chooses to deliver the message is His choice for His own reason and not our own. Submission to His will is the only way to know His will.

Experience tells us that the larger the group, the less likely it is that we will reach one accord. It is more than an agreement, it is a quieting of conflict within our minds. We must be there for God in order for Him to see the faith required to speak through someone.