How does God speak to us?

As a child I wondered if God speaks to us just as He did to people in biblical times. And if so, what does His voice sound like? I first learned that He does speak to us when I was about eleven years old. I was running down a grassy slope, holding hands with a friend, when I stepped into a deep hole. My friend’s momentum yanked me forward, causing me to badly wrench my ankle. I couldn’t walk, and my sister and friends ran to get my mother to help me home.

My parents were Christian Scientists, and my sister and I attended Christian Science Sunday School. I knew my mother was praying for me, and when we got home, she called my father at his office so he could pray, too. The pain receded quickly, but my foot stuck out at an unnatural 90-degree angle. 

The next day was Easter, and that evening my father took my sister and me to the florist to get my mother an Easter lily. This was a family tradition that we all enjoyed, and I didn’t want to miss out on it. It was in this happy, safe atmosphere of divine Love, God, that my dad noticed I was dragging my foot. He spoke softly to me about not favoring my foot and gently encouraged me to walk normally. At first I wasn’t sure I could, but once again he tenderly assured me that all was well and that I could just try. With that, I found I was easily able to straighten my foot and walk normally.