2 Kings 3:14-16, “Elisha said, ‘As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. But now bring me a harpist.’ While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, ‘This is what the Lord says…’” It was God’s hand on Elisha that inspired him to speak the word of the Lord.

Ezekiel 3:13-15, “It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.” Obviously, Elisha felt the hand of God, the power and impulsive force of God breathing into him His word, more strongly at some times than others.

Luke 1:65-67, “And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’ For the hand of the Lord was with him.” The hand of God was laid on Zechariah when he spoke after being dumb for a long time and instructed that his son be named John. The hand of God on this priest was evident to the people.

One may comment that the above examples pertain to a kind of direct inspiration that does not come to God’s people today, the inspiration that produced the written scriptures. While the text of scripture is complete (Jude 3), there are few people, having presented the word of God publicly, who would not understand what it means for the hand of God to be with them. Many times I have stood before a congregation and felt that I was not in control of what was being said, that the Spirit of God was guiding me. Recently my sister made a talk to a ladies’ Bible class and told me that she had the wonderful awareness of the Holy Spirit guiding her in what she said. Yes, it is powerfully true yet today that God’s hand inspires us!