George Washington Carver was born in 1864, the son of illiterate slaves who were owned by a white couple with the surname of Carver. Because of his “Aunt Susan,” Mrs. Carver, he went to Simpson College and Iowa’s agricultural college. He eventually began teaching agriculture at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama after being invited there by Booker T. Washington in 1896. His research centered on introducing soil-enriching crops like peanuts and sweet potatoes to farmers. Carver accepted Christ when he was ten years old and read the Bible constantly. He taught and believed that nature was one way by which God spoke to man. He emphatically believed that his discoveries and his success were from communing with His heavenly Father.

Imagine what God could reveal to you and I when we take the time to listen and commune with Him. The prophet Daniel recorded that while praying, the angel Gabriel came to him. Gabriel told Daniel that he had come, “…to give [him] insight and understanding.” (Daniel 9:22) What could we accomplish with heavenly wisdom and insight? What is the potential? At the very least, let’s start thinking in terms of expectancy. Perhaps we need to position ourselves for the “words” forthcoming and be ready to write them down. There are songs to be sung, papers to be presented, inventions to be created, businesses to begin, books to be written and wisdom to be spoken as we listen and receive from our heavenly Father. I am convinced that George Washington Carver was not the last person on earth to hear from God.