Prayer then and now

So have you ever sat back and wondered why prayer and talks with God work so differently now than they did back in the time of Moses? I mean seriously, when was the last time that God spoke to you thru a bush that was on fire but no burning up or visited you at your house (as he did w/ Abraham)? I don't know about you, but those things don't happen to me and I've always wondered why not. I think I may be on to something as to the reason.
If you look at relationships and how people communicate, it doesn't stay the same. For instance, a man and woman when they first start their relationship, they stay up all night talking on the phone, visiting eachother, always talking and learning. Then as the relationship grows the talking starts to change to more serious matters and different events take place. Then comes the maturity that is reached in marriage when husbands and wives will sometimes complete eachothers thoughts and will be more in tune with eachother. Sometimes speaking isn't even needed when two people are in the same room and they want to get a point across.
Where am I going with this? Stay with me.

In the OT God came and spoke. The patriarchs, prophets, and people heard the voice of God. They said it was like thunder in the sky. They saw the pillars of smoke and fire leading them. They were visited by angels and other means. This was the beginning stages of the relationship w/ the human race and God.
In the Gospels, we see a completely different method of communication. God comes down and is in the flesh with us. Jesus interacts with people in different ways than the God of the OT did. He walks among them and heals them and prays for them. Again, the relationship has changed in some way. OT God is around us speaking. Gospels Jesus is walking with us talking. What about later in the NT and today?
The answer, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Does God still talk to us today? Yes, but not in the same way He did in the OT and the Gospels. In Romans it says that the "Spirit speaks on our behalf in groanings we cannot understand for do not know what we ought to pray for". The Spirit of God lives inside of us and works thru us. In the OT it was pretty obvious to see where the work of the human ended and the providence of God started. In the NT we have verses that talk about Paul doing things only b/c the Spirit of God compelled him to do them or helped him to do them or worked through him. In the NT the lines get blurred as to where our actions end adn the Spirits begin. In one word, intimacy. Just as in a human relationship, intimacy grows and reaches out through every part of the relationship over time. The same has become true of God and us. His Spirit living in us is more intimate than ever before... much more than a bush that is on fire. The Spirit speaks not in words our ears can hear but in nudges our heart feels, leadings our own spirit and soul follow, and thoughts that spring to life in our heads.
Does God still speak to us today? Yes. Does he do it in the way he use to? No.
This way is so much cooler!

Love God... Love people... Serve the world...
Jpack

p.s. This is something that i have seriously been struggling with lately. I actually sat in my car this morning before work during my quiet time and looked at the sky and simply prayed "God.. where are you? i'm trying... but... i don't know where you are... why are you not speaking?" and then over the course of my day... this came to me. I had to share it. To be completely honest with you (and myself mostly) i've been angry with God for a little while. I don't understand Him or what He wants sometimes or why he wants what he does. But the more and more i look to him... the more that i feel my knees scrapping the ground and getting cut up, the more i know that He's God... and I'm not.