This vital question is discussed by Francis Berger in a clarifying blog post which continues the argument from here; and takes its cue from the common complaint of modern Men that - on the one hand - God seems unresponsive to prayer; and on the other hand - that we do not seem to receive the kind of knowledge and guidance from God that seems to be promised by the New Testament.
The lines-of-communication between God and individual Men are therefore perceived as weak, confused, or altogether absent.
I think the reason for the 'breakdown in communication' with God may be more fundamental and intrinsic than God wanting a new kind of communication. There seems to have been an inevitability about the dwindling power of indirect communication - expressed in the power of symbol, ritual, language etc.
This has affected both prayer (transmitting communications to God); and also revelation (receiving communications from God).
Many people apparently look for a divine revelation in words, visions or some other perceptual mode. Yet our modern alienated-isolated consciousness is hardly capable of this, and even when it happens modern Men typically find such communication ambiguous - and/or doubt its authenticity.
It may be that we are now constituted such that the direct knowing of primary thinking is not just desirable, but also the only way we can relate to God.
As prayers in words lose power, and revelations in words are rare and confusing - we are called upon to recognize that we may simultaneously enable God to know us and we to know him - by the alignment of motivation and harmony of purpose which allows primary thinking to happen.
Thus God may be telling us many things, all the time directly - yet we cannot, or refuse to, notice them; because we continue to demand voices, visions, and other communications which - even if we got them - we would mistrust or misinterpret.
My conclusion is that while indirect 'symbolic communications' between God and man are often weak or absent; direct knowing - or primary thinking 'shared' between God and Man - is happening all-the-time, and this is better than 'communications'. However; we need consciously to recognize and acknowledge its occurrence and validity.
