&gt;Well, the god Jehovah talking to someone doesn't impact someone's ability to choose. 

That's my point. Why is God so much more subtle now than He was in the past? There's clearly a correlation between humans' ability to explain more of the world around us and God's clear and direct hand in our daily lives. Do you think there is a casual link as well? 

&gt;Well, the same question could be asked by followers of the god Allah for why their answers to prayers reflect similarly to how you describe, or followers of the gods Shiva and Vishnu or Ahura Mazda

I am thinking about asking other Christians what their view on this topic is, but I don't know enough about Islam to word a question clearly. Are you saying that muslims have the same diminishing clarity to prayers compared to past worshippers?