still speaking...

Hebrews 11:4

The key words are faith, righteous and speaks. The person the author focuses on in this verse is Abel. The connection is that Abel was one from Israel's history who demonstrated great faith. The reason the author includes this list of people is to remind the readers that they are part of the spiritual line who does not shrink back in the face of adversity but believes and is saved (10:39). The people in the list are individuals who are examples of faith in the face of extraordinary odds.
Abel's faith moved him to bring a better sacrifice to God than Cain brought. His faith resulted in God declaring him righteous. There is all kinds of speculation about why Abel's sacrifice was more acceptable to God than Cain's was. Some speculate it was because Abel brought some of the best of his flocks, some speculate it was because Abel's sacrifice involved blood. The truth is that neither Genesis or Hebrews really tell us. All we know is that Abel's sacrifice was motivated by faith. Probably faith in the fact that God was one day going to bring about the Seed that would crush the head of evil forever. This is supported by the fact that faith in the coming Seed and in the coming city is a theme through Hebrews 11. So, Abel's sacrifice was an act of trust in the work of God. Abel trusted God for salvation. Cain trusted himself. The Genesis account indicates that Eve thought Cain was the Seed and Cain has a record of taking matters into his own hands. His sacrifice, rather than being an act of faith in the work of God, is an attempt to gain salvation. In other words, Cain is trying to manipulate God. This self-reliant attitude is prevalent in human history. Against this back drop of self-reliance, Abel's act of faith stands out and continues to speak to us today.
What does it say to us? That God has accomplished salvation and there is no work left to do. It also tells us that God will not be manipulated. I will never be able to get God to owe me anything because of the quality of my service, my sacrifice or my life. It also tells us that God responds favourably to worship from pure motives. Abel's worship was in response to God's provision of salvation. Here's the paradox: when my worship is in response to God's goodness, God responds favourably to my worship; when my worship is an attempt to get God to respond favourably to me, God rejects my worship. There are many times that my worship has been an attempt at manipulation and more focused on me than on God.