Hearing God
I Kings 19: 11-13 “The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
Have you heard from God lately? Has he sent you an email, a text message, a voicemail? While that sounds silly to us- wouldn’t it be so much easier? Do you even know what the sound of His voice is like? Unfortunately God doesn’t use our modern technology designed to help us multitask and use every minute of our day to the fullest. God doesn’t want us to be so busy. He wants us to take time to listen and be attentive to Him…and that comes in the silence.
So- how do we listen for the voice of God when we don’t even know what it sounds like?
The first step in listening for the voice of God is to begin a relationship with Him. Learn about who He really is; study His character. Sometimes our view of God is distorted by images from what other people say about Him: God the policeman, dictator, grandfather, old man, Santa Claus. We put Him in a box and only see one part of Him whether it is based on anything real or not. We need to look to scripture and find out who He really is. Only then do we get a true picture of who God is.
In 1 Kings, Elijah found out that God was not in the things he would have thought, the wind, the earthquake, the fire. He had to wait to see where God really was. God was in the gentle whisper.
What if Elijah had been in a hurry or busy- would he have missed it?
Do you?
Sometimes we make our spiritual lives about what we can get from God. We come with our Bible study and read the passage, answer some questions, pray our laundry list of requests and then we check the box that we are done. We have spent our entire “quiet time” doing and asking and never actually being quiet.
Right now stop everything that you are doing and sit absolutely silent for 15 minutes. Set a timer if you have to. It will feel like a long time. But just listen to see if you can hear God’s gentle whisper.
Allow yourself to wait out the discomfort and distractions…and just listen.
Have you heard from God lately? Has he sent you an email, a text message, a voicemail? While that sounds silly to us- wouldn’t it be so much easier? Do you even know what the sound of His voice is like? Unfortunately God doesn’t use our modern technology designed to help us multitask and use every minute of our day to the fullest. God doesn’t want us to be so busy. He wants us to take time to listen and be attentive to Him…and that comes in the silence.
So- how do we listen for the voice of God when we don’t even know what it sounds like?
The first step in listening for the voice of God is to begin a relationship with Him. Learn about who He really is; study His character. Sometimes our view of God is distorted by images from what other people say about Him: God the policeman, dictator, grandfather, old man, Santa Claus. We put Him in a box and only see one part of Him whether it is based on anything real or not. We need to look to scripture and find out who He really is. Only then do we get a true picture of who God is.
In 1 Kings, Elijah found out that God was not in the things he would have thought, the wind, the earthquake, the fire. He had to wait to see where God really was. God was in the gentle whisper.
What if Elijah had been in a hurry or busy- would he have missed it?
Do you?
Sometimes we make our spiritual lives about what we can get from God. We come with our Bible study and read the passage, answer some questions, pray our laundry list of requests and then we check the box that we are done. We have spent our entire “quiet time” doing and asking and never actually being quiet.
Right now stop everything that you are doing and sit absolutely silent for 15 minutes. Set a timer if you have to. It will feel like a long time. But just listen to see if you can hear God’s gentle whisper.
Allow yourself to wait out the discomfort and distractions…and just listen.
posted by Amie at 3:28 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you for your thoughts on hearing God's whispers. I have been following your blog for a few weeks now and I appreciate your contemplations and unbridled honesty.
I do not know how much feedback you get from your readers, but it is a Blessing to read thoughts from a passion-filled Jesus-likee (given that there is so much trash on the web these days). Particularly, I appreciated the way you expressed your inability to cry in one of your past posts. I can relate to that.
In short, thank you and may the LORD bless you for "working out your faith".
May the mystery of God continue to deepen in your heart as you pursue Him daily.
In the Strong name of Jesus,
Nathan
Post a Comment
<< Home