Listening to God’s quiet voice is not easy. It’s made even harder when we are surrounded by the loud voices of a world that wants us to conform to its opinions, values, and standards. If we are not careful, the intrusive voices of the world, whether real or imagined, will begin to rule us, and we will no longer be able to hear God’s quiet voice at all.
There is a story in 1 Kings (19:11-13) about God talking to Elijah. In the story, God tells Elijah to stand on a mountain and wait for him. As Elijah waits, a strong wind “tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks,” but God was not in the wind. Next, an earthquake shook the mountain, but again, God was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but God was not in the fire. Finally, after the wind, the earthquake, and the fire subsided, Elijah heard a gentle whisper which was the Lord.
The world and its opinions, values, and standards can be seen as the wind, the earthquake, and the fire. They are powerful and grab, even demand, our attention. This is not where the Lord resides, however, nor is this how He communicates with us.
As James Finley says, “That which is essential never imposes itself, for love is always offered. It’s never imposed. That which is unessential is constantly imposing itself.” God is that which is essential and He never imposes Himself on us. He simply calls us to him, waits for us to be still, and then whispers His love and truth to us if we have ears to hear.
Notice that God does not tell Elijah to go down into the town square to wait for him in the cacophony of the marketplace. Nor does He tell him to wait for him amongst the tribes. It is not that God does not exist in these places. It’s just that He is harder to hear in the crowd.
If we want to listen for and to God’s voice, Finley continues, “We have to create a contemplative culture within our hearts by committing ourself to a daily rendezvous, to a daily quiet time.” In other words, if we want to hear what God is trying to tell us, we need to spend time alone in prayer on the proverbial mountain where we can be still enough to recognize the whisper beneath the wind, the fire, and the earthquake. From this place of solitude and silence, the whisper of God’s love and truth can be heard.
~Robert Van Valkenburgh
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