on hearing the Voice...

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening... I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. (1Samuel 3.9; Psalm 130.5)

Many people find it extremely hard to hear the Voice of God. The problem is that we have forgotten to be still before Him, and we give little (if any) time to Christian meditation.

Women and men who desire to be alive in Christ need to use God's word to bring them consciously into God's presence. We must let God's word speak to us, drawing us to the Father and glorifying the Son. For example, I have found that by letting our whole mind and being dwell on one of the names of God or on one aspect of His character, the Holy Spirit will help me to listen for God’s voice. Words, phrases, even whole passages of Scripture are invaluable for this fresh encounter with God. For some, praying or praising God in the God-given prayer language (what the New Testament refers to as the gift of tongues) is extremely refreshing. The purpose of Christian meditation is not to empty the mind of everything; it is to devote ourselves to Jesus and be filled with the Spirit of God.

As you begin, let us reject any thoughts or understandings that may persuade us to say to ourselves, “God would not want to talk to me. He only talks to prophets, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, and perhaps the occasional pastor.”

Dear ones, God wants to have a communicating relationship with you. Therefore, start with five or ten minutes each day and then increase it over time. As you continue, you will discover that you will begin to hear God speak to you through the Scriptures and in prayer. Soon you will begin to enjoy an increasing sense of the presence of the living God, and you will be better able to hear Him as He speaks to you each day.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes:

“Silence is the simple stillness of the individual under the word of God. But everybody knows that this is something that needs to be practiced and learned in these days, when talkativeness prevails. Real silence, real stillness, really holding one's tongue, comes only as the sober consequence of spiritual stillness. The silence of the Christian is listening silence, humble stillness. Silence before the word leads to right hearing and, thus, also to right speaking of the word of God at the right time.”

Dear ones, I believe the order of the day is: less talking, more listening for/to God’s living Voice… and the faith to “go and do likewise.”