Listening for God’s Voice
In the early twentieth century, New York City had become a noisy place. With an overhead train, cars, trolleys, newsboys yelling, and people rushing around—life was loud! Yet, one day at Broadway and 34th Street, a man named Charles Kellogg declared to his friend, “Listen, I hear a cricket.”
“Impossible,” his friend answered. “With all this racket, you couldn’t hear a tiny sound like that.” Yet Mr. Kellogg insisted and eventually found the cricket, chirping in the window of a bakery. “What astonishing hearing you have,” his friend proclaimed. “Not at all,” Mr. Kellogg replied. “It’s a matter of where you focus your attention.”
Elijah was a prophet of God who’d just seen Him perform an amazing display of His power, but now the prophet was hiding in a cave for fear of the pagan queen (1 Kings 19:1-9). This time, however, God didn’t want to communicate in a powerful way. Even though He had sent a great wind, an earthquake, and even a roaring fire (vv. 11-12), it was time now for Elijah to commune with God personally and quietly. God wanted to speak to the prophet in “a gentle whisper” (v. 12).
Today, there’s a surplus of noise in our lives, yet God still speaks in a quiet voice through the Scriptures and by His Spirit. Taking time to prayerfully focus our attention on God will help us tune in to His comforting, guiding voice.
Ref: Our Daily Bread Ministries
“Impossible,” his friend answered. “With all this racket, you couldn’t hear a tiny sound like that.” Yet Mr. Kellogg insisted and eventually found the cricket, chirping in the window of a bakery. “What astonishing hearing you have,” his friend proclaimed. “Not at all,” Mr. Kellogg replied. “It’s a matter of where you focus your attention.”
Elijah was a prophet of God who’d just seen Him perform an amazing display of His power, but now the prophet was hiding in a cave for fear of the pagan queen (1 Kings 19:1-9). This time, however, God didn’t want to communicate in a powerful way. Even though He had sent a great wind, an earthquake, and even a roaring fire (vv. 11-12), it was time now for Elijah to commune with God personally and quietly. God wanted to speak to the prophet in “a gentle whisper” (v. 12).
Today, there’s a surplus of noise in our lives, yet God still speaks in a quiet voice through the Scriptures and by His Spirit. Taking time to prayerfully focus our attention on God will help us tune in to His comforting, guiding voice.
Ref: Our Daily Bread Ministries
Reflect & Pray
What noises are crowding in on your life? How can you listen for God’s voice in your busy world?
Dear Father, I seek to hear Your voice, guiding me in wisdom and love. Open my ears to Your whispers, Lord, and fill my soul with clarity. Help me trust in Your divine direction, so I may walk confidently in Your grace. Amen.
What noises are crowding in on your life? How can you listen for God’s voice in your busy world?
Dear Father, I seek to hear Your voice, guiding me in wisdom and love. Open my ears to Your whispers, Lord, and fill my soul with clarity. Help me trust in Your divine direction, so I may walk confidently in Your grace. Amen.