How to Hear When God Whispers (and you wish He would shout)
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Can you imagine how Elijah must have felt on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18)? I can’t even begin to fathom the faith it took to just trust God to send down fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice drenched in water. Add to that prophets of false gods watching and waiting and your fate hanging on it all.
Whoa. That’s a lot of faith.
After that, the drought ended when Elijah prayed for rain. Three years of no rain, the man of God prays, and the sky goes black with a rainstorm. Again, the faith and faith-building here are just incredible.
Then comes the time when God whispers so quietly it seems He’s forgotten and the feelings of boldness melt away. Then comes the wilderness.
After the Mountaintop Comes the Wilderness
If we’re like Elijah, this is where we say things like:
“I might as well give up now. Nothing is going to make a difference.”
“Why me, Lord? Why?”
“After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me?”
“I can’t do this one more day.”
And then God, who is always the same, ministers to us here. He provides, even if it’s not what we think we want. And this is when God whispers.
God Likes To Bring Us Into the Wild Places
In Hosea we see just how God uses those wilderness seasons:
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.”
~Hosea 2:14, ESV emphasis mine
Related: Waiting in the Wilderness for God to Keep His Word
And here, for Elijah as for us, God ministers and tends. And He is the calm in the storm, the still small voice that speaks truth and peace and restoration. This is when God whispers.
How to Hear When God Whispers
How then do we make certain we hear Him? How do we have ears and hearts to hear when God whispers?
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His Word I hope. ~Psalm 130:5
My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. ~Psalm 62:5
Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. ~Psalm 5:3, NLT
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! ~Psalm 27:14
Even Jesus issued an invitation to His disciples:
And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” ~Mark 6:31
We Wait.
It’s so simple and oh-so-difficult, isn’t my sweet sister? We simply let God take us to those desolate places and we rest. And we wait. We wait expectantly because we know this is when God whispers. Our unchanging God uses these seasons to speak to our hearts and give us rest.
Listen for Him today, my sweet friend, for He is alluring you in your wilderness, speaking tenderly to you, and crafting a doorway of hope in your mess. Silence the noise of the storm and the fear of the earthquake, and wait. That small voice is waiting for the perfect time. God always speaks at the perfect time.
