Experiencing God's Presence #202

While the harp was being played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha.

2 Kings 3:15

The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom went out with their armies together to quell a rebellion by Moab, but when they got into the wilderness, they realized there was no water for their troops. The king of Israel panicked and assumed God had abandoned them, but Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, wanted to inquire of the Lord. So the kings went to consult with the prophet Elisha. And when Elisha finally agreed to listen to God’s voice for them, he began with an unusual request: he called for a harpist.

Why did Elisha need a harpist in order to hear from God? Because the Lord’s Presence can often be experienced in music—or any other creative expression—far more easily than in an analytical, deductive approach. The Lord speaks to the heart, or to our right-brained, intuitive side, more often than to our logical, skeptical side. As mathematician Blaise Pascal once said, “The heart has its reasons that reason cannot know.” God’s Spirit seems to connect with us at a creative, imaginative level. His power comes upon those who can perceive Him without having to analyze Him.

So Elisha heard the Lord better when a harpist was playing—when music was activating his spiritual perceptions. And we can hear Him better that way too. Experiencing God requires some level of creative aptitude, or at least a willingness to know Him beyond our own understanding or explanations. He stretches us to the point that we must embrace Him intuitively, subjectively, and instinctively. When we’re open to that, He opens up to us.

Lord, sensitize me to Your Presence—in me and around me. Awaken my heart to know when You are speaking creatively and subjectively to me. Free me to experience You any way You want to be experienced.

From the book