Experiencing God's Presence #252

And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

1 Kings 19:12

Elijah had gone to Mount Sinai, back to the place where Moses had received the law against which all of Israel had recently been rebelling. After a fierce windstorm, a violent earthquake, and a raging fire, God spoke to the prophet in the stillness, as quietly as a whisper. Why?

“I speak in the quiet. People want Me to write My words to them in the sky or thunder them from heaven or send an angel with a message, but that doesn’t measure hunger or desire. It dictates My will. I’m not a dictator; I’m a wooer. I draw you, and only those who respond can come. That’s how it works.

“Sometimes in history I’ve been more aggressive with My voice. Moses needed to be startled, for example, and so did Gideon. But normally I speak faintly enough that only the hungry and thirsty will risk failure and follow. They are desperate enough. Those who shrug off My voice as a whisper will often miss Me. Those who assume that every voice they think they hear is a whisper from Me will be wrong sometimes, but they won’t miss Me. Sometimes they will be right, and over time I will fine-tune their hearing so they will know the difference between My real whispers and their own inner voices. But their desire to hear Me, even knowing they could be wrong, pleases Me. Moses and Paul expressed My heart when they wished everyone could prophesy. I want My voice to be heard by all who have ears to hear.”

Father, I want to hear You at all costs. I’m willing to risk failure to step out on a limb and believe that I’ve heard. Help me discern which whispers are Yours and which are not. But let me never be so “discerning” that I deny Your voice along with others. Please, Lord, give me ears to hear.

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