Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Hearing His Voice



"My soul wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him."
Psalm 62:5

I will find Him in the silence.

There was a time, when I desperately needed to know, that I longed to hear His voice. I had heard testimonies prefaced by "The Lord told me...." or "The Lord spoke a word to me..." - and I longed for that experience in my own life. I would sit quietly, waiting.

There were times I thought I heard, only to discover it wasn't His voice at all. I began to question my faith, wondering what I was lacking.

I hesitate to write these words because I know that for some, the Father does speak in just that way. I don't question that. I think, perhaps, just as we are uniquely created - we hear His voice in individual ways.

He speaks to me in just the way I hear best. I am a timid soul and need much reassurance just to be sure. So He often begins to speak to me through His word. It settles into my heart and then He says it again - perhaps in the voice of my Pastor or a loved one or friend. He may even sing it over me - waking me up with the words of a fitting song on my mind. The words in a devotional or on a blog post echo the theme - and I know.

It is in the silence that all of those things come together. When I am bombarded by sound - the radio, the television, music - the words He has spoken get lost. I cannot call them to mind when my ears of full of noise. They cannot burrow deep into my heart, take seed and grow.

So these days, I seek the silence. When I walk alone, I don't bring along the music; when I'm alone at home, I turn off the radio. The quiet surrounds me, and I hear His voice.



This is my contribution to Ann's "Spiritual Practices" series.

Blessings,
Linda