Be Quiet. . . God wants to talk to you

Be Quiet. . . God wants to talk to you. (Matthew 1-2 God, speaking, dreams)                           

Sometimes a little quiet is in order. Elijah certainly found that to be true!                                    

And behold, the Lord passed by,  and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,  and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind~  and after the wind, an earthquake;  but the Lord was not in the earthquake~    and after the earthquake, a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire~  and after the fire, a still small voice.     1 Kings 19.11,12 ]I love how the Lord came to Elijah in the above passage--in the still, small voice or a gentle whisper, as another translation says.   This is especially interesting because of God’s patience with Elijah, who has just seen the miraculous power of God displayed before all, and then gets scared and runs for a cave¹.  This time, God does not come in fire to consume the drenched altar of Baal to display his power, instead he comes in a still small voice.  Love it.

Is there anything we can do to ready ourselves to hear from God?  I believe there is.

>Be desirous of God—want more of God in your life.  Or, as Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom.”² It should not be that our primary goal is to hear the voice of God; on the contrary, it should be our purpose to engage in a loving relationship with God. ’Interesting to note that before God spoke in the still, small voice to Elijah in the passage above, Elijah said, "I am zealous for the Lord God Almighty." hmmm. . . am I zealous for God?   Are you?

>Get rid of anything that stands between you and God, and might obstruct God's message.  Confess your sins to him/let go of them³, confident that he then forgives you.  Be free, my friends.

>Be a person in the Word.  The primary address at which the word of God may be found is the Bible.  The Bible expresses the mind of God since God himself speaks to us through its pages.⁴

>Be attentive; listen - be aware, be desirous

>Make quiet your friend – for goodness’ sake, Mum, turn off the noise!

>Appropriate 'listening' into your prayer time  

So, you feel that God has spoken to you in some fashion, how do you know it is God's voice, and not your own, or another's?  

Check:  Is it consistent with sound biblical teaching? --Is the voice gently leading, or is it commanding and harsh?

>God's voice gently guides and encourages, giving hope - Psalm18.35     

God leads; Satan drives--John 10.4                                         

>God convicts; Satan condemns and brings guilt--Psalm 8.12.   God woos; Satan tugs hard

When God speaks, he does not use fear to motivate.  If fear overcomes you, it is the enemy, not God--2 Timothy 1.7⁵

--When you are trying to ascertain what God is saying to you, look at circumstances, the Bible, and inner impulses of the Spirit.

Do you think most people want to hear God's voice?  People want to hear from God when they are in desperate need of help, needing to be rescued or given direction for a big decision--but what about as a matter of course?  Do you?  

God wants to be wanted . . . does that surprise you?  He wants to be wanted just as you and I want to be wanted.  He wants to be wanted by us in a way that we are ready and predisposed to find him present with us.

I don't want to miss his gentle overtures.  I know you do not either.

Be Quiet. . . God wants to talk to you.

Christine

_{1 1 Kings 18.20-46  2 - Matthew 6.33;  3 – 1 John 1.9; 4 -  Dallas Willard, of course!  5 - Elizabeth Alves, The Mighty Warrior}

 Questions for discussion: