Day 2 – JANUARY 7, 2019
In a Whisper
(Listening to the voice of God)
Scripture: 1 Kings 19: 11-12
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
Matthew 11:15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Thought for Today: God wants to speak a word to you, are you listening?
Our lives are filled with noise that comes at us from all directions. Our senses are overloaded with sounds, sights, pressures, emotions and relationships that consume our attention and time. We are so obsessed with our smart phones that we react to every ring tone, buzz, beep, flash or image on the screen. Ponder for a moment of the noise that bombards your mind each day…traffic, sirens, wind, voices, television, radio, video games, phone calls, text messages, internet surfing, social media, white noise and your own thoughts… How can you hear what God is saying in the midst of all of that noise?
Some Christians believe that God speaks with a loud voice and that His words will overshadow all other sounds. So they continue in their busyness with all of the noise expecting God to elevate His voice to get their attention. Others live life wondering whether, when or how God speaks to them. The truth is that God desires to speak to you and He speaks on His terms and in His timing. At the most critical times, God often does not speak with thunder, but with a still small voice. He speaks with a whisper in the midst of the noise. Are you willing to cancel the noise to hear His voice?
1 Kings 19 describes Elijah, the great prophet, in a cave facing feelings of exhaustion, fear and despair. He is told by the Lord to “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” He did so in obedience and “the Lord passed by” and wind, an earthquake and fire appeared, but God was in none of them. No, God did not speak in the noise and calamity, but in a still, small voice. To receive his breakthrough, Elijah had to obey God, be in position (go out and stand on the mountain), recognize God’s presence and patiently wait through three loud calamities and listen for God’s whisper. As you spend time in fasting and prayer at the beginning of this year, will you cancel the noise, listen for God’s voice and obey Him?
It’s Time to Pray: Heavenly Father, I need to hear your voice. Forgive me for allowing the noises of life to drown out your voice and dull my hearing. Tune my ears to your voice and my heart to obey you…
What a blessing! Often I find it hard to focuswhen I am praying/studying the Word.I’m striving to shut out all other noises
Surely we need a word from the Lord. .
January 7, 2019
The lesson for today was spot on. When I entered work in today my thought was “it is noisy in hear I can’t hear myself think”. With that said when there is so much noise in our lives we can’t hear God audibly. We have to stop so he can speak to us and we hear him loud and clear. I want to hear a word from the Lord. My quite and prayer time has been awesome. Excellent word for today.