The Still Small Voice
We don't always realize how God speaks to us. We've seen movies where God booms out of the heavens to Moses so powerfully and dramatically. But most of the time God speaks to us in "a gentle whisper" or "the still small voice" (1 Kings 19:12). We feel an inner impression, a prompting in our heart. It's like a suggestion, something that we suddenly know we're supposed to do. That's not random; that's God speaking to you.
Six times in the Gospels, Jesus says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Mark 4:9), and eight times in the book of Revelation, He adds, "what the Spirit is saying." He's talking about your inner ears. He's saying, "Are you sensitive to the whispers? Are you paying attention to what you're feeling in your spirit?" It's easy to ignore it, push it down. But if you start obeying the promptings, the suggestions, the gentle whispers, God will lead you down the best path for your life.
When you suddenly feel compassion for someone and a prompting to let them know that you care, don't ignore the whisper even if you think they're fine. God wouldn't have given you that impression if they didn't need it. You don't know what people are going through. That whisper is God leading you. The more you obey this still small voice, the more God can entrust you with.
Sometimes you feel an unrest and uneasiness, like an inner alarm telling you not to do something, to stay away from a person, a situation, or a business deal. Everything may seem okay, but don't go against the whisper. God sees things that we can't see. He knows where the dead ends are. He knows the people who are going to pull us down and waste our time. If that whisper is saying "back off," it's because God is protecting you. When you have big decisions to make, it's important to get quiet and listen to the whisper, listen to what you're feeling. You can't hear it if you're always busy, noisy, stressed out, getting opinions from others. It's not that God isn't speaking; it's that you need times of quiet so you can hear the whisper.
Every morning I like to start the day off saying, "God, help my spiritual ears to be sensitive to Your voice today. Help me to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to me." The more sensitive we are to the Spirit's whispers--what we're feeling, the promptings--the further we're going to go. You are one whisper away from stepping into greater favor, greater influence, greater resources, and something you've never imagined.
Six times in the Gospels, Jesus says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Mark 4:9), and eight times in the book of Revelation, He adds, "what the Spirit is saying." He's talking about your inner ears. He's saying, "Are you sensitive to the whispers? Are you paying attention to what you're feeling in your spirit?" It's easy to ignore it, push it down. But if you start obeying the promptings, the suggestions, the gentle whispers, God will lead you down the best path for your life.
When you suddenly feel compassion for someone and a prompting to let them know that you care, don't ignore the whisper even if you think they're fine. God wouldn't have given you that impression if they didn't need it. You don't know what people are going through. That whisper is God leading you. The more you obey this still small voice, the more God can entrust you with.
Sometimes you feel an unrest and uneasiness, like an inner alarm telling you not to do something, to stay away from a person, a situation, or a business deal. Everything may seem okay, but don't go against the whisper. God sees things that we can't see. He knows where the dead ends are. He knows the people who are going to pull us down and waste our time. If that whisper is saying "back off," it's because God is protecting you. When you have big decisions to make, it's important to get quiet and listen to the whisper, listen to what you're feeling. You can't hear it if you're always busy, noisy, stressed out, getting opinions from others. It's not that God isn't speaking; it's that you need times of quiet so you can hear the whisper.
Every morning I like to start the day off saying, "God, help my spiritual ears to be sensitive to Your voice today. Help me to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to me." The more sensitive we are to the Spirit's whispers--what we're feeling, the promptings--the further we're going to go. You are one whisper away from stepping into greater favor, greater influence, greater resources, and something you've never imagined.