God Speaks in a Whisper


Sometimes when I pray, I look for great signs that God has heard my prayer.  Honestly, sometimes what I am really looking for are signs that God is going to hear my prayer in the way that I want to have it heard.  Rather than placing my trust in God, and remembering that, “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28)   I am guilty of needing just something, anything that can assure me that I have been heard. 

When I seek out God’s presence, I sometimes seek Him in the great and majestic.  I expect that His voice will be loud and powerful, because He is great and powerful.  But the reality is that God speaks to us in so many calm and gentle ways.  I have experienced the presence of God in the gentle touch of another.  I’ve heard God’s voice in the laughter of a baby.  I’ve felt God’s love and presence in the last breath of family members.  I’ve known of God’s love sometimes just in the gift of the presence of another person, at times in their embrace.  The common thread in all of these examples is that the person with whom I am experiencing the presence of God is near to me, they are close by.

There’s a great story in the book of Kings (1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a) about Elijah on Mount Horeb.  “At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.  Then the Lord said to him, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by."  A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord— but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake— but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was fire— but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.” 


Why did God make His presence known to Elijah in a tiny whispering sound?  When I reflect on this, the most beautiful reason that I can come up with is that God spoke in a whisper because He was always close to Elijah.  A whisper isn’t heard from a distance.  A whisper is heard when the person whispering is within earshot…an intimate presence. 

What I need to remind myself of is that in order for me to hear the whisper of another, I have to quiet myself first. When I spend my time asking God for this or that, reminding Him of why He should help me in the way I feel like He should help me, or any of the many other things that I ask God for, my voice blocks His.  With all the talking that I do, I may easily be blocking out that beautiful whisper. 

Lord, give me the grace to quiet my heart and mind.  Help me to sit quietly in anticipation of uniting my thoughts with yours.  May I remember that I need not seek you in the great and majestic, but that I can find you in the calm and the quiet.  May I never forget that you are always close, standing always at my side.

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