Silence is definitely something that does not come naturally. Most of the time, when there is an empty silence, we immediately fill it with some sort of noise, even if it’s something we’re not really paying attention to. While silence can be a little uncomfortable, I think it is one of the most important things we can have in regards to our prayer and our time spent with the Lord. Let me explain.
Hearing the voice of God is something that comes in a few different ways. For example, God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. Because the Bible is literally the written word of God, He will speak to us through the passages that we read in Scripture. It is also in this way that we can seek to develop a deeper relationship with Him. God can also speak to us through people. At times He can place someone in your life at the right place and at the right time to speak into your life, whatever that may look like. While there are more on the list, I think that one of the primary forms of communication that we have with God is prayer. Prayer is something that I definitely have not always valued. For my entire life, up until the Race, it has been a task that is simply part of a daily routine and checklist. Prayer is when we can literally talk to God, and He listens. However, prayer is also when WE can listen to God. For most of my Christian life, I have spent my prayer time simply talking to the Lord and both thanking Him and asking for various things ranging from the salvation of friends and family to asking Him to heal a sickness. It hasn’t been until recently that I realized that prayer is just as much about listening as it is about asking.
Okay, Michael.. get to the point.
Recently, I have been discovering the value of silence. After all, it is called quiet time for a reason. Matthew 6:6-8 sheds some light on how this time of prayer should look. Listening to God’s voice, or the voice of the Holy Spirit living in us, is the most important thing we can do. But listening to His voice comes at a cost; you have to be willing to listen and respond to everything He tells you. Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want Him to. But we must also keep in mind that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20), and with each closed door in our life, He will open up an even better one. It is praising Him through these closed doors that will prove to be one of the hardest things to do, but it will also be the times when our praise is the most genuine and pleasing to Him.
“If you aren’t willing to listen to everything God has to say, you eventually won’t hear anything He has to say. If you want to hear his comforting voice, you have to listen to His convicting voice. And it’s most often what we want to hear least that we need to hear the most.”
-Mark Batterson (Whisper)
Due to this recent revelation, my prayer life has grown exponentially by simply allowing God to speak to me through the silence. The way that I tend to hear from God is not always the same. Sometimes God places a random person on my heart to pray for, and sometimes I start to think of a word or phrase that I wouldn’t normally think of that could be applicable to someone’s life. Sometimes God places a random idea or dream inside of my head that could potentially be used to glorify Him. God tends to work in mysterious ways both throughout history and in the present. It would be stupid of me to limit His abilities in my head and not be open to hearing even the random things He lays on my heart. Sometimes things may not make sense. They don’t always have to.
Distinguishing between the gibberish that filters through my brain and actually hearing the voice of God is a whole other discussion which I will hopefully get around to talking about later, but for now I want to challenge anyone reading this to ask themselves:
Am I actively listening to the voice of God in my life?
“Speak, Lord for your servant is listening.” I Samuel 3:10
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“And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” I Samuel 3:19
Trust in the Lord and He will direct your ways.
