Listening in Silence (and Next Steps)

I love that so many of my grands are at the age where they enjoy discussing spiritual issues. 

We're at that place where they start by asking the questions which spur on the exchange. 

It used to be that I'd initiate conversations to try and catch a little bit of an understanding of what circled around in those little brains.

Like this brief discourse that popped up in a memory on Facebook from nine years ago (NiNe!):

 Or this one from ten years ago with my grandson, Ethan:

If that's all we remember about Easter, that's pretty OK! Easter is a big deal and it changed everything for those who are Jesus-followers.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my older grands sent me a text message and wanted to know the following:

We had a great back and forth on that one.

Maybe it will be a blog one day... 🤔

But this week, one of the grands reached out to Papa for the spiritual discussion. 

Over the course of their phone chat, this grandson admitted that he struggled hearing the Lord's voice, saying, "I pray, and pray, and pray...and, nothing!"

Oh, how I appreciate this kind of honesty and vulnerability!

We aren't always going to hear the voice of God.

Even Jesus didn't - remember the Garden of Gethsemane?  (Bay actually preached on this a couple weeks ago, and here's his message: God Where Are You? Go to about the 31-minute-mark). 

This brings me to the follow-up to last week's blog post. I left you with the promise I'd make a few practical applications for hearing God's voice when we are in a place of "stuck," and need to take some next steps in a new direction, because, well, we've already "stayed too long circling that mountain (Deuteronomy 1:6, 2:3)."

Over the years (and, it's been a lot of years!), I've learned a couple things that are always worth re-visiting when I'm in need of God's voice: not physically audible (although that would be okay by me), but audible to my heart. 

1.  Stay close enough to know God's voice. 

If we are to step into the Lord's invitation to "come and follow," we have to know His voice from all the other voices calling our names. In John 10, Jesus tells a story about sheep and shepherds to His followers. As the parable unfolds, we become aware how important the intimate relationship is between the two. We learn that the shepherd always leads his sheep (never pushing from behind), and the sheep willingly follow after him, because they KNOW HIS VOICE! 

It doesn't escape me that this takes TIME and CONSISTENCY! 

The more I'm with a person, and hear their voice, the quicker I recognize it from anyone else's! Remember: God's voice is very unique. It's a "whisper" to the soul. 

With that in mind, we can't hear His voice with ear-buds in our ears as we listen to music, or a podcast; or be glancing at social media or TikTok at the same time. Multi-tasking and bundling are great in other arena's, but NOT THIS ONE!

It's critical to take time with JUST-the-Master, and not just doing all the talking (praying)....but listening for His still small voice.

2.  Seeping your spirit in God's Word is key.

The Lord can use a variety of things to speak to our souls (I mean, He did use a donkey one time according to the Old Testament), but His primary way is through His Word. Find a translation that is easy to read (good ones: New English Translation - NET; New Living Translation - NLT; English Standard Version - ESV; and, even, The Message) and open the cover daily! 

As you read, reflect. Don't just read so you can check a done-box ✅. 

READ FOR LIFE CHANGE. How? (Click on link for a simple worksheet that might be helpful for beginning).

Read (I read until something seems to resonate within me).

Rewrite (put what it says in your own words). 

Relate (how does what you've just read relate to what you are going through RIGHT NOW!).

RESPOND (what do you think comes next because of what you've read...end in a prayer).

When we take the time to walk through this process, and write down what we think might be stirring within our hearts, we begin to HEAR HIM...

This is a great way to begin, and doesn't have to take more than 5-minutes if that's all the time you have. But...it's hard to build a relationship on 5-minutes a day (ask the grands who are beginning to date) 😀.