How can I develop and maintain an attitude of active listening before the Lord?
1 Kings 19-11-13 page 420 Charles Stanley Bible
Many people seem uncomfortable with silence, especially if they are alone.
In silence, however, we are able to hear the “still, small voice” of the Lord.
Certainly the prophet Elijah knew this. After receiving a death threat from Queen Jezebel, Elijah escaped to an isolated desert area. There in a cave, he heard the Lord say to him,
The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the 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 came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Quietness is essential to listening. If we are too busy to sit in silence in His presece: if we are preoccupieed with thoughts or concerns that have filled our minds for hour upon hour with carnal interference and aimless chatter-then we are going to have difficulty truly listening to that still, small voice of God.
Set aside times to “wait upon the Lord” in silence. You may find that late night or early morning is a good time of solitude and quiet for you . A noonday walk in the park may be a time when you can quiet your soul before the Lord. Ask the Lord to reveal to you a time and a place where you might turn off the cares and worries of the world for a few moments and listen to Him.
So often we spend our prayer time by talking to the Lord, without spending any time just waiting in slience to see what the Lord might have to say to us. Take thime to intentionally sit or kneel in silence before the Lord. Empty your mind of all other thoughts. Concentraite on His Word and His presence with you Ask Him to speak to you.
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6 comments:
As far as I can tell, the Bible knows of no such thing as God trying to speak, but is incapable of being heard because fallen men and women have somehow closed Him off, denied His ability, and so can't hear Him or are just simply too busy to hear the still, small voice of God.
God cannot fail to be heard.
In fact, the New Testament records nothing like a still, small voice that whispers gently in our spiritual ear. Nor does the Old Testament, as far as I can tell. Instead, we should focus on the only Word of God that we are commanded to seek, that we are commanded to understand, and that we are commanded to obey. That is stated in II Timothy 2:15, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth" (emphasis mine).
Anthony,
The beauty and truth of the Bible cannot be denied. I Kings 19:12
"and after the fire a still small voice."
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow God is still the same. He can and will do according to His Good pleasure.
Even in spite of man.
Thanks for your comments, they're always appreciated.
Marcie
It's clearly a descriptive text, not a prescriptive one.
What about my other points?
How can you divide scripture by a declariton that "it's descriptive"
Is it descriptive when God spoke to John the Baptist and said,
"This is My Son in whom I am well pleased".
Do you think John heard it was he spoken to in the New Testiment?????
I think YES!
But the point about John the Baptist being hearing the Father is a great example.
John heard the Father. The disciples heard the Father. But do you know who didn't hear the Father? The crowd.
There was another occasion in John 12:29 where some in the crowd only heard thunder and others heard the Father speaking.
Are you saying if follows that because a donkey talks in scripture, I should seek to go have a conversation with one?
How do you decide if a passage is descriptive or prescriptive?
I wrote "if" where I should have written "it" as in:
Are you saying it follows that because a donkey talks in scripture, I should seek to go have a conversation with one?
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