Lighting Up Our City Video 5: In Step With the SpiritSample

I don’t know about you, but oftentimes, when I have a pressing question for God, I wish that He would provide a clear answer—like a billboard or neon sign, or an audible voice that I could hear. But God doesn’t seem to work that way.

The story of Elijah (one of Israel’s greatest prophets) provides an excellent illustration of how God speaks. Elijah was troubled and did not know what to do, so he sought the Lord. God told him to stand on the mountain, and even though there was a huge storm, an earthquake, and fire, God’s answer was not in any of these grand displays. Instead, Elijah recognized God’s voice in the gentle whisper.

So, while I may want an audible voice to tell me what to do, I most often hear God in His gentle whisper. How can I learn to listen for this still, small voice: the gentle whisper? First, I need to seek the Lord and wait on Him daily. When I spend quiet time with the Lord each morning, I can listen more attentively.

Even Jesus took time out to pray and spend time with His Father: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). If we want to hear the Spirit and walk with the Spirit, we need to follow Jesus’ example and find time in a solitary place to pray and to listen.

The more I practice this, the better I get at discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit. Often, it’s a thought that comes to mind in the form of God speaking to me. I know it is not from me because it’s either something I would not say to myself, or it is an insight that is clearly from God. I treasure these moments, so I try to be quiet enough to hear. I want to be sensitive to, then surrender to, the Holy Spirit.

By Teresa Baumbach