Listening to God
Listening to God is an attitude of the heart. We hope you’ll take time in your busy day-to-day life to listen for God’s voice. May the resources you find here help you discern whatever message God has for you today.
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Learning to Listen
How Do You Listen?
A famous image used by the inventor of the gramophone depicts a dog listening at the horn of the early recording device, accompanied by the slogan “His Master’s Voice.” The dog recognized his master’s voice even though he couldn’t see him.
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Elijah also knew His Master’s voice. After a particularly difficult season, when Elijah was discouraged, God led him to Mt. Horeb (also known as Mt. Sinai). While sheltering in a cave on the mountain, Elijah complained to God that he had served Him faithfully, but the people of Israel had turned against Him, and King Ahab and his wife Jezebel had killed many of God’s prophets and were trying to kill him, too. God told Elijah to stand before His presence on the mountain, so Elijah waited in the cave for God to appear.
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While Elijah waited, “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” (1 Kings 19:11-12). When Elijah heard the whisper, he pulled on his cloak and went out to meet with the Lord. He knew the “still, small voice” of his Master.
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Listening for that still, small voice takes practice. The more intimate you grow in your walk with God, the more time you spend in His Word and the more you obey His commandments, the more readily you will recognize it.
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Jesus used the metaphor of sheep who listen to their shepherd: “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. … He goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:3b and 4b ESV).