God’s Gentle Whisper

Posted On November 28, 2021

“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.”

1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV

I just started reading a book by Mark Batterson called Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God. In it he points out that God is not afraid to use His “outside voice” when necessary, but when He has something really important to say, He often speaks in a gentle whisper. Why? So that we have to get very close to Him to hear. God wants to be in close relationship with His children, so He draws us near to Him. He leads us one step at a time so that we stay focused on Him and tuned in to His voice.

To be clear, hearing God’s voice doesn’t necessarily mean hearing it audibly. God speaks in many ways, so there are many ways to “hear” Him. When I refer to hearing God’s voice, I am talking about anything that communicates God’s will to us. God may speak to us through Scripture, daily devotionals, other people, circumstances, music, art, nature, dreams, desires, thoughts, feelings, or any other method He chooses. Because He can speak in so many different ways, learning to hear Him takes time and isn’t always easy. But it’s worth it!

“Nothing has the potential to change your life like the whisper of God. Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear His still small voice. That’s how you discern the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. That’s how you see and seize divine appointments. That’s how God-sized dreams are birthed. That’s how miracles happen.”

Mark Batterson

“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”

Psalm 46:10 NLT

The first step in learning to hear God’s still small voice is simply learning to be quiet and still in His presence. This has always been tough for me, and I’ve had to really work at it, but I’m getting better. I’ve found that the more time I spend quietly focused on God — instead of frantically focused on my own worries, fears, thoughts, wants, and needs — the easier it is to hear His whisper. And hearing His sweet voice is the most amazing thing I’ve every experienced! I’ve begun to crave time with my heavenly Father, resting in His arms and longing to hear what He has to say.

But I’ve also learned that I have to be very deliberate and disciplined about doing this. It’s easy to get so busy and sidetracked that I carelessly let several days go by with no quality time spent with the Lord. And then I start feeling disconnected, unfocused, and anxious. In fact, this is exactly how the enemy loves to operate! Satan wants to distract us and keep us focused on anything other than God so that he can keep us from doing God’s work. That’s why we have to make quiet time with our Father a priority, not an afterthought.

This can be difficult, especially on busy days, but we can never give up trying to get better at it. We’ve got to keep coming to God and listening for His voice. Batterson recommends quiet time at the beginning and end of every day “to collect our thoughts, count our blessings, and pray our prayers.” He also reminds us that God commands one day of rest a week. And he suggests finding the time to have a two-day silent retreat once a year. We’ve got to spend time being quiet in God’s presence if we want to learn to hear His voice.

“God often speaks loudest when we’re quietest. . . . I have a simple rule of thumb when I meet with someone: do more listening than talking. The more I want to hear what the person has to say, the quieter I am. That’s a good rule of thumb with God. Lean into His whisper. Then pray the bravest prayer!”

Mark Batterson

“Some Hebrews scholars believe that the name God, Yahweh — or without the vowels, YHWH — is synonymous with the sound of a breath. On one hand, the name is too sacred to pronounce. On the other hand, it’s whispered with each and every breath we take. It’s our first word, our last word, and every word in between.”

Mark Batterson

No matter how busy we are or how much chaos is going on around us, we can draw in God’s presence with every breath we take. We can pray His name with every inhale and exhale. Charles Stanley reminds us that even though it can be hard to hear God above all the other voices crying out for our attention, we can train ourselves to listen to Him. No matter what circumstances we are facing, we can choose to focus on God, meditate on Scripture, and receive His guidance:

“This is actually why you have the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling you and taking every step with you. This is also what it means to pray without ceasing. God is intimately present within you and always available to you — closer than even the sound in your ears. . . . don’t let minor issues distract you from meeting with the living God. Make prayer a priority, and don’t allow anything to stop the Lord’s wisdom and power from flowing through you.”

Charles F. Stanley

Learning to focus on God and listen for His voice isn’t just something else we need to add to our already overloaded to-do list. It’s discovering how to do what we’re already doing with a different perspective. We can invite God into every moment we experience — greet Him first thing in the morning, pray for His guidance as we begin our daily tasks, talk to Him throughout the day about whatever’s on our mind, think about His goodness, thank Him for His blessings, and turn our worries over to Him as we drift off to sleep. As we do this more and more, as we find creative ways and new places to spend quiet time with Him, we begin to be transformed. We learn to see things the way He does, and we start to hear the gentle sound of His still small voice.

“Sometimes a little change of scenery goes a long way in helping us hear God in new ways. So does doing something you’ve never done before. If you want God to do something new, you can’t keep doing the same old thing. You have to dare to be different, and that includes listening in a new way.”

Mark Batterson

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

Genesis 1:3 NIV

We are used to thinking of God as the Creator of the universe, but we don’t often stop to think about how He did it: He spoke it, or it’s been suggested that He sang it, into existence:

“Creation is three-part harmony: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And just as the Trinity sang every atom into existence, every atom echoes its unique note back to God. Creation is call and response. When Scripture speaks of mountains singing and trees clapping, it’s not just metaphorical. If our range of hearing were a little better, we would hear the voice of God in every drop of water, every blade of grass, every grain of sand.”

Mark Batterson

God’s voice, like everything else about Him, is far beyond our understanding. If He can bring the entire universe into existence with the sound of His voice, then imagine what He can accomplish in our lives with just a whisper. As Batterson points out, we have no problem trusting God for the big miracles, such as keeping us in orbit! But we struggle to believe Him for the small things. Yet there is nothing God cannot do. He can raise the dead, part the sea, and make the sun stand still in the sky if He chooses to. He will do whatever it takes to accomplish His will. If we can tune in to His voice, we will discover His will for our lives, and then nothing will be impossible!

“All things are possible for the one who believes.”

Mark 9:23 NCV

“Does God speak audibly? Absolutely! But that’s a thin slice of His vocal range. His ability to speak is way beyond our ability to hear audibly. . . . everything we see was structured by His acoustic oscillations. What we see today, He once said. His voice is all around us, all the time!”

Mark Batterson

God’s voice is around us all the time. It may not always be in the range of human hearing, but it’s there nonetheless. And it is powerful. The following video shows a demonstration of acoustic levitation: suspending objects in midair with high intensity sound waves. Yes, this is a real thing! And, as I learned from a little online research, it has exciting applications in science, manufacturing, and medicine. Plus, it’s really cool to watch. For me it serves as a visual reminder that God’s “acoustic oscillations” surround us, protect us, and lift us up in amazing ways.

“Did you know that God is singing songs of deliverance all around you all the time? You can’t hear them because they’re outside your range of hearing, but you’re surrounded by a sonic shield. Those songs of deliverance are powerful enough to break any bondage, overcome any addiction, and solve any problem.”

Mark Batterson

Our heavenly Father knows how to help us and protect us. He knows what we need, and He even knows what we want. He can take care of us much better than we can take care of ourselves. All we have to do is trust Him. As we let go of trying to figure everything out on our own and focus instead on hearing His voice, we will find peace and joy like we’ve never known. Charles Stanley reminds us that praying without ceasing doesn’t mean we should do all the talking. God doesn’t need us to figure out our own problems. He just wants us to come into His presence ready to listen and ready to follow His instructions. He doesn’t need our advice. He’s got this!

“The Israelites had no way of knowing the Lord would part the Red Sea to save them, and you probably won’t be able to guess how God will help you. So cease from agonizing over your problems. Stop talking and start listening to your Commander. And no matter what He says, obey. Because He will certainly open the way before you.”

Charles F. Stanley

There is power in God’s voice, in His whisper, in His very breath. This week’s Scripture passages remind us to be still and listen. God spoke in the Bible, and He still speaks today. As we quiet ourselves and focus on our Father, we will learn how to hear His voice and speak His language. Our lives will be transformed in ways we never could have imagined, and He will use us to accomplish His work. That’s when miracles happen!

“I live by a simple maxim: if we do what they did in the Bible, God will do what He did.
He still speaks. He still heals. He still delivers. He still whispers.”

Mark Batterson

References:

• “Acoustic levitation.” YouTube, uploaded by Argonne National Laboratory, 12 September 2012, https://youtu.be/669AcEBpdsY.
• Batterson, Mark. Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God. Multnomah, 2017.
• Stanley, Charles F. God’s Purpose for Your Life: 365 Devotions. Thomas Nelson, 2020.

Images:

• Sound Waves featured image by Mary Theresa McLean from Pixabay (edited by me)
• Mountain image by Наталья Коллегова from Pixabay
• Man with Headphones image by StockSnap from Pixabay
• Woman Taking Deep Breath image by Hannah Williams from Pixabay
• Earth, Moon, and Sun image by Guillaume Preat from Pixabay
• Sine Waves image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
• Praying Man image by Garon Piceli from Pexels