God is speaking. Are you listening?

Today’s blog is contributed by David Trotta:

The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me. (John 10:27)

My pastor has a saying he often quotes – “If God isn’t speaking, then we aren’t listening.”  In other words, God is always speaking, and if we don’t hear Him, then it’s because we aren’t paying attention.

God loves to speak.  The bible continually tells us about a speaking God.  He spoke creation into being.  His Holy Spirit was sent to counsel us and teach us all things (John 14:26).  His only begotten son was also called “the Word” made flesh (John 1:14)

Sometimes we think a silent heaven is because God isn’t speaking.  While that sometimes is true (God can withhold answers to prayer for a greater purpose), many times God is speaking, but we are too busy or preoccupied to stop and listen.

God can speak in many ways, but all of them require us to quiet our hearts and minds so that we can hear.

Growing up there was a father on my street who would stand at his front door and let out this barely audible whistle letting his sons know it was time for dinner.  The whistle was faint, but His sons could always hear it.  Why?  First, they learned to recognize the whistle above all other noises, and second, they never wandered too far away so they were sure not to miss it.

God is always speaking, but we have to always position ourselves physically and spiritually to hear Him.

A.W. Tozer summed it up beautifully in his book The Pursuit of God when he prayed “Lord, teach me to listen.  The times are noisy and my ears are weary from the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them.  Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, ‘Speak, for thy servant heareth.’ Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart.  Let me get used to the sound of Thy Voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of the earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy Speaking Voice.”