Sermon from September 10, 2006
Our goal is to become a Spirit-led, Spirit-empowered community of faith.

For us to live in such vibrant spirituality, we must learn to hear God.

The great Christian writer and modern mystic, A.W. Tozer wrote:

"God is speaking. The whole Bible supports this idea. Not God spoke, but God is speaking. He is, by His nature, continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking voice."

God is speaking – what a wonderful truth. But it is what we do with this truth that makes the difference.

We may enjoy the idea of God speaking to us. But if that's what God wants, then He'll have to talk loud and fast because we're busy people in a noisy and chaotic world. But God will not try to out-talk the clatter and commotion of a too-hectic existence. He will not compete with our other love interests to get our attention.

The pattern we see in the Bible is for the people of God to seek solitude and silence so they can sharpen their awareness of God and hear Him. Biblical characters such as Elijah, Moses, Jacob, Paul, John the Baptist met God alone in solitude. Jesus escaped to the quiet place for spiritual nourishment.

We can fall into the trap of thinking that things were different back then – that the times in which we live require us to be rushed, too busy, and overloaded. But Jesus was aware of the problem of a busy life and he constantly withdrew and he taught this practice to his followers.

Learning how to be with God in silence and solitude is absolutely necessary if we are to hear God speak. Prayer is listening for God as well as speaking to him. Listening is a learned skill ... especially in prayer.

Steps for Listening Prayer:

1. We must be still and silent.

Our lives are filled with noise and clamor; words – our own and the words of others; TVs, radios, ipods. We have such a relentless barrage of sounds coming at us that it's hard, if not impossible, to hear God when He speaks to our souls; because when God speaks, He does it with a still, small voice.

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... (1 Kings 19:11-13)

If I want to hear God, I can't be rushed or busy or preoccupied. I must be still. I must quiet myself. Many spiritual people through the ages have gone into seclusion – to deserts, mountains, monasteries, etc.

This is why the in the Bible to be quiet is a virtue. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life," (1 Thess. 4:11). The idea is to lead the kind of life where you are consistently speaking to and listening to God – undistracted and uninterrupted by noise.

2. We must acknowledge that God is present.

We need to acknowledge that God is really here – just as present as the person beside or in front of us. We noted in the sermon on the Lord's Prayer that God is closer than our next breath. Jesus said, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

3. We must choose to listen to God.

We must "want to" hear from God. It's like selecting a radio station. There are radio signals all around us. But we must turn on the radio and then search for the station we listen to.

The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." And the LORD said to Samuel... (1 Samuel 3:8-11)

"A man prayed, and at first he thought prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer is listening." -Kierkegaard

4. Become aware of leadings, thoughts or promptings.

God invites us to come to Him, not just to bring our requests or praise, but to hear Him speak to us. If that is possible then I have to be open to the possibility that a thought or prompting may be from God. I can't be infallible about this but I can be open to the possibility.

Listening prayer involves being very attentive for thoughts or leadings from God as we pray. The prompting may be for you to take some type of action or provide guidance. It may point out sin. The prompting may be a simple word of love from God.

But every prompting from God will agree with Scripture. If the thought or prompting is in violation of the clear teaching of Scipture, it is not from God.  Also, it is helpful to discuss these promptings with other mature, discerning believers to gain insight as to the nature of the leading.

We need to slow down, find a place of silence, and be willing to listen for God to speak. God won't shout at us. He'll whisper. Will you be listening?