God’s Still Small Voice

I was reading recently about the thirty three Chilean miners who were trapped underground in a copper-gold mine in 2010. They were underground for a total of 69 days, do you recall the story? For 17 days the rescuers did not know the status of the minors, were they alive or were they dead? Nobody knew. 

The rescuers used a drill to go down to the approximate area of the miners to try to find them. They tried day after day but found nothing. After 17 days they drilled down and brought up a note indicating that all thirty three miners were alive and okay. What a glorious feeling that must have been, they had been found!

Can you imagine being trapped underground, 2,300 feet, and not knowing if you would ever see your loved ones again? The miners longed to communicate with the rescuers on the surface so they learned to tap on the drill bit to communicate. It must have been excruciating to tap waiting for a response. You would strain to hear, desperate to communicate. 

This is the way it is sometimes with God. Do you listen for God’s voice? It may be like the tapping, faint and quiet. Do you strain to hear it? 

In the Bible the child Samuel heard a voice in the night. He thought it was the temple priest, Eli. But after a couple of times Eli figured out that it was God calling Samuel. 

In this instance Samuel was called by God but he didn’t recognize his voice. That is the way it is with us sometimes. We may hear God’s voice but we don’t recognize it; so how do we hear it? 

First of all we need to turn down the noise. Living in a world of gadgets we often don’t hear complete silence. How can we possibly hear God’s voice in all of that racket? 

Some people call God’s voice “that still small voice”. In 1 Kings 19: 11-13 it tells about the prophet Elijah listening for God’s voice. First he hears a loud wind, so strong it was breaking mountains and rocks into pieces, but he didn’t hear God’s voice. Then he heard an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And then he heard the sound of pure silence, and like a gentle whisper he heard God’s voice. 

When listening for God we should calm ourselves and quiet our bodies and like Elijah, listen. God likely will not communicate with us through some loud boom, but through that “still small voice”. 

So how do we hear God’s voice? Try quieting your mind. God usually speaks to us through the written word. Read the Bible, his words will speak to you.  

Observe your outside world. God often communicates with us through our senses. Ask God a question then quiet your mind. Try to understand what God is saying to you. 

Write it down. I write in a prayer journal and it helps me to understand what God is doing in my life and how he wants to lead me.  

Take a walk in the woods, enjoy the solitude and be one with God.

The main idea is to rest in his presence. Don’t just talk at him, let him talk to you. 

Dear God, help us to quiet our mind so we can hear your voice, show us the way. Amen


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