There are many ways that God can speak to us. Some people are blessed to hear God speak in an audible voice. Some hear God speak through people that belong to God who He uses to speak words that challenge us, encourage us, comfort us and/or give us insight and direction. Moses heard God speak out of a burning bush. God even used the mouth of a donkey to speak to the prophet, Balaam. God speaks to some through His creation. The people with Saul (later called Paul) on the road to Damascus, thought it thundered when Jesus spoke to Saul. We serve a limitless, all powerful, sovereign God so He can speak in any way He chooses, at any time He chooses, to anyone He chooses. He IS God!
I want to address another way that God speaks. The Bible talks about God speaking in a still, small voice. Here is the story of one of the greatest prophets in the Bible. His name was Elijah. Before I share the story, let me tell you what had happened before this passage. In I Kings 18: 18-40, we have one of the greatest stories of boldness and faith in the Bible. Elijah had stood against 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah with great boldness and the true God of Elijah had shown His power. Elijah and his God had prevailed against these false prophets. Now, let’s pick up on I Kings 19:
When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
7 Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
15 Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. 16 Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimshi[b] to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet. 17 Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! 18 Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!” (NLT)
What an AWESOME story! It shows that even a great man of God can have moments of weakness. I love that about the Bible, it does not sugar-coat stories to make the people sound perfect. It tells their weaknesses as well. Elijah, the mighty prophet of God, who had stood up fearlessly before all of these false prophets and seen God come through for him, then fled (and had a pity-party) because of the threats of a woman! I could do many teachings on this but I want to key in on the last word of I Kings 19:12. The word is whisper. God can and does sometimes speak in a whisper. If someone whispers to you, you must be paying close attention in order to hear what they are saying or you could easily miss it! Are you paying close enough attention to the Lord that you will hear Him if He whispers to you? Give time and attention to God so that you are close enough to Him to hear what He whispers to you! I think God sent the windstorm, the earthquake and the fire before the whisper to show that sometimes His voice does not come in the dramatic ways that we might expect. Sometimes He just wants to come in a soft, gentle way with a whisper. Are we listening for the whispers of God or will we miss them?
May God bless you and give you ears to hear what He is whispering to you!
Patricia Styers
GivenThanks Ministry 