A Voice In The Silence
JOHN 10:27
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. One day, a Native American from a rural village decided to visit a friend in New York City. As they walked together down the bustling sidewalk, the Native American Indian suddenly held up his hand. They paused, and he asked his friend, “Do you hear that?” “Hear what?” his friend asked over the sounds of cars and buses, a bit bewildered. “It’s a cricket,” the Native American said. “A cricket?” his friend replied. “I don’t hear a cricket. In fact, how is it even possible to hear a cricket over the roar of the traffic?” The Native American walked over to the street corner, where a small cricket was sitting. He leaned over and scooped it up, much to the amazement of his friend. The Native American smiled and led his friend to a group of people standing nearby. He reached in his pocket, grabbed some change, and dropped it on the ground. As the coins hit the ground, several heads turned.
The Native American Indian turned toward his friend with a smile and said, “You hear what you want to hear.” When we don’t hear God, the problem is not that He isn’t talking, but that we’re not attuned to the sound of His voice. God could stand before many of us and shout, and yet we wouldn’t hear Him simply because we wouldn’t recognize His voice. If you are pursuing your destiny, one basic necessity you must incorporate into your lifestyle is a regular time of silence. You don’t need to become a monk and move into a monastery, but you do need to find times when you can quiet the extra noise in your life so you can hear God’s voice. You also need to learn how to quiet the noise within you—your constant stream of thoughts—so you can hear God. Prayer is a great way to practice this by spending time actively listening to the Lord. Even if you don’t hear anything at all, that time is valuable because you are cultivating the virtue of listening. God longs to speak to you, so make sure you are positioned to hear Him when He does.
Lord, help me to listen. I want to listen to You, but it’s easy to be distracted by the noise of this world and the thoughts that race through my own head. I commit to spending moments of quiet before You, Lord. Please honor my commitment by teaching me how to best hear You when You speak to me.
No Comments