The Voice

Listening for the voice of God in the silence is not an easy thing for most of us.  Our first problem is with the silence.  When it comes, it seems so loud that we cannot abide it.  We do not know what to do with it.  Not being accustomed to being in silence, it is disconcerting and we find ourselves actually distracted by the fact that there is no noise commanding us to listen.  It is as if we are listening for something that is not there any longer.  Trying to hear what is not there to hear is the first thing that must be laid aside in order to hear the Voice that seeks to be heard in the silence.

 

And, of course, at first we do not really know what we are expecting to hear.  By the time the boy Samuel finally responded to the Voice in the dark silence of night, God had called out to him three times.  He heard each time, but he did not know what or Who he had heard.  He needed someone to guide him into being able to hear.  Each time he heard his name being called in the darkness, he went to his spiritual mentor, Eli.  Finally, with his attention awakened, Eli realized what was happening and told the boy what to do.  Apparently, Eli had memories of hearing the Voice.

 

The truth is we may not be able to recognize that God is speaking when we start journeying into the silence.  A part of us may not actually expect it to happen which is, of course, an adversary to hearing.  Learning how to listen and discern does not come naturally to most of us.  Like any spiritual discipline, it is likely to take practice.  It may even require having someone like Eli to help us figure out what is happening in this place we are not accustomed to walking.  The land of silence is a strange place for us and it will require not just determination, but faith that God will speak to us as surely as it has spoken to others.