Listening Before Preaching

The  preacher who preaches the Word of God for the people of God convinced that preaching should model the prophetic "Thus says the Lord"   is one who has learned in the times of stillness to hear the Word of the Lord as it is spoken in those moments.  For some all of this is too big a stretch.  First, some find it unrealistic to think that today's preacher should presume to speak for the Lord, and secondly, the idea that God actually speaks His Words into the heart and mind of the preacher is nothing but preposterous.  Dismissing this divine interaction does not change the reality that it happens.     

It could be said that there is no real preaching without it.  It is not enough just to have a text from the Word.  A text can always be manipulated to say what the preacher might want it to say.  And, of course, there is the possibility that the sermon begins not with a text, but with something the preacher wants to say and in those cases the text is more like an afterthought or window dressing.    

If the preacher is to have something to say that comes from God, it is because the text has been taken into the silent place for pondering the question, "Lord, what is Your Word in this Word that is before me?"  In order to preach, "Thus says the Lord, "  there must be some moment for asking and listening; otherwise, the preacher runs the risk of preaching something other than the Word of God for the people of God.