Tricky Business

Hearing the voice of the Lord can be tricky business.  It is not like there is some heavenly public address system with a huge amplifier blaring out the Word He wants us to hear.  Instead, the voice which He speaks is more likely to be the voice that requires learning to pay attention to the moments filled with silence.  After Elijah's great moment on Mt. Carmel, the bold prophet is filled with such a spirit of fear that he flees to another mountain where he hides in fear.  As he hides, the Lord comes to speak.  There came a wind so strong it split mountains and broke rocks.  After the wind came an earthquake and then a fire.  But, the Lord was in none of these.  Only when the "sound of sheer silence" came did Elijah hear the voice of the Lord.  (I Kings 19:11-13)     

It was not in the loud thundering sounds that changed the shape of the earth that the Lord spoke, but in the silence.  It would seem that hearing the voice of the Lord would be for us an easy thing instead of something which requires a discipline of silence and a dedication to listening.  Not even the servants who are entrusted to speak the Word of the Lord can be trusted for they are often tempted to speak their own opinions, or even worse, speak words which tickle our ears to insure their security among us.  Hearing the Word of the Lord is tricky business.    

How do we know if the Word we hear and suppose to be the Word of the Lord is really the Word of the Lord?  As we remember from the story of the first couple in the book of Genesis and from the Temptation story of Jesus in the wilderness, the voice we hear may indeed be the whispering, enticing voice of the tempter who has nothing in mind but leading us away from the plan and purpose of God for our life.  As we pray with the hope of hearing the voice of the Lord, discernment becomes an important word.  II Corinthians 12:10 speaks of the gift of discernment which reminds us to listen with care for the evil one is still on the prowl seeking to disguise his voice so that we think it is the voice of God.