And He said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.”

1 Kings 19:11-13

It’s loud out there. In our digital age, we are literally bombarded by messages demanding our attention. It doesn’t change at work, at home or even at church sometimes, right? The onslaught is so strong sometimes that it disrupts everything in our lives. So how do we hear the voice of God through the clutter?

Following Elijah’s despair, the verses above describe how God promised to reveal Himself to Elijah. It’s interesting to note that although God had revealed Himself in spectacular ways in Israel’s history, God was not in the mighty wind, the power earthquake or the consuming fire. Instead, He called to Elijah in the “sound of a low whisper.” The King James Bible translates that phrase as a “still, small voice.”

I wonder how many times we expect God to speak to us through a loudspeaker, when He is calling to us in an intimate conversational tone through His revealed Word?

God can speak to us in many ways – through His Word, His creation, godly teaching and counsel – to “those who have ears to hear.”

In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tower advises us that “if you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. It is more than a thing; it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God.”

What can we do to become better listeners today?