08/13/2025
Does God speak to you every day? If your answer is no, are you certain of that? It is my experience that God seldom shouts at us; His voice is gentle and requires a certain stillness of spirit if we are to converse with Him. If you are one who feels like he doesn’t speak to you then I encourage you to still yourself and listen for His whisper with your heart.
“Do not quench the Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19 ESV
I have written of this experience before, but there are many who are new to these devotionals and it is a wonderful example of God acting in our lives today, so for those who have heard this before please forgive me for repeating myself...
I have a friend who is the pastor of a church here in Nashville, and who makes frequent trips to the Middle East to win souls to Jesus there. It is a dangerous calling, but God sustains and protects him in it. A few years ago I was writing the prayer portion of my morning devotional... it was 4:30 in the morning. I remember the time precisely because as I prayed and wrote, the Holy Spirit spoke to me... not in the usual way but in a quiet shout as if something was urgently wrong and I needed to act right away. I was told to pray for my friend, and to do it RIGHT NOW! I didn't have to ask how I should pray; I felt a sense of urgency and danger... so I looked up from my writing, and as I began to pray, I saw that it was 4:30 on the dot.
Now, I pray for this friend every day! The Lord gave me that assignment the first day I met this man, but on this particular morning it was different, so I prayed for his protection, his courage, his discernment, his strength of body, mind, and spirit. I prayed for many things so quickly and fluently that it seemed as though I was being led in a new and foreign tongue as the words rolled from my mouth. This was intercession like I had never known it before.
Finally, when I was spent and my prayer was complete, I couldn't shake the emotion of adrenaline and fear. This was the adrenaline that you feel when you grab a child back from the edge of a precipice, or escape an attacking animal, and it was coursing through me. It stayed with me as I completed my morning devotional, as I dressed for work, as I drove to the office, and then I heard the whisper... "Email Him." So, I jotted down what had happened in prayer that morning and sent it to him. At that moment I felt at ease; it was as if the danger had subsided and the evil had abated.
Two hours later I received a response from my friend, and it opened with him telling me that as he read my email he called out "Oh My God!" You see, he had been awakened at precisely 4:30 by a "night vision" and had been told not to go to a certain place he had planned to visit. He didn't understand why and had been in fervent prayer for four and a half hours as he had questioned God regarding this. My email was the confirmation he had been seeking... he would not go to this place!
God spoke to us at the exact same moment that morning, and in the same voice, but for different reasons. He spoke to my friend to keep him safe and to me as He let him know that He was there to protect him, and He spoke to me so that I would pray for my pastor friend, deliver a confirmation to him, and to bless me in the process.
None of this was above a whisper, and yet we were attuned to it, and in my case, it was an intensely emphatic whisper; the kind that soldiers would utter to one another when the enemy was close, the danger was near, and they were in fear of being discovered. It had been an urgent whisper that couldn’t be misunderstood for anything else than… evil and death are near!
God, more often than not, speaks to us in a slight voice. His voice is small and still but the words are powerful and their meaning undeniable. Our part is to be prepared to hear them... and then to obey. This is a conversation that those who haven't participated in it before might misconstrue as a whim, a moment’s feeling, or a thought, but often, as in the case of the warning I received regarding my pastor friend, it is the voice of God, and will require us to pray things like "is that you Father?”, "Please say that again Lord, I could barely hear you!" or sometimes we might ask Him… "Can this cup be taken from me?"
Two of my favorite scriptures deal with the quiet nature of God. I will share them with you for your contemplation as you pray today. The first is…
“"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"”
Psalms 46:10 ESV
And my all-time favorite is this one, because it speaks directly to God's voice as I hear it is this...
“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. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"”
1 Kings 19:11-13 ESV
God gets our attention in different ways... some of them subtle, and others bold, but when He speaks to us it is often in a near whisper, so low and soft that we could miss it if we were not careful and attuned to Him. Our spirit must always be prepared to receive Him; we should never dull its edge or quench its fire. Then after God has spoken, we need to act... not wait, not hesitate, but to do His will with urgent anticipation.
Are you listening? Do you hear Him? Are you faithful and confident enough to obey?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your voice in my life, and I pray that I don't miss a word of what you have for me. I am still in your presence Lord, and I seek you in every breath I take. Guide me Holy Spirit as I search out the voice of my Heavenly Father and the presence of Jesus Christ. Help me to understand every whispered word, and to do exactly as He asks. Precious Jesus, hear my prayers and take them before our Father. Present them as my petition for His love and attention as I live my life in dedicated service to Him. Strengthen me as I say "get thee behind me Satan" to those things that would stifle my faith or make me feel less confident in our relationship. Hone my hearing and prayer so that not a day will go by that we will not speak intimately with one another. Holy Father, your voice is soft, as fine and soft as milled flour, and flows like a smooth warm oil over me... lead me as I take pleasure in your Word and suffer in your will forever, for you are my God, and in you there is no lack of faithfulness... you are forever bound to your truth and Word, and I will lean on you as a child at His father's side. Praised be your name, and worthy are you of all praise and glory. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who was, and is, and is to come, and Holy are you who sends your angels to strengthen and watch over me. There is no other like you and I will recognize you always, even amongst the dark storm clouds, the raging winds, the roar of rushing water, and the deep and rumbling sound of moving earth… in all things your face and your voice are unmistakable Abba, and they comfort me always… they still and calm me, even in moments of great danger or paralyzing fear. Holy Father… you are my comforter, my provider, my rescue from every evil ambition of man that might harm me. Your mercy and grace cover me always and forever.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah…. AMEN!
“The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.
The High God surrounds him all day long,
and dwells between his shoulders.”
Deuteronomy 33:12 ESV
Rich Forbes