Many people ask me, “How can I hear the voice of the LORD?” To me, that’s one of the easiest questions to answer that there is.  All you have to do is LISTEN.  God doesn’t shout, so we have to turn up our spiritual listening level.  The Bible talks about the “still small voice” God used to speak to Elijah.  We are used to being blasted every day with every kind of media in the world, TV, radio, internet, telephone, Facebook, Twitter, only to name a few.  There are so many voices competing for our attention that you really have to be selective if you’re going to hear God.

There is a story in 1 Kings 18 about Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal, to set up their offering, while he himself would prepare an offering for God, and Elijah told them, let the one who answers by fire and consumes the offering be God, and all the people agreed.  It’s a really neat story, and you need to read it.  Well, long story short, the prophets of Baal prayed all day for their god to come and consume their offering, but nothing happened.  Come evening, Elijah prepared his altar, put wood on it and cut up the bull and put it on the altar, and told the people to pour twelve barrels of water over the whole thing.  Well, we all know that wet wood doesn’t burn real well, then he called upon the LORD, and the LORD came by fire and consumed the bull, the wood, and the stones as well.  Why twelve barrels of water?  I guess God likes gravy with His roast beef, like we do.

But after Elijah had the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal killed by the sword, let’s read what happened.  This is the part about hearing the voice of the LORD.

1Ki 19:1  And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
1Ki 19:2  Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
1Ki 19:3  And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
1Ki 19:4  But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
1Ki 19:5  And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
1Ki 19:6  And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
1Ki 19:7  And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
1Ki 19:8  And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

1Ki 19:9  And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
1Ki 19:10  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
1Ki 19:11  And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake 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:
1Ki 19:12  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
1Ki 19:13  And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

1Ki 19:14  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
1Ki 19:15  And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
1Ki 19:16  And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
1Ki 19:17  And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
1Ki 19:18  Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Elijah lamented to God how he was the only one left who loved the LORD, and how everyone else had forsaken His covenant, when the LORD spoke to him.  We all expect God to thunder in a loud voice to us, but His voice to Elijah was not in the strong wind that even broke the rocks and the mountains, nor was it in an earthquake, nor was it in the fire, or anything else spectacular.  But when He did speak, God’s voice was clearly understood by Elijah, however, even though it is described as a “still small voice”.  YOU can hear His voice, too.  But you must listen.  As I said earlier, many other voices are competing for your attention, and you must first learn to tune them out.

When I was a kid, I would listen to the radio late at night, and the voice would fade in and out.  You had to really listen close as the station you were listening to would fade in and out, but you could still make out the voice if you were attentive.  It wasn’t just casual “hearing”, but it required you put in some effort to “listen”.  And I got real good at listening.  That has been handy for me through the years.  I can’t begin to number how many times I’ve heard the voice of the LORD speaking to me.  He is EASY TO HEAR, all you have to do quiet your mind down and shut out all the “junk”, like you would ignore the static on the radio.  When it’s time to write my articles, all I have to do is sit down and get quiet, and in five seconds I’m ready to write,   God won’t speak to you until you’re ready to listen.  He demands your UNDIVIDED ATTENTION, and if you won’t give it to Him, He won’t bother taking time to speak to you, for there are others who will, and He will speak to them.

Tell me, do you want God to listen to your prayers?  Or do you just throw them out to whosoever will listen to them?  Well, sure, you want God to listen to your prayers.  So isn’t it reasonable that God would want you to listen when He speaks to YOU?  It’s all very simple, friends, conversation involves two or more.  Sure, you can talk to yourself, but what good does that do?  It always works better when one talks and the other LISTENS.  Don’t YOU do all the talking, either.  God loves to speak to us, I have written literally THOUSANDS of articles that attest to that.  Surely you don’t think all this stuff I write comes out of my little mind, do you?  No, the LORD tells me what to write, and I just listen and write what He speaks to me.  It’s so easy.  “Religion” tries to make us believe it’s hard for us to hear from God.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  I can hear the voice of the LORD in five seconds flat, anytime, anywhere.  All I have to do is listen and He will speak.  Now, I’m nobody special, nor do I believe I have some special gift to hear His voice.

You don’t have to be a preacher to hear the voice of the LORD.  You only need to separate yourself from all the other “voices” that are crying out to you continually, and focus your attention on the LORD.  His voice always agrees with His written word.  If you “hear” something that disagrees with the Bible, then it wasn’t the voice of God.  Whatever He tells you to do may not agree with your natural thinking processes, but it will always glorify God.  It will always show you His love, or show someone else His love, and it will always bring good to pass.  Obedience to His Word always gives you peace in your heart, even if your mind is not at peace because of external circumstances.  Everyone faces problems, and I do to, and it’s always wonderful to know that whatever I face, all I have to do is ask God how to solve the problem, and He always tells me.

Peace in your spirit is worth more than all the gold and silver on earth.  Know God, know peace.  No God, no peace, simple as that.  Take joy in knowing God listens to your prayers.  Is He taking joy knowing YOU are listening to HIM?  That’s the gift you can give to God that He never takes back to the store to exchange for something else.  More than anything else, the LORD wants you to hear His voice.  Turn the world off right now and tune in to God, and just sit and listen to Him for a while.  The world won’t stop turning while you take time out for God, but it will sure make YOUR day.  Imagine: the very God that created everything has YOU on His mind and wants to have a conversation with you every day, just like in the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  God didn’t stop talking to mankind.  People just stopped listening.  But we can all change that.  I did, and I hope YOU will, too.

This particular coming Sunday is the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given to those who were seeking God over two thousand years ago, enabling them to hear the voice of the LORD.  He is still looking for “seekers” to speak with yet today.  You might as well be one of them!  Don’t be “left in the dark”, listen to the voice of the LORD, and you will know what’s going on, and how to be at the right place at the right time.  I always tell people how important it is not to be at the airport when your ship comes in.  You really need to hear the voice of the LORD, and if you will listen, you can hear Him.