Have you ever wished that God would talk to you? That you could hear His voice? Elijah, the Old Testament prophet did. He had incurred the wrath of Ahab and Jezebel and they were out to kill him. He ran for his life and found himself in a lonely cave in the wilderness.

We read the account in I Kings 19:9-13. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah was tired, depressed, feeling sorry for himself and scared of Ahab and Jezebel. He needed a word of encouragement…desperately. And when the Lord told him to go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord I am sure that he thought that God was in the great and powerful wind, but He wasn’t. Or in the earthquake, but He wasn’t. Or in the fire but he wasn’t. Instead after these three impressive events, he heard a gentle whisper. A quiet, gentle whisper. Something Elijah was not likely expecting to hear.

Why would God leave us this account in 1 Kings 19? Certainly He wants us to know that He is there for us in times of discouragement and trouble. Certainly He wants us to know that He wins in the end, not the Ahabs and Jezebels we encounter in life. But perhaps He also wants to encourage us to be still more often. Quiet in His presence so that we can hear His gentle whisper in our life. 

The noise and busyness of life conspire against us and often keep us from experiencing the presence and voice of God. We are too busy, we are too engrossed in media and all the loud voices, noises and distractions that drown Him out. But if He comes in a gentle whisper we need to be in a place where we can hear Him.

I am convinced that the question is not whether God speaks to us today. The question is “can we hear him?” And make no mistake, He wants us to hear Him and to be encouraged by His voice as Elijah was.

Father, help me to sit quietly more often in your presence where I can best hear your gentle whisper of encouragement and direction. Help me to turn off the noise more often so that I can hear you more clearly. Amen.