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| Photo by Trotsiland |
I said, "Holy Spirit, I can't hear Your Voice."
He said, "Child, I am speaking. But there are many other voices. Which one will you choose?
Then I asked myself, "Which one will I choose? And how do I choose?"
As I spoke to myself in the silence of my room I remembered how Jesus would take off to a deserted place to pray. Sometimes He did this very early in the morning and at other times He went up into the mountain and stayed by Himself all night. Sometimes he entered into a boat and steered it into the middle of the quiet blue-green waters of the beautiful sea of Galilee (like when He heard of his cousin's death). At other times He would gently send everyone away and go up into the mountain by Himself to pray (like after He fed five thousand people with five bread and two fish). I don't know exactly where He went...maybe up the slopes of the Golan Heights toward the east of the sea of Galilee, or maybe Mount Arbel on the west. I looked at the map around the sea of Galilee, but I couldn't tell. Yet, the important thing is that Jesus chose a picturesque audience of a single voice.
He did not go to the temple when He needed silence, the priest on duty that morning might have been burning strong incense on behalf of the people who brought their sacrifices to the temple. He did not wake up His pals either, they may have started with their questions again, "Master, what do we need to pray for?" He also didn't pray in their midst, perhaps He might have woken one of them and caused them to panic.
Instead, He just went away to a place of solitude. A place where not even the winds could interrupt His thoughts. A place that was cooler in the mornings than ground level. He could probably see the whole of Galilee from on top of those mountains, just like we see the landscape when the airplane is just about to land. A serene picturesque audience of a single voice.
There is something about having 100% confidence in the voices we choose to listen to. When Jesus was alone on those mountains, the peacefulness of His own creations must have spoken back to Him in their many languages, and He understood. He was there alone...with God and the Holy Spirit, a unified voice. No other sounds but His. No other words but His. A picturesque audience of a single voice.
So, how do I hear Your voice, Holy Spirit? I know now, can You imagine? There were so many other voices in my head the other day. But I'm ready to drown them now. I'm ready to bring the turbulent storms to silence and hush the winds blowing in my ears. I'm ready to let go of the familiar voices and quotations of what life should seemingly be. I'm back here again in the stillness of my room, and no one else is speaking...just You. I am your picturesque audience and You are the voice. Speak to me.
You should listen to this song: Brooke Fraser: C.S Lewis song (Speak to Me)
Question(s) for the Day: Have you ever battled with hearing God speak to you? Have you ever found the answers in the cool silence of the day? Do you know that when you drown the other voices in your head you allow the Holy Spirit speak to you? He's always speaking, but we aren't always listening until we bring those other voices to silence.
