Hearing God

Elijah was a man strong and faithful in serving God, even standing up against 450 pagan priests at one point. After this, Queen Jezebel was so enraged that she sent her armies to find and slay him. Yet as strong as his faith was, even he knew fear upon hearing of this, falling into deep disconsolation and despair.

It was at this point that he was told to, “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 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, a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12

We all have our trials and tribulations at points in our life. In such times, it is easy to let our fear or worry be bigger than our faith in God, and we may feel as though our prayers are going unheard. But the fact is that He hears them all. The problem is not with Him, but with us. Most of us tend not to be very patient, especially in times of need. Sometimes we assume that we are indeed listening, but God just doesn’t seem to be hearing, while in fact He is answering but we cannot hear him due to our own presuppositions and expectations. As well, we may expect His answer to be immediate and obvious, all the while failing to hear the “still small voice” that Elijah heard even amidst the events occurring around Him.

God not only hears all of our prayers, He enjoins us to come to Him in all matters, no matter how big or small. How, when, and what He answers is to be fully entrusted to Him. He has been around that metaphorical corner we know as the future, and He knows what is best for us, even if we do not. The only way to hear Him is by His gift of faith, which is freely offered to all.

True faith comes only by His Word, the Bible, and Jesus has promised that all who seek Him will find Him. In the cacophony that can sometimes overwhelm us either from the events around us or the personal troubles besetting us, there is always His voice calling to us, if we would but listen in that selfsame gift of faith.

Just as sheep know the voice of their shepherd and follow only him, Jesus, our loving Shepherd, knows each of us by name, and not only calls to us, but hears our prayers to Him: “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”