I recently read about a sound proof room in Minneapolis, Minnesota that is 99.9% sound proof. The article revealed that the longest any person has been able to stay in the room is 45-minutes. That says a lot about our culture.
It’s in the “stillness” that our hearts and minds are calibrated to the presence of God. It’s in the stillness that we hear God.
A Quiet Heart
In order to hear the whisper of God you must learn to disregard the background noise of life and quiet your heart before God.
A quick survey of the gospels reveal that Jesus regularly and repeatedly retreated to a quiet place in order the God’s voice to ready Himself for ministry, to strengthen Him for service, to respond to the weight of His mission and to proclaim the message His Father had given Him properly.
Jesus went to the desert prior to a change the launch of His public ministry (Mark 1:12-13). Why? He quieted His heart before His Father to ready Himself for the upcoming and grueling three years of ministry.
Jesus often sought the voice of God during stressful times (Luke 5:15-16). Regularly, crowds would seek Jesus to hear His message and experience His miracles. Due to that daily stress, He would retreat to a quiet place to pray and seek a word from the Father.
Jesus sought the voice of God prior to identifying the twelve apostles (Luke 6:12-13).
Jesus sought the voice of God following the death of John the Baptist (Matt. 14:13).
Jesus sought the voice and strength of the Father prior to the crucifixion (Mark 14:32-36).
Jesus regularly quieted Himself before the Father. Modern Christ-followers must do the same!
A Clean Heart
In order to hear the whisper of God you must listen with a clean heart before God.
Solomon identified the heart as the “source of life” (Proverbs 4:18-23). He was making reference, not to the fist-sized muscle in a person’s chest, but rather to the heart or soul of a person. He was referencing a person’s mind, emotion, and will. He was referencing the core of our being.
Because the heart is the core, it must be guarded. Through the heart, the enemy can gain a foothold in a person’s spiritual life. Through the heart, sin can destroy a person’s spiritual life. Through the heart, the flesh can derail a person’s spiritual walk.
A heart that is clean can more effectively heart the voice of God. Confess your sin. Seek rightness. Obey truth. Listen with a clean heart.
A Submissive Heart
To hear the voice of God, you must listen with a submissive and surrendered heart.
David, identified as the man after God’s heart, sinned greatly at one point in his life. He committed adultery, plotted the death of his mistress’ husband, and launched a cover-up to conceal His sin.
Once convicted about his sin, David confessed and repented. He asked God, “Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). In other words, please “resume fellowship and conversation with me.” Don’t remain silent. David wanted to hear God’s voice again.
During that dark time in his life, David realized that God desired a “broken and humbled heart” from His followers more that anything else. A broken and humbled heart is a submissive and surrendered heart. It is a heart that is predicated on uncompromising obedience. A Christ-follower must listen for God’s voice with a heart committed to submission to God’s voice.
Conclusion
So what affect do a quiet heart, a clean heart, and a submissive heart have on what I hear from God? To answer that question, let me offer this illustration.
When I was a boy, our family had a 1966 Ford Fairlane 500. It was a great car. The radio was both AM and FM. It did not have a digital tuner, but a manual tuner. By turning the the right knob, the operator was able to “dial-in” or tune to the proper station. The better tuned the radio, the clearer the sound of the radio broadcast.
To tune-in to God’s voice you must regularly quiet your heart before God, have a clean heart before God, and maintain a submissive heart toward God.
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