IN TODAY’S FIRST READING, Elijah is searching for the presence of God. This wise prophet knows his creator, so he’s not distracted by the strong, heavy wind, or by the earthquake, or by the fire. He’s heard the voice of the Lord before. It’s when he hears “a tiny whispering sound” that he hides his face and worships.
There’s a lot we can learn from Elijah when we’re looking to hear the voice of God speaking over our own lives. So many times, even when our prayers are the most desperate, we can be frustrated
to find that God’s voice is not the clear, powerful words that Moses heard at the burning bush, or that Saul heard on the road to Damascus. Yes, God can, and does, speak like that. But his presence is usually much more subtle.
One of the most useful pieces of advice I’ve ever received about discernment is that God speaks to everyone in a different way. Just like you probably communicate slightly differently with each of your friends, the Lord has a unique relationship with each of us and speaks to us in a way particular to each of our hearts.
It’s taken me years to become more comfortable with the way God speaks to me. I usually experience his words as a fully formed thought entering my mind when I’m in prayer. My younger, skeptical self had trouble distinguishing my own thoughts from God’s, worrying that I was simply talking to myself. But I’ve come to embrace the reality that God created my mind, and he can use it to communicate with me just like he could use a burning bush or a voice from the sky. St. John’s advice in 1 John 4:1 to “test the spirits to see whether they belong to God” is especially important here. I must carefully consider whether the voice I’m experiencing is speaking of truth and wisdom or is just wishful thinking on my own sinful part.
Of course, to really listen to God, you need to be giving him your attention. (I think when people say they wish God would just speak audibly; they mean that they don’t want to put the work in to listen.) However, I’ve given myself more grace lately when I’m trying to “clear my mind”. This doesn’t have to mean literally thinking of nothing. Maybe some people can do that, but I don’t believe that’s what our brains were created for, and it’s futile to try to attempt it. Simply sit in the presence of God, and at some point, during your prayers of petition, just stop talking and listen. You will certainly be rewarded and blessed for your openness to God’s movements. Especially among the noise and bustle of 21st-century life, deliberately setting all that aside for a moment takes a kind of heroism. Though it does get easier with time.
Maybe you’ll be able to “hear” God speak to your heart or to your mind. Or maybe you’ll receive an emotion that feels like it originates outside of yourself, like a hug. Or maybe God will speak to you in mental images. Maybe you will be blessed with an audible voice; some people are. Or maybe God speaks to you in a truly unique way that no one else can experience. Whatever you hear, evaluate through the lens of a well-formed conscience, then be grateful that we have a God who loves us each in such an individual, personal way. He knows you intimately, better than you know yourself, and desires to “teach [you] wisdom in [your] secret heart (Psalm 51:6).”