How to Hear that Still, Small Voice

God calls each of us in a unique way because we are that special. Here are some ways that have helped me to be spiritually “still” (even while busy running a family) and hear His voice.

1. Don’t create your own noise! Don’t yell or be a motor-mouth. Work on your listening skills.
2. Limit usage of telephone, internet, radio, and television.
3. Establish a “quiet time” during which children read in their rooms.
4. Work outdoors: garden, walk, run, bicycle, paint, mow the lawn.
5. Establish a regular bedtime so you know when you will have peace and quiet.
6. Establish a time after which you no longer will accept telephone calls.
7. Learn, and encourage in the children, individual creative activities that keep the hands busy while the mind can be active and open: knitting, crocheting, painting, cross-stitching, embroidery, wood-carving.
8. Read the Bible.
9. Write in a journal.
10. Learn to “tune out” extraneous noises.
11. Listen to classical, orchestral music with no words.
12. Read spiritual, uplifting, thought-provoking literature.

Picture above: Elijah in the Desert, undated icon from Northern Russia.

A Tiny Whispering Sound: Elijah’s Call

I Kings 19:11 (NAB)
Then the LORD said, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by." A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing 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.
12
After the earthquake there was fire--but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.

I have been thinking about this particular scripture for two days, while waiting until I had ample time to turn on my computer and write about it. During that time, two people wrote to me about this same passage! That is one way in which God confirms a step we should take: if we don’t hear Him the first time, or are unsure how to interpret a sign, or delay, or even refuse, he repeats like a broken record (yes, I still remember those) until we get it.

I think people today are so tired of being constantly bombarded by information, bad news, personal calamities, acts of nature and acts of war, that the notion of hearing God in the silence is a real comforting one. My days can sometimes feel like a hurricane and I crave the silence of the evening, or naptime while the older kids are in school. The telephone and television often seem like intruders. Four children make enough noise without piling more on top of it. Try listening to three of them practice the piano every day!

Now these two verses alone speak volumes (no pun intended), but the context makes them even more fascinating. Here is the entire chapter from which they come, along with some of my thoughts on how one man’s call pertains to us women today.

1 Kings
Chapter 19 (NAB)
1
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done--that he had put all the prophets to the sword.
2
Jezebel then sent a messenger to Elijah and said, "May the gods do thus and so to me if by this time tomorrow I have not done with your life what was done to each of them."
3
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life, going to Beer-sheba of Judah. He left his servant there
4
and went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers."

Elijah had been doing some important work for the Lord and fled to the desert in fear for his life. But then his fear left him, and he began to feel depressed and worthless. How often do women feel so oppressed by their daily responsibilities, which do not go away when dealing with death, illness, and calamity? They may feel like running away. Where to? A desert would probably be attractive at such a time. In the desert you could truly get away from it all.

5
He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat.
6
He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again,
7
but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!"
8
He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

He fell asleep and was wakened and ordered by an angel to eat for the strength he needed for his journey. He did not feel like eating. This happens to women all the time. Probably a full third of women fail to eat breakfast. They need this to sustain themselves for the work they will do that day. If they do not take the time to eat, they probably also do not take the time to pray or read the Word of God. How reasonable then that so many women should be feeling tired all the time – not taking the physical or spiritual food they need for their important work of nurturing others. Depression, too, hits the majority of women at least once during the course of their lives. When we feel like doing nothing but sleep, we are ordered to get up, eat, and take up our journey. Here again is another mention of forty days and nights, repeated throughout the Bible as a time for fasting and prayer.

9
There he came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the LORD came to him, "Why are you here, Elijah?"
10
He answered: "I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life."

We all feel alone against the world from time to time. We get so sick of fighting in a sinful world. We are fighting to keep our children pure and innocent in the culture that would corrupt them. The public schools have torn down God’s altars. The media puts up false gods for our children to emulate and idolize. Some of us just remove the television, radio, and internet entirely and replace them with good literature. But we cannot keep them away from the pop culture everywhere they go. If our families and friends do not support our effort we really feel that we have nowhere to turn. Then, when we really need it, if we look for God’s word to help us through it, it comes.

Here comes my favorite part…

11
Then the LORD said, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by." A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing 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.
12
After the earthquake there was fire--but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.

This is a stunning display of contrasts. The funny thing is that all the acts of nature were actually created by God – so of course He was in them – but the voice Elijah was looking for was not. All of the storms in our lives are permitted by God, while we ask continually, “Why? Where are you?” But if all was calm, would we hear the particular whispering that is the Lord speaking to us? Would we even be listening for it?

13
When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?"
14
He replied, "I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. But the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life."

Of course, the Lord knew why Elijah was there, but He needed him to voice his concerns aloud. Sometimes our concerns are so pressing that it seems superfluous to express them in prayer. But God needs us to ask so He can answer.

15
"Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus," the LORD said to him. "When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
16
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you.
17
If anyone escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill him. If he escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill him.
18
Yet I will leave seven thousand men in Israel--all those who have not knelt to Baal or kissed him."
19
Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.
20
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please, let me kiss my father and mother good-bye, and I will follow you." "Go back!" Elijah answered. "Have I done anything to you?"
21
Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

Here are multiple calls in one. God calls Elijah to annoint several people, including Elisha, for God’s calling . All had to say “yes” in order for the work to be done. Why was it necessary for Elisha to deliver these messages? Why could not God speak individually to each of them? Surely God was not lazy, or trying to save time. Maybe God was sending Elijah on this mission just to prove to him that he was not alone; there were holy men to help in serving the Lord. Whatever his reasons, we have to be aware that sometimes God is going to speak to us through other people.

In my next post I will list ways in which we can hear that still small voice amidst the constant noise of small children and our busy lives.

Painting by BOUTS, Dieric the Elder
”Prophet Elijah in the Desert”
1464-68

Working with Passion: Major and Minor Calls

One thing I always knew I had to do, and that is to write. The urge to write stories, letters, articles, novels, poems, lists, etc. is omni-present. For me, that was my first big call in life. It came when I was about eight years old and received my first diary.

My second big call was to motherhood, and from then on all I did had to stem from that. For all mothers, their primary ministry must be the care of their young, until they leave the nest. There may be other major and minor calls, but they cannot conflict with this most urgent one.

Some minor calls included homeschooling for several years, and teaching religious education. Anything I took up outside the home had to have some benefit for the children in order to justify the time and energy taken from them. All that I did, I threw myself into with passion, as I did when employed for pay, in my former life (before kids).

[I do not wish to say a woman cannot work for some other cause while being a mother. I was in such awe when I read the story of “Madame Curie”, by Eve Curie, translated by Vincent Sheean. This is a story of a woman who threw her whole life into the work that included the discovery of radium and the primary research in atomic fission, as well as the real-life application of these with X-ray machines and radiological treatments. You could see how her daughter worshipped her for her great accomplishments; and yet she let the reader into the sadness that was their life. Marie Curie often failed to eat, sleep, and otherwise care for herself. She was often absent to her family, and had very little spiritual life. She lost her life to disease from the exposure to elements she studied, those same elements that would ultimately save countless numbers of human lives. I wish for her and her family’s sake that she could have found some sense of balance in her life. Perhaps she could have lived for another decade if she had taken the proper time to sustain herself physically and emotionally.]

When I think back on some of the other things I spent my time on, I must confess I may have been tempted to follow false callings. The biggest example I can think of was a homeschooling field trip group I started with a friend. It was her idea, and I persuaded myself that it would be a worthy cause to take up.

When I look back, I think my time could have been better spent on my writing. I had no time to do any actual creative writing during that time. Someone else could have done what I did – my special talents were not required here. I am not sorry for the work I did, but I did learn an important lesson on keeping my priorities straight, and not affirmatively answering every call that came my way.

After the birth of my youngest child, I began to form new friendships here and there. I also caught up with a few friends that I had fallen out of touch with. Within a few months, I realized there was a connection among these friends from seemingly different arenas: they were all active in pro-life ministry!

I could not believe I had not noticed it before. God had led me to these special people for a reason, and I caught onto the passion they had for their pro-life work. Then I read my old homeschooling friend Leticia Velasquez’s blogs and realized I could take my two big calls and put them together, writing about motherhood for other mothers, while also serving the pro-life cause!

Writing about motherhood is something that comes so naturally to me that it requires little effort. In fact, the more I do it the more free I feel. I feel uplifted and energized. As I seek to impart insight, I gain more into my own soul and the mysteries of God’s creation.

I wonder: If I had listened for the call, could I have figured this out a few years ago and used my gift to better advantage? If someone has never heard a calling, how do they go about finding it? I will this explore this topic further in my upcoming posts, with the highlights of some intriguing Biblical calls.

Picture: “God Calls Samuel”, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1851-60.

Answering the Call

Matthew Chapter 21 (NAB)
28
1 "What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
29
He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went.
30
The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go.
31
2 Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
32
3 When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

Once again the Gospel hit home with my train of thoughts for the week. I had committed to the 40 Days for Life Fast, and had broken my fast. I had a whole string of excuses.

1. The school was requiring us to sell 50 chocolate bars. We do not feel comfortable doing this, so we are forced to eat them ourselves. This year there were dark chocolate almond bars – how could I resist? Oh, I am so weak.

2. I had headaches every afternoon this week, lowering my resistance to stress-reducing foods.

3. I can try, but really I can’t blame breastfeeding for this one. I may need 3 square meals to sustain us both, but the baby definitely does not need chocolate.

This scripture encouraged me to get back on track and start the week anew.

I thought further on answering God’s personal calling for us. Had I ever ignored a call to do some work I was hesitant to do?

I connected this to the story of Jonah. Boy did he resist. His work was so important that God would not allow defiance, and turned his shoulder in every way until the mission was completed – and attitude adjusted.

I have known several persons whose lives were changed for the better after meeting some sort of calamity or illness. Does God allow these pitfalls at times to turn us onto the course he has planned for us?

I encourage my readers’ thoughts on how they have heard and answered God’s calling to them; I will be focusing on this topic over the coming week.

Picture above: "The Parable of the Vineyard", Matthaeus Merian the Elder, 1625-30. Biblical Art on the WWW.

More Things People Said

This is Part II of yesterday’s post, “Things People Said”.

I was outside after church collecting signatures to stop Governor Eliot Spitzer’s “Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act”, S.5829. (Go to www.nyscatholic.org to take action.)

A woman was signing the letter when she made the most outrageous statement.

“His mother should have had an abortion,” she said, in reference to the originator of the bill.

“That’s a terrible thing to say!” I replied.

“Well, if he wasn’t around we wouldn’t have this bill.”

Spoken while signing a PRO-LIFE letter.

The whole point of the label “pro-life” is that God is the Creator of human life and we have no right to take it away. God has a purpose for every person conceived. We are all sinners, yet his purpose is brought about in ways we cannot imagine.

God hardened Pharoah’s heart so that he would not let the Hebrews go. Yet in the end his actions brought about a cataclysmic series of events that led to their triumphant break from slavery.

Dictators in every era of history arose – why? In history class my teachers spoke of the zeitgeist, or spirit of the times. If it wasn’t Mussolini, it would have been someone else. God handpicked that person for his own reasons. None of us can conceive of his ways.

When we work for any good cause, I hope we can each look into our hearts and pray that our works are done out of love of God and neighbor. And pray that God’s will be done.

“Yet I will make Pharaoh so obstinate that, despite the many signs and wonders that I will work in the land of Egypt, he will not listen to you. Therefore I will lay my hand on Egypt and by great acts of judgment I will bring the hosts of my people, the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt, so that the Egyptians may learn that I am the Lord, as I stretch out my hand against Egypt and lead the Israelites out of their midst.”
Exodus 7:3-5

Picture above: Broadoak St Paul, Dorset