Listening Moments

And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:12)

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“I think we need a ‘listening moment.’” My Bible study leader looked around the room, and continued, “Let’s see what the Lord has to say as we take a few minutes to meditate on this Scripture.”

While the ladies scattered to different areas of the house, I remained on the sofa and gazed at the green canopy of trees through the picture window. After a few minutes I closed my eyes. Soon, the pressures of my to-do lists, and my cares and anxieties faded away as His Word whispered peace to my heart.

The “listening” moments ended all too soon, and we regrouped to share and pray.

Through the day my mind kept going back to those few minutes of sweet peace in His presence.  I remembered Elijah fleeing for his life from Jezebel. As he waited for the Lord, He didn’t come in the strong wind that “rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks” nor was He in the ensuing earthquake or fire. Rather it was in the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19: 11-13).  

It’s not always in the midst of chaotic daily living that I hear the Lord, nor is it on the heights of success—the good book sales, the signing of a contract or the day a book releases—that I seek or even hear Him. Though I daily read His Word, pray and spend time in worship, I sometimes lose the joy of tarrying in His presence. Though I seek His direction each time I sit down to write, I need to quiet my heart to hear His still, soft voice in every area of my life. “Lord, forgive me,” I whispered as I held my Bible close, when I realized what I needed more of in my life. "Help me seek You in everything and quiet myself to hear Your whispers in my heart.”

Author, and homeschooling mom, Anita Mellott has post-graduate degrees in Communications and Journalism. She worked as an editor with Habitat for Humanity International, and headed the Department of Journalism at her alma mater in India.